My apartment is being renovated, and the hotel room that we relocated to has functionally zero cooking equipment - no fridge or microwave either. Therefore, I’ve been taking my $30/day food allowance over to Central Market and seeing what I could get from there. The results so far have been quite incredible! I’ll continue to update this post with blurbs on the various items I try.

• Chicken Quesadilla - Absolutely phenomenal. $2.99, highly flavorful, easily heated up in the microwave for warm, gooey, flavorful goodness.

• Mushroom and Goat Cheese Quesadilla - Also amazing. $3.49 is a steal.

• Gumbo - $5.99 for a medium bowl is solid, but a medium bowl is probably too much food in the first place. Best to get the small. Gumbo was decent, though I wish there had been more sausage. The okra level was good though.

• Texas Caviar - An inexpensive staple. Well worth the money, and slightly sweet.

• Stuffed Plantain - I’m glad I tried it, and though the chimichurri was noticeable, I just wasn’t all that in love with it. Still though, I’m glad I spent the $1 or so on it.

• Overnight Oats with almond butter and banana - Very high value breakfast option. $2.49 for a lot of tasty and reasonably healthy food.

• Egg White, Spinach, and Mushroom Saute - Not bad taste wise, but poor value given the quantity of food you receive. I’ll be sticking with overnight oats.

• Build Your Own Smoothies - Orange juice as a base is quite solid, and I’m quite a fan. Adding whey protein is super cheap, which is much appreciated. The smoothie itself isn’t as much.

• Shrimp and Crab Salad - Pricey, and I wish I got less as a result. Still though, quite delicious and they didn’t skimp on the crab.

• Zucchini Fritters - Pretty cheap, pretty solid. I bet they aren’t as healthy as I want to tell myself they are though.

• Roasted Rosemary Potatoes - Cheap, but that’s about it. I’m just not a huge potato fan I guess.

• Kale, Cranberry, and Pepita salad - Very, very solid. A great salad that’s cheap and packed with tasty stuff only.

• Jamaican Style Beef Pie - Not bad, though I found this super heavy and fatty. I don’t think I’ll be getting this again.

• Wilted Spinach - Not bad, and a cheap way to get vegetables in. I do wish that there were more consistency in seasoning - one time I got this and it was super salty, another time was good.

• Quiche Lorraine - A little too rich for me, honestly. I think it’s the pastry crust, but for some reason I just found this too fatty, even though it wasn’t actually that greasy.

• Avocado, Egg, and Cheese Breakfast Sandwich - Solid and cheap. Great value, though the taste wasn’t as amazing as a potential breakfast quesadilla would be.

• Hawaiian Sushi Roll - Solid, but just not filling enough for this to be a high value play at $7.99.

• Gouda and Pecorino Mac and Cheese - quite solid. Just a better version of mac-and-cheese.

• Roast Pork Tenderloin with Pineapple Adobo Sauce - I have no idea how they get pork to actually be tender. This was really, really solid. 3 slices is plenty.

• Pineapple Mango Salad with Black Beans - another hit. This actually seems underpriced, and I’ll be returning for this for sure.