party_boy

Since a big portion of my travel experience is simply experiencing food, I'd like to start a master thread of our favorite "hole in the wall" joints in cities around the world. These places are generally a destination point, a "local secret" type place, and most importantly CHEAP.

I figure the best people to ask are just that- the locals. Weather we're travelers or locals, we might find a diamond in the rough in the city you're in now. Since I’m from the SF Bay Area, I'll start! Enjoy your meal.

Daly City (10 min South of SF)-
Tani's Kitchen in Westlake Village (authentic Japanese food that's literally a hole in the wall (Sub-10 for dinner)

San Francisco-
Tommy's Joynt
1101 Geary at Van Ness
(German food Sub- 10 for dinner + HUGE portions)

San Jose-
King's Eggrolls ($5-8 lunch)
980 Lundy Ave, San Jose- Some of the best eggrolls bar none.


edit- To keep this a "budget" food, lets aim for a target of sub-10 meals so that people can live off of $20.00 day.

grbflyer

mmmmm....eggrolls! send me some.

in green bay, hard to say there are a bunch of places that are hometown eats but not the cheapest. but here goes.

als hamburger - downtown green bay. its also known as greasy al's. need i say more.

bilotti's pizza garden in de pere - great pizza and italian, family run get the thin crust!

there are a bunch of bars that have great burgers and other "bar food" not to mention great beer and microbrews and all sorts of fried cheese things.

uncertaintraveler

Portions of the post that previously appeared in this space have been deleted. I would provide you with a reason why, but doing so would likely be against the TOS.

chexfan

Hmm... Gordito's in Seattle for mexican! ^

SimpleManToo

Here are several local favorites in Alabama

BBQ-Dreamland BBQ-Tuscaloosa, Mobile, Huntsville, Birmingham

Hamburgers-Big Springs Cafe-Huntsville

Steak-Conestoga Steak house-Dothan

Italian-Levoys-Birmingham

Fish & hush puppies-Angler-Cullman

^

BIG j

I'm from San Bernardino CA, approx 1hr east of LA. (The place where the '03 wildfires were at) Up in the mtns is a place called "The Cottage". It is directly off of Hwy 18 in Rimforest in between the Lake Arrowhead turn offs. It is known for it's sandwiches and salads. It makes soups and pastas at order, and if you want to eat with another person you can easily split a plate for $8. They have the classics like Turkey w/ avocado, Roast Beef (hot or cold), huge club sandwiches, and more. It sounds basic like you can get anywhere, but the taste is great along with the portions and the service. The mtns are a small community so the service is homely, courteous, and is that small town feeling.
For those of you passing along the 10fwy heading east bound toward Palm Springs, take a 5 min detour along the 30 fwy north to Highland, exit Baseline and head east to Rosa Maria's. It's all about the burritos and the mexican food. I guarantee no garbage burrito or quesadillas are the same. Great price, large portions, and great great food.

hiyo

Officially known as "Las Quatro Milpas," this is the place for muy tipico, inexpensive Mexican food in San Diego.

Lunch only. No reservations. Long lines. And worth it all.

luv2ctheworld

I know this isn't a "unique" restaurant, but In-n-Out chain is one of my favorite hamburger places. They have a limited menu, but they are consistently delicious.

cj001f

Former Home Towns:

PDX - India Chaat House (2 blocks towards the stadium from the library) - $4.75 lunch special is excellent.

Elkridge, MD - Smokey & Uncle Daves BBQ - tiny BBQ joint out of a home just off rt 1 & rt 100

Rochester, NY - Dibellas Subs

medic

actually there's a hidden menu to expand your options - http://www.tiburon-belvedere.com/cgi...cgi?c=In_N_Out

In Chandler, AZ
C Fu's - great chinese, big portions, fairly cheap
Oregnos - good non-chain pizza

Around Sacramento, CA
Noodle City (near Sac State) - good chinese
Fuji Sushi (near UC Davis) - sushi lunch buffet - long lines, no reservations, but $10 for all the sushi you can eat and special orders are welcome
dos coyote - good non-chain semi fast food mexican; like baja fresh but better

Pittsburgh, PA
Fuel and Fuddle - 1/2 price food after 11pm - good food at cheap prices
Mad Mex - 1/2 price mexican after 11pm - loud and very dark, food is okay and cheap
The Original - greasy with very large poritions - e.g small fries feeds 2-3 people

civicmon

Hmm never heard of that.

I like Roberto's on Miramar. It's a local chain, but just about anything in SAN that ends in -tos (there are so many offshoots it's not even funny). Will be alright.

For asian food in this city, Convoy St has everything... and most of it's reasonably priced.

Fusion Cafe on Claremont Mesa (caddy corner to Cheetah's) is an asian-fusion restaurant that's really popular among my friends. Vietnamese influenced, but still very good.

SFO has tons of cheap food but just about everything else is expensive. Best Chinese restaurant in the city is Kam's, near Washington HS (Think it's Balboa, it's where that old theatre is in the Richmond Dist).

Back in Marin County, San Jose Taqueria is really good and very cheap. That's on 4th st under the 101. Walking distance from there is Lotus of India, which, aside from having a $8 (when I was last there) lunch buffet, it was the best Indian food in the bay area (and consistantly rated that).

greggwiggins

I'd send you to get a chili dog from Ben's Chili Bowl, 1213 U Street NW, Washington, DC.

That's across the street from the U & 13th Street exit of the "U Street/Cardozo" Metrorail station.

http://www.benschilibowl.com/

MMMinTX

Nashville - Calypso Cafe by Vanderbilt has fantastic Caribbean-inspired food, including great (and big and cheap) salads and dinner plates.

Austin - Din Ho Chinese BBQ family-style Chinese, best I've found in Austin, though I realize not the same as in other cities with larger Chinatowns (cash discount if you're dining with a group!)

Reevesis

[QUOTE=medic]actually there's a hidden menu to expand your options - http://www.tiburon-belvedere.com/cgi...cgi?c=In_N_Out

In Chandler, AZ
C Fu's - great chinese, big portions, fairly cheap
Oregnos - good non-chain pizza

Also in Chandler, Cyclo - outstanding Vietnamese, most dishes $9 or less
El Sol Mexican Bakery - family owned hole in the wall, excellent Mexican pastries and anything carne asada.

In Tempe, AZ, Sabuddy - Israeli/Medditteranean cafe, all food made fresh
Cafe Lalibela (same parking lot as Sabuddy) - Ethiopian food.
You've just got to try it.

venice4504

Umm.....yummy hangover food...always feel real bloated though...might have soemthing to do with the booze