The Interns' Guide: Free and Cheap Food

Hungry after a long day at the office? There are many places that offer discounted wings, nachos and tacos happy hour, but sometimes you want something above and beyond bar snacks. That's when the half-price burger comes into play.

At the Hotel Helix's retro lounge, for example, a gourmet angus burger with smoked cheddar cheese is $5 between 5 and 7, seven days a week. Add a half-price beer, and you're getting a meal for $6.50. Tonic, located near many Mount Pleasant group houses, offers a similar deal, with half-price burgers, beers and mixed drinks between 5 and 7 Monday through Friday. (A bonus: There are veggie burgers on the menu as well as beef.)

McCormick & Schmick's has a great happy hour menu, featuring half-pound burgers with fries, bowls of mussels, fresh salads and sandwiches for just $1.95, although you do have to purchase two drinks. The minimum may sound steep, but if you're drinking beer or the delicious house lemonade, it's still less than $10 for dinner.

If you're really broke -- er, thrifty -- there's free food that goes beyond iffy salad and mystery "chicken" tenders. At Morton's of Chicago, a clubby wood-and-brass steakhouse, Monday brings free (small) steak sandwiches and deeply discounted $4 martinis, which is an excellent deal. Free gourmet pizza is offered at Ella's Wood Fired Pizza, a Penn Quarter restaurant, weekdays between 5 and 7. Pies arrive a few at a time and are quickly devoured; don't assume you're really going to fill up, but the selection usually includes three different varieties. (Cheap beer and sangria is also available.) In Adams Morgan, there's free pizza at the Brass Monkey, which may make up for the lack of drink specials. Maybe.

While no longer exotic, sushi is still a delicious happy hour meal. Cafe Asia, Uni: A Sushi Place and Tono Sushi feature $1 nigiri as well as discounted rolls and beer. More seafood at happy hour? Ocean Grill and Grillfish offer half-priced food and cocktails -- plates of buffalo shrimp, mussels and the like -- for less than $5.

Check this story for more details of "high-end happy hours."