Ali Khan hosts "Cheap Eats"

It isn't cheap being a glutton. When you're someone who wants food -- all of the food -- you'd best have deep pockets. Unless, that is, you follow the advice of Ali Khan.

The host of Cooking Channel's "Cheap Eats," currently in its second season, airing Thursday nights, knows a thing or two about getting big dishes for a shockingly low price. In each episode of the mouthwatering program, he touches down in a new city where, with only $35 in his pocket, he has to find the best places to grab breakfast, lunch and dinner.

He isn't just popping into the nearest fast food joint and ordering the cheapest things off of the backlit menus -- oh, no. Khan is on the lookout for good food, too. He may be gluttonous, but he's not one to substitute quality and flavor.

In this week's episode, airing Thursday, Dec. 29, Khan heads to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where his first goal is to find a joint that serves a great breakfast at an even better price. Following his taste buds leads him to an incredible croque madame, a classic French ham-and-cheese sandwich topped with a fried egg. 

With some of his precious funds spent, he looks for a great deal for lunch, and he discovers a place serving up fried chicken banh mi sandwiches. 

As though to show off just how far he can stretch $35, our host even splurges on a snack -- a berry cheesecake doughnut -- before he starts hunting for a joint that serves dinner.

For Khan, good food is truly in his blood. As a child of South Asian immigrants, he learned early on in life that foods that might seem exotic and strange in one culture are just everyday meals in another. He's willing to give almost anything a taste, and it's rare that he finds something that he doesn't enjoy.

These days, he's eating on quite a budget, and he's taking folks at home along for the trip. A new episode of "Cheap Eats" airs Thursday, Dec. 29, on Cooking Channel.