Best Budget Bites: $7 Burger Basket From Como Tap

Is it possible to find a cheaper burger basket ANYWHERE?

11:19 AM CDT on October 21, 2026

There she is.

|All photos by Jay Boller

The cost of things these days? Far too expensive! Tariffs, the Strait of Hormuz, rent prices, giddy price-gouging from proprietors large and small—the boring factors are too numerous to count. To protect our readers, Racket launched the Best Budget Bites series, where we’ll showcase a toothsome, wallet-friendly food item that’ll actually fill you up. Have a nomination? Hit us up: tips@racketmn.com.

What: Cheeseburger and fries
Where: Como Tap, 2124 Como Ave. SE, Minneapolis
Cost: $7
Availability: During "Tappy Hour" every day 2–6 p.m.

Call Como Tap whatever you want—its 123-year-old Minneapolis building has been the Como Inn, Grutes Place, Sportsman's Bar, and Sporty’s Bar & Grill over the years—just never call the cozy, nostalgic barroom fancy. Mercifully for generations of nostalgic Gophers, that didn't change when Sporty's became Como Tap in 2019.

"It's so great, it's like being in your own house, only you're out and somebody else is cooking," longtime bartender Hillary once told Racket. "The gal who bought it in 2019 was a bartender and waitress here for 15 years, so not much changed."

Look close, and you'll find (possibly problematic, I have no idea) bits of historic 2124 Como Ave. lore hanging throughout the chaotically decorated interior:

Out on the exterior signage Como Tap inherited the claim being a destination for "famous burgers," and with that in mind we visited this month to test the outrageous daily afternoon special: $7 for a cheeseburger basket with fries. To drive home how killer that deal is, circa 2026, consider that a Whopper combo from Burger King runs $11.19 and a Big Mac combo from McDonald's runs $9.59. (Real talk: If any politician in this burger-crazed country made fast food price inflation their pillar issue, they could become president for life.)

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Back at Como Tap, my burger arrived looking a little lifeless:

The patty, while far from juicy, was at least well-seasoned and seared atop a flattop grill; the bun, while clearly from a grocery store plastic bag, had been buttered. Throw on ketchup, mustard, and pickles? You're dealing with a perfectly tasty cheapo lunch, one that notches a couple rungs above the drive-thru though several below, say, buzzy gourmet options like Station No. 6. It can't be stressed enough how this heaping basketful of hot, passable bar food can be obtained for 28 quarters. (Because I promised my vegetarian-curious wife I would, here's a gift link to a recent New York Times piece about the grotesque perils of cheap beef in Trump's deregulated, The Jungle-esque dystopia—consume budget burgs at your own risk.) Smothered in Heinz, the pile of fluffy fries went down easy.

And before the Manning's partisans come at me, yelling about the burgers being better across the street, know this: At $11.50, its cheeseburger falls outside the unassailable Best Budget Bites pricing criteria.