Forget conflicting set times. At a festival like Boston Calling, the ultimate FOMO lies in picking amongst the long line of food vendors, each with their own menu of mouthwatering meals n’ munchies. In honor of two BC performers this year — Cheap Trick and Mob Rich — we’ve found some of the most affordable eats around the festival, plus a few plates that boast quite the price tag. Dig in.
Cheap Trick: The Inexpensive Eats
They’re probably the cheapest snack you can snag that’s not a bag of chips: Top Shelf Cookies are $3 each, boasting flavors such as Boston Lager Chocolate Chip, Green Monster Mint, and HBD2U, a birthday cake packed into cookie form. We also snapped the “Black & Gold” flavor, which mixes chocolate dough with peanut butter chips.
Yes, empanadas from Buenas are only $5.25 each (or three for $14.75), but given the array of flavors, you might have trouble walking away with just one. Four kinds of empanada are available this week: Beef, chicken bacon cool ranch, a vegetarian mix of corn, mozzarella, and roasted pepper, and, as the sign states, “a really good vegan one.”
If you’re hungry for a bite of nostalgia, The Sausage Guy is selling “Eastern Standard” pretzels, no doubt a nod to the legendary Kenmore Square restaurant that permanently closed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tasty Burger has whoopee pies for $5 each and — oh, who are we kidding, if you get in line for Tasty Burger, you’re walking away with more than just dessert. If you’re trying to keep your dinner under $10, burgers are $8, and veggie and cheeseburgers are $9.
Sure, you could get latke fries (Mamaleh’s Delicatessen), or curry seaweed fries (Riceburg), but sometimes you crave a classic. Grab a side of fries with spicy ketchup for a fiver at the Chubby Chickpea.
Mob Rich: The Pricier Picks
Now that you’ve been washed clean by this afternoon’s storm, it’s the perfect time to get those fingers greasy again with a half rack of ribs from A La Esh. The $20 plate comes with your choices of two sides: potato salad, macaroni salad, or Arabic Salad.
For folks who are willing to shell out an Andrew Jackson for some seafood, there’s a few spots around the fest who can hook you up. Ruth’s Chris Steak House (pictured below) and Lobster Proper are both serving up lobster rolls, while Suasday Sandwich Co. is serving up baguettes packed with crawfish salad, celery, and aioli.
Look, it’s really not so bad if you divvy it up with a few friends: Flatbread Co. is baking fresh 12-inch pizzas (which also happen to be gluten free) for $27 each. Choose from cheese, pepperoni, or veggie toppings to split with your squad.
The Smoke Shop’s massive entree is called the “Boss” BBQ Plate for a reason. This $29 smorgasbord of Southern fare includes a burnt end, pulled chicken, pulled pork, mac and cheese, pit beans, and coleslaw. Sure, that’s the cost of nearly six empanadas, or even four burgers, but you probably won’t have to eat again for the rest of the day. Maybe even the rest of the weekend. That’s just efficient.