Dining with friends is a constant cycle of CP Burger, Big Wrap, and occasionally New York Pizza or Hickory House. Sometimes, it’s rough to be an Aspen High School student looking for affordable cuisine in Aspen Colorado. I love Big Wrap as much as the next AHS student, but there are tons of other places to go, branching away from the same three places AHS students always seem to eat at with friends.

Grateful Deli
An easy go-to for AHS students is The Grateful Deli located on Mainstreet next to Ute City Cycles bike shop. Their sandwiches are big enough to leave me in a food coma for an hour, making it one of my favorites when I’m not in the mood for Big Wrap. Their menu is full of tons of sandwiches to choose from including specialty subs, Panini sandwiches, or you can even build your own. Not in the mood for a sandwich? The Grateful deli also has big salads. It’s affordable, filling, and quick, which are three things every busy AHS student is bound to love.

Zane’s Tavern
Zane’s Tavern is grill-style food. Their menu offers burgers, philly cheesesteaks, fried chicken, wings, soup/salads, and all of the good sides: french fries, onion rings, tater tots, sweet potato fries. There are two locations in Aspen and one in the snowmass mall. Everything on their menu is in the $10-1$15 range making it pretty reasonable for Aspen.

Bok Choy
Bok Choy is Asian food located next to Zane’s Tavern in Aspen. Like many restaurants in Aspen, it offers pickup and you can order by calling in or you can go sit down and eat. Bok Choy is typical asian food, orange chicken, dumplings, etc. If you’re like me, every once in awhile you need an asian food fix, and believe it or not there’s a decently affordable place for you to go and get some, all menu options are under $20.

BBQ
Looking for a new bbq place? Barbeque places aside from Hickory House include Home Team or Slow Groovin. I’m personally a fan of Home Team’s mac n cheese, tater tots, and their bbq sauce. However, if you haven’t ever actually been to Hickory house I’d recommend trying it too. Hickory house also has pretty reasonable prices, with everything around the $15-$30 range.

Food in the Snowmass Mall
The Snowmass Mall also has many options for tasty inexpensive cuisine options. I’ve already mentioned Zane’s tavern, but I highly recommend the Philly cheesesteak at Taste of Philly. Additionally, Fuel serves fantastic smoothies and more grab and go food. And lastly, Grub Thai is a favorite of many of my Snowmass friends. Not only is their food delicious, but they also have boba tea, if you’re into that personally not my thing.

These are only a few ideas of restaurants to grab something easy and cheap to go. If you’re sick of consistently eating the same food at the same places, I encourage you to expand your food horizon, spend less, and enjoy some delicious Pitkin County classics.