As a college student with limited funds (who happens to have exceedingly poor budgeting skills), I am always looking for great downtown restaurants that don’t break the bank. I know I’m not alone when I say dining hall food isn’t my jam. I have been blessed with cheeseburger dollars and caviar dreams.

But thankfully, I found Addison’s, an American grill with many options at prices that won’t wreck my checking account. Many of the meat entrees sell for prices that may be outside the typical college student’s budget, but the restaurant offers a great variety of meals for more appropriate prices too.

The first time I went to Addison’s, I was with my parents, so I really went all out. I ordered the rosemary baked salmon with potatoes for a whopping $19. This entree is definitely pricy for a college student, but I wasn’t picking up the tab, so I really lived my dreams. The menu describes the dish as “a baked rosemary and olive oil marinated salmon with grilled asparagus served over three cheese new potatoes, finished with a sweet tarragon aioli,” which sounded amazing, even though I had no idea what “new potatoes” were. At least they weren’t old ones, I thought.

The plate came out steaming, and the smell of that wonderful concoction was divine. My salmon was cooked to perfection, the outer layer crisp and seasoned, the meat inside soft, light and moist (but far from undercooked or raw). I strategically ate the salmon with bites of “new potatoes” and loved the harmonious mixing of flavors with the melt-in-your-mouth effect.

The second time I went to Addison’s, I ordered the Caesar salad for my entree. Of course this wasn’t my first choice, because I love carbs and cheese, but the “Mizzou 22” is real, so I have to pace myself and choose my battles. It is also $7, and I wasn’t looking to shell out the cash on this particular Thursday night.

This classic salad, however, was surprisingly delicious and flavorful. The ingredients were fresh; the romaine crisp, the cheese thick and tasty. The salad was tossed in the dressing, which made me really happy. (There’s nothing worse than unevenly dispersed salad dressing.) The large croutons really made the salad and they weren’t at all soggy, but crunchy and baked to golden-brown perfection.

The next item I try at Addison’s will be the hamburger, which was recommended to me by owner Jeremy Brown.

“What’s great about it is the seasonings that we use, and the real high-quality local ground beef from Show Me Farms,” Brown said. “It’s a healthier beef; mostly it’s the way that we cook it and prepare it, the way that it’s seasoned.”

In addition to the mouth-watering food, Addison’s has a particular ambiance: dimly lit, with lots of seating, perfect for date night or a night out with friends.

Brown also owns Sophia’s, an Italian restaurant at 3915 S. Providence Rd., and is responsible for the management of both kitchens.

“We’ve changed the menus over the years, [but] I’m still responsible for a good portion of the menus,” Brown said. “They’re my recipes, but I always allow my exec chefs to put their stamp on the menu.”

The menu frequently changes, keeping food fresh and trendy, and creating a sense of unpredictability for customers.

“I research magazines, internet, and try new restaurants whenever I can, then take the bits and pieces of the things I like and combine them into new items,” Brown said. “But most of the time it is just my own personal creativity and trial and error.”

According to Brown, an efficiently-run kitchen and “food-cost systems in place” make this concept feasible.

“We make everything from scratch, and we gain a savings because we’re not paying someone else to do it; we don’t make our own chicken fingers, and we don’t make our own fresh pasta, per se, but all the sauces we make from scratch, and so forth,” Brown said. “We have a better purchasing power too because we have two restaurants, so we can buy things for a little bit cheaper than maybe some others can.”

No matter what the occasion, you can’t go wrong with Addison’s. Feeling fancy? Order the strip steak. Pinching pennies? Order a salad, flatbread or sandwich.

_Edited by Katie Rosso | krosso@themaneater.com_