Any Salisbury resident knows the local restaurants, but students and visitors may not know the full culinary selection available in such a small town. I’m writing this article to bring awareness to (some of) the best restaurants in Salisbury, but we must be honest with ourselves -- who actually goes out in Salisbury that isn’t a student? Since everybody knows that college students are broke, I’ll name decent alternatives to the nice restaurants available.

Mambo Grill on S Fulton St

The Mambo Grill is known throughout the town of Salisbury as the best place for Latin or Spanish food. Reviews describe it as “upscale,” “magical,” and “delicious!” However, the average entrée price is over $15. Yikes! Most students would budget that for a week, which is why I recommend a restaurant that may be just as good, if not better than the Mambo Grill. On E Innes St, there just happens to be this amazing Taco Bell. The price is great; it’s difficult to spend over $5 on any given visit. There are definitely some perks to choosing fast food. While I wouldn’t describe my experience as “magical” or “delicious,” I liked that there weren’t too many options for me to choose from, because it helped me make a decision without getting flustered. Plus, it was very “upscale.” Seriously, I got back to my dorm, weighed myself, and cried. The most helpful review I found of the Salisbury Taco Bell is this: “if you’re drunk or stoned and it’s 3 a.m. I guess it does not matter what you eat.” Again, this is another perk, because college students are bound to experiment. If anything, it’s reassuring to know that Taco Bell is a safe space for those who make mistakes.

Sweet Meadow Cafe on N Main St

I have to be honest: I have barely $16 in my bank account, and I’m very good at budgeting my money, but I was torn when I started researching the Sweet Meadow Cafe of Salisbury. I shouldn’t have written this article after I’d skipped lunch, because the first thing I was tempted to do was get in my car, drive to 111 N Main Street, walk in, and throw my insufficient debit card at them, yelling “Take my money!” over and over again. I did not do this, however, which was a good decision, as I likely would have been banned for life. One review said that the Sweet Meadow Cafe “had the best Eggs Benedict ever.” I can’t think of a higher accolade. Ever! There are no bad reviews for the Sweet Meadow Cafe (not even an “it was Valentine’s Day, there was a line out the door, and I had to wait? Unacceptable!” As someone who has worked in a restaurant and had to deal with this, if you’ve ever left this kind of review, I hope your favorite restaurant goes out of business). The Sweet Meadow Cafe serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner, as is to be expected, but when I additionally saw “brunch” on the menu, I audibly sighed; any place that serves brunch is going to be expensive with a capital X. As college students, we can barely afford pens in the campus bookstore so revealing the prices on the cafe menu to myself was heartbreaking. However, life is about moving on, about bouncing back from disappointment, so I settled for the next best thing: there is an IHoP five minutes away. Although no culinary treasure, one review described the food to be “as expected,” which is good. Reliability is to be admired in a changing age such as ours.

La Cava Restaurant

The first thing I saw when I looked this restaurant up was this review: “I was skeptical about this place but after coming here I am a believer!” I strongly believe that "Shrek" is one of the best animated movies ever made, both in message and animation, so this restaurant immediately won me over (do you get it? “I’m a believer/ I couldn’t leave her if I tried?” Wow, tough crowd). But really, La Cava offers mainly Italian cuisine, and almost every review praises them as worth the cost. Apparently, the “Asparagus ravioli was perfectly "al dente,” and while my Italian grandfather would be ashamed that I’m not sure what al dente means, it sounds nice. The prices, on the other hand, are not so nice. Most of the entrées cost between $20-40, and for somebody who has $5 in the bank (I went to Wal-Mart at some point during writing this article to buy cheese and crackers, hence the $11 difference), that just won’t do. So, to conclude this review, I offer you the cheap alternative:

Hunger.

Good luck finding another good-tasting Italian place within a 10-mile radius, pal. Maybe try befriending an affluent commuter. Just remember, the “forgot my wallet” excuse can only be used so many times.

I conclude these reviews with the simple question of the article: why am I not broke?

I offer a simple answer: I have a meal plan.

Mal Appétit!