The Family-Style Chain Where You Can Snag An Entree For Under $9

Dining out for under $9 sounds like a grandpa's tale of years gone by, when family-style chain restaurants could actually feed families without breaking the bank. Not anymore. You'd be hard-pressed to find any restaurant today, even fast-food style, offering meals in that price range. Fortunately, there is one holdout, a ray of affordable hope — if you live in America's Midwest, mid-Atlantic, or Southeast regions. It's the Bob Evans Farmhouse Kitchen, a chain of about 500 casual eateries offering sit-down meals priced at $8.99 or below. 

The menu at Bob Evans restaurants is comprehensive and varied, but the affordable options you're looking for are tucked within the American Value Meals. Thirty available options under $8.99 include selections for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. These aren't skimpy portions or bare-bones meals requiring extra costs for sides; the six available Dinner Bell Plates are hearty homestyle mains and sides with things you actually love eating. It's for this reason that Bob's earned a spot on our list of 8 best chain restaurant meals for under $10. 

While recognizing the value in all 30 meals, our writer does have some favorites. "You can't go wrong with any of the breakfasts, you-pick-two lunch combos, or wholesome dinner bell plates (trust me)," she says — and as a former employee at Bob's she has first-hand experience. "But one of the best of the bunch has to be the country-fried steak dinner." This is a long-time popular pick at Bob's, featuring breaded steak soaked in country gravy, plus mashed potatoes and green beans, all for $8.99. 

Our writer shares that nothing has changed since her serving days at Bob Evans, and that affordability continues to be king, now in the form of these American Value offerings. In addition to the country fried steak, offerings on the value Dinner Bell plates include hand-breaded fried chicken, turkey and dressing with mashed potatoes and gravy, hickory-smoked ham steaks, and more. And according to our reviewer, it's all served up with a side of positive hospitality. That's a pretty good recommendation from someone who literally knows the ins-and-outs in a hands-on way. 

Breakfast deals start at $5.19 and appear in the Sunrise Savers category on the menu. It's divided into price categories of "less than" $6 to $9, including the likes of buttermilk pancakes, sausage gravy and biscuits, brioche French toast, buttermilk biscuit sandwiches, and banana berry oatmeal. The $8.99 Pick Two lunch combos lets diners choose two items within a set combination, which features favorites such as halved turkey or BLT sandwiches, chicken salads, farm-fresh salads, and cups of cheddar baked potato or chicken-n-noodle soup. 

The American Value menu isn't the only thing garnering attention at Bob Evans Farmhouse Kitchen. It also scored on our search for the restaurant chains serving the best grilled cheese sandwiches, and in our compilation of 16 restaurant chains where kids can eat free. That one applies only on Tuesdays and requires ordering through the restaurant's app, but it's still a pretty impressive deal for up to three kids per order.