Sometimes, sharing lunch with a friend is the best way to dine on a dime. Examining the online menu, I determined that I could have an inexpensive, balanced meal at Folino's in Shelburne — if I split the cost of a pie.

The wood-fired pizza joint is located on Route 7, in the same complex that is home to Fiddlehead Brewing Company. It also sits directly across the road from Shelburne Vineyard, which means that food tourists and locals alike frequent the spot.

The proximity to local booze also means it is very easy to BYOB. Guests are invited to buy a growler or canned beers at Fiddlehead and tote them across the hall to drink alongside their pies. Folino's even provides frosty glasses to keep the brews cool.

We started with the only non-pizza item on the menu: a green salad ($6.50) topped with peas, goat cheese and shredded beets and carrots, with a little cup of balsamic vinaigrette on the side. It's a simple combination, but the execution was pleasing. The peas were fresh and crunchy, and the culinary cliché that is beets and goat cheese is common for good reason.
It was hard to decide on a pie — I was tempted by the chipotle-drizzled Fire Kracker Shrimp. But we settled on a Surf and Turf white pizza with scallops, bacon and cheese ($17.50). The New Haven-style crust was excellent. It had just enough of the wood-fired character to add interest, but not so much that it tasted of char. Lemon zest gave the pie a surprising citrus-y kick. Scallops are so delicate that cooking them to perfection in a roaring hot oven can be tricky. If I had one suggestion, it would be cooking the whole scallops separately, slicing them, and tossing them atop the pizza before sending it to the table. The bacon and cheese were winners, as they almost always are. Overall, it was a fun and unusual pizza.

I look forward to stopping by again, with even more friends, to try some Fiddlehead beer and a few more pies.

P.S. After dividing the check, my half of the salad and pizza came to exactly $12 (before tax and tip).

Dining on a Dime is a weekly series featuring well-made, filling bites (something substantial enough to qualify as a small meal or better) for $12 or less. Know of a tasty dish we should feature? Drop us a line: food@sevendaysvt.com.

Let's face it, we live in a world where $15 sandwiches are increasingly the norm. Of course, I'm well aware that quality ingredients don't come cheap — and that customers now demand fresher, more local foods, which cost more than frozen or heavily preserved ones from China or wherever. Still, I'm always super stoked to find a solid stacker for less than $10.

Enter St. Johnsbury's Eastern & Main Market-Deli, which opened across from the firehouse on Main Street several years back. Walk in most mornings and the cashiers will greet you as if they've known you for years — even if it's your first time in. Place your order and the deli workers make your sandwich in about three minutes flat, unless there's a big line ahead of you. It's the kind of quick and friendly service that makes you know you'll be back.

Then there are the sandwiches themselves, which cost $6.99 (for a six-inch sub) to $10.99 (12-inch sub), and owe their monikers to local legends and landmarks. The Top O' the Hill (named for the rise between Railroad and Main streets) layers Black Forest ham with provolone, pickles, tomatoes and lettuce, and a tangy smear of honey mustard that pulls it all together.

The Fairbanks — so dubbed for the museum, and the prominent St. Johnsbury family for whom it is named — packs juicy roast beef, sharp Cabot cheddar, lettuce, tomato and a zingy slick of horseradish-wasabi mayo. In my book, it's a total winner.

For me, a standard sandwich ($7.29, on a hefty LaBaccia roll) might have sufficed for two meals, particularly if I'd paired it with a cup of soup ($3.59) or one of the scrumptious jumbo cookies at the check-out counter. Instead, I ate the whole thing in one sitting — and was quite full thereafter. The reason for that definitely had less to do with hunger than it did with flavor — it was so good I couldn't help but eat it all.