5 best burgers in Nashville under $10

Mary Hance | The Tennessean

Show Caption Hide Caption Ms. Cheap's guide to the best burgers in Nashville for cheap Ms. Cheap names the top places in Nashville with the best cheap burger

How could it be that Nashville's "best burgers" cost $11.50- $19?

Yikes!

When I first read fellow columnist Brad Schmitt's roundup, I thought my burger-loving colleague was featuring the most expensive burgers.

But no, those extravagant prices are attached to what he deems the "best burgers in Nashville."

Well, I've got news for you, Brad, and your spendthrift readers: there are plenty of wonderful hamburgers and cheeseburgers around town under $10, even some great ones for $5 or less.

My burger picks are clearly not in the same uppity category as Brad's list, which includes the high brow Bobby Burger, with "green tomato/chili jam" — or the beef burger at Chauhan that boasts a "green chili bacon strip, fried onion straws, amol cheese, chaat masala and a red wine demi glaze."

C'mon! One of the burgers even came on a "pretzel bun," whatever that is.

These are fancy, for sure, but in my book, more expensive is not always better.

The burgers I recommend come with mustard, lettuce, tomato, onion and pickles. And the price is just as appetizing as the tried and true condiments.

I'm talking about good old fashioned burgers that you can count on — and afford to eat.

Here are the best Ms. Cheap-approved burgers in Nashville:

Rotier's Restaurant, $7.99

2413 Elliston Place. Lunch only.

For more than 60 years, family-owned Rotier's Restaurant near Vanderbilt has been serving up hand-patted cheeseburgers, available grilled or on toasted French bread or a traditional bun. The burgers are $7.99. Order water to drink and split fries or onion rings with a lunch pal, and you will both come out under $10 for a yummy meal.

More: Rotier's Restaurant hits the spot with a burger lunch under $10

Gabby's Burgers & Fries, $6.99

493 Humphreys St. Lunch only, except Friday.

The best bet at Gabby's Burgers & Fries is the $6.99 Seamus burger, which is a five ounce, hand-patted, grass-fed beef burger, topped with a choice of American, Swiss, pepper jack, cheddar, blue cheese or Professor Bailey's pimento cheese. It's a juicy mess, so be sure to get extra napkins. The hand-cut sweet potato fries are worth splitting, too. Gabby's has been open almost 10 years, and serves up 1,700-1,800 burgers a week.

More: $10 lunch: Gabby's Burgers and Fries

Table 3, $5 on Wednesday

3821 Green Hills Village Drive

The Green Hills Table 3 restaurant has a special $5 burger deal all day every Wednesday. The burger is served like I like it, on a soft bun, with butter lettuce, American cheese, a smidge of red onion and a couple bread and butter pickles. And it even comes with a nice pile of fries. The same burger is $14.25-$16.25 on any other day (or night) of the week.

More: Ms Cheap: Table 3 restaurant's $5 Burger hits the spot

Hugh Baby's, $4.29

4816 Charlotte Ave. and 3001 West End Ave.

Hugh Baby's is a new player but offers solid old school burgers. They describe the cheeseburger as a "custom beef patty ground in-house daily served with American cheese, pickle, lettuce, onion, tomato and Comeback Sauce" (a familiar favorite from my Mississippi childhood). The cheeseburger is $4.29, or you could go big with the double cheeseburger, which is double meat and double cheese for $6.29. Hugh Baby's was described by our restaurant reviewer Nancy Vienneau as "old school delicious," saying "it captures the character of the burgers I can remember eating at soda fountain shops as a youth." The fries are good, too.

► Brad Schmitt's picks: The 5 best burgers in 'New Nashville'

Brown's Diner, $5.50

2102 Blair Blvd.

A perennial favorite old school diner and dive, Brown's Diner serves up a good burger day in and day out. The $5.50Brown's cheeseburger comes with mustard, mayonnaise, lettuce, tomato, onion and American cheese. Owner Jimmy Love says he sells 1,200 or more cheeseburgers every week. "I could sell a $3 filet, and people would still order a cheeseburger," he said. Brown's, which has been in business since 1927, also claims to be the home of Nashville’s oldest beer license. The restaurant is housed in two old mule drawn trolley cars that have been added on to over the years.

More: Nashville restaurants: Ms. Cheap rounds up lunch deals for $10 or less

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Stay cheap!

Reach Ms. Cheap at 615-259-8282 or mscheap@tennessean.com. Follow her on Facebook at facebook.com/mscheap, and at Tennessean.com/mscheap, and on Twitter @Ms_Cheap, and catch her every Thursday at 11 a.m. on WTVF-Channel 5’s “Talk of the Town.”

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