Tallahassee is filled with inexpensive restaurants for college students.
Three restaurants, Gordos, Voodoo Dog and Po’ Boys, stand out for their top-of-the line dining.
Gordos is a Cuban cuisine restaurant located at 1907 W. Pensacola St. It has been operating for 17 years and gives customers the option of dining inside or on the patio. Gordos offers a variety of Cuban dishes in addition to hamburgers and sandwiches, mostly under $8.
Eddie Argamonte, owner of Gordos, said one of the most popular menu items in his restaurant is the Cuban sandwich. Agramonte said
Gordos receives a majority of its business from college students.
“The prices here are very fair,” he said. “You can eat lunch here easily for under 10 bucks.”
Corlus Pope, a third-year business student from Tampa, said he recently started eating at the restaurant and has been very satisfied.
“It’s real cool,” Pope said. “You get a great amount of food at a price that won’t hurt your pockets.”
Voodoo Dog, which has locations on 1414 W. Tennessee St. and 805 S. Macomb, is a restaurant that is known for its upscale sausage, hot dogs, hamburgers and classic American cuisine.
Sarah Welch, the general manager of Voodoo Dog, said the restaurant attracts a number of customers, not only for its affordable prices but also for its uniqueness, such as “The Jefferson.”
“‘The Jefferson is what sells the most,” Welch said. “It’s a bacon-wrapped, deep-fried hot dog with our mac and cheese on top that we garnish with combo Ritz crackers. It’s definitely the most popular thing on our menu.”
Welch said Voodoo Dog is known to have an up-tempo atmosphere with music and large speakers.
“The most expensive thing on our menu is $9.50,” Welch said, “so you can go on a causal date here and won’t spend more than 20 bucks, and both of you will leave full and very happy.”
Trey Parker, a graduate business student from Tampa, said Voodoo Dog piqued his curiosity, and he likes the restaurant thus far.
“It’s different,” Parker said. “They have all different types of hot dogs and different type of burgers. They have way more variety of what you can put on your meal.”
Another restaurant, Po’ Boys, also located on West Pensacola Street, is a Creole café with two other locations in Tallahassee. It serves everything from jambalaya, gumbo and its specialty, a Po’ Boy sandwich.
“It’s a mixture of Southern American food and Creole,” owner Carmen Calabrese said.
Travis Boreland, a junior criminology student at Florida State from Miami, said he enjoys the unique cuisine Po’ Boys offers.
“I like it there,” Boreland said. “It’s a nice atmosphere, and I really love their gator tail.”
Calabrese added that every day Po’ Boys run specials on discounted meals, which is an opportunity for college students to receive a quality meal for a low price.
“You can get in and get out for less than $10,” Calabrese said.