Did I Just Say Beverly Hills?

As a matter of fact, I did. Cheap eats in Beverly Hills. I didn’t think it was possible, but I feed my family of five (ok, four, the baby didn’t eat the food) for about $20 in Beverly Hills. Do you want to find out where?

On a warm California evening we found ourselves at the Beverly Hilton (don’t worry, it was free-thank you Hilton HHonors credit cards!). Not wanting to pay $25 plus tip plus service charge for a hamburger from room service, I went down to the lobby and did the unthinkable at a hotel of this caliber-I asked about cheap fast food joints nearby. To my surprise, at the end of Rodeo Dr, only a block from the stores that are so high class if they knew I wrote this blog they wouldn’t let me walk by, are several fast food places. WIth a map from the front desk in hand I hit the street!

I walked, and walked, and walked and wished I had taken the nice lady’s offer of the free van ride. I strolled past restaurants where the people in Armani suits spilled out onto the sidewalk along with smooth sound of live jazz. I gazed into windows of jewlery stores where one item was easily worth more than I could hope to earn in a decade. Then, there it was, like the sale rack at Sacks-The Beverly Hills Diner.

Instead of men in tailored suits and women in form fitting evening gowns there were a couple of guys in old t-shirts enjoying an overstuffed burger. It was late and all the tourists were gone. I grabbed a menu, ordered a couple burgers, plus an unadvertised kids meal, and watched as it was cooked fresh right in front of me. The sizzle made me forget I was in high-class heaven because the sounds and smells brought me back to the greasy hamburger joint in the small city I grew up in. The burgers were served hot and wrapped up tight. As an added bonus they came with fries! All told for 4 hamburgers and two super-sized servings of fries, about $20.

I made it back to the Beverly Hilton-finally-and unwrapped my gift to my hungry family.

Maybe it was because we were starved. Maybe it was because I was able to feed a family of five for $20 in Beverly Hills. Maybe the burgers were just that good.

We ate well that night.

472 N. Beverly Dr, Beverly Hills, CA 90210, 11am-9pm, 7 days a week, 310.271.2227

Chattanooga Cheap Eats, Part 1

I was in Chattanooga for a couple days recently and that means I finally have a chance to try out some new cheap eats!

Our first night there I wanted to hit Bea’s on Dodd’s Ave. for dinner, unfortunately it closed at 8 and it was already 7:30 when we got directions from our hotel. Not this night. But don’t worry, we will make it there!

Going back to the drawing board I found

Philadelphia Pizza from Flyertalk.com

breaux124 writes:

Lorenzo’s Pizza: South street- $2 for a HUGE slice of pizza and they are open late night. Great after bar food.

Pat’s/Geno’s, 9th & Passyunk – Not as great as other places for cheesesteaks, but it’s cheap, open all the time, and two places to pick from right across from each other. It’s more of a city icon, but I still enjoy Pat’s steaks and their cheese fries.

Jim’s Steaks, South Street: I think Jim’s has better steaks than most places in the city.

Tony Luke’s - Get the roast pork sandwich

Lonely Planet & Ayun

This is the first in a series of posts compliments from a post I made on Lonely Planet’s ThornTree board announcing this site and asking for submissions. I decided to break them up into separate posts so each poster could receive proper credit and so the city categories would not be overloaded.

Our first submission comes from Ayun. Even though she hasn’t given me the plug she promised yet, I’ll give her one! She has a wildly eclectic food blog and some great recommendations for Cheap Eats in NYC and Chicago.

 Because it’s a rainy lazy day I’m will just copy and paste:

my favorite cheap eats here in nyc are
The Doyers Restaurant on Doyers in Chinatown
The Vegetarian Dim Sum House, also in Chinatown
Wonton Garden in, all together now, Chinatown!
and the banh mi from Banh Mi So #1 on Broome St.

in Chicago
Jim’s Grill – I’m assuming it’s still there and cheap – on Irving Park
Angel’s diner on Clark St for Mexican breakfasts!

Hodak’s – St. Louis

Guess what? Today was the first day I’ve gone out to eat since I started this blog. Amazing. When I was living in San Diego just a few weeks ago we were eating out every couple days.  Not so anymore. However, since starting Dave’s Cheap Eats I’ve become inspired. Inspired not just to eat out but to make every dining experience a “Dave’s Cheap Eat’s” experience. That is great food at a cheap price.

Today we were looking for some comfort food, nothing too fancy, too complex, or too trendy - just down home good food. I found out about a place called Hodak’s in South St. Louis that was famous for

Dane County Farmer’s Market

Capital Square, Madison, WI   http://www.madfarmmkt.org/

Sometimes in life you just stumble into a wonderful cheap eats find. This was the case one cold February morning in Madison. It was Saturday and we were at a farmer’s market in Wisconsin. I didn’t think anything could grow up here this time of year but boy does it! After sampling some cheese curds, cheese and potatoes, and veggies, we were stuffed, and it cost us nothing. However, as we were leaving we noticed a long line of locals forming by a window off to the side. Apparently, not only did they sell fresh produce here, but they also had local folks cooking up a hearty Wisconsin breakfast. Judging by the smiling faces and big bellies, this food must be good. So I took a closer look. For just a couple dollars you received pancakes made with fresh ingredients, a side of breakfast meat from a local animal, which was kind of shocking for a city boy like me, and a drink. I’m pretty sure the orange juice and coffee were not from Wisconsin but the milk sure was.

So here we are, in the middle of Madison, in the middle of February, enjoying a home-cooked meal from the freshest of ingredients for next to nothing. It doesn’t get any better than this!

Parker’s Barbecue

2514 Highway 301 S., Wilson NC, (252) 237-0972

A piece of pork can have no better purpose in life than being slow cooked until it crumbles off the bone, seasoned in a vinegar sauce until the meat is ready to burst with flavor and then served with a big ole’ side of coleslaw. If you are not indoctrinated in the finer points of barbeque, this isn’t your Midwest “slather some sauces” or “put a dry rub on a rack” barbecue. Nor is it a big piece of slow cooked Texas meat. This is Carolina barbecue, and no place does it better than Parker’s.

It’s about four miles off of I-95 on US-301 north of US-264 (the road to the Outer Banks). It’s been around since 1946 and has been an institution in this small Carolina town. It doesn’t matter how many people are there waiting, you’ll be seated and served fast-with a Southern smile. For only $4.90 you get a large plate(think dinner plate size) of BBQ and sides of Brunswick stew or Green Beans, boiled potatoes or French fries, cole slaw and corn sticks. If you’re daring, take the Brunswick stew and boiled potatoes for a true southern meal, and dig in. Your plate will still be full by the time your tummy is!

Sawyer’s Creek

If you didn’t know by now my three great loves (besides my family, of course) are

Uncle Bill’s Pancake & Dinner House

It is 10:30 a.m., and the sun finally begins to force its way through the closed blinds and curtains on your window. As you wake up, you figure that since its not quite noon, you can still squeeze in some breakfast. But the cupboard is bare. All you can find are a few single-serve bags of flavored oatmeal and a half-eaten bag of off-brand fruit loops. What’s a seminarian to do? Gather up your spare change, find a few dollar bills you have stashed under your mattress and head out to breakfast. (After getting dressed, of course.)

But where to go? McDonald’s just won’t do. Instead, head south on Kingshighway to a place called “Uncle Bill’s.” You know you will have found it when you see the building that looks like it is out of a

U-City Loop Overview

It’s summer time, and where are we? We’re stuck at school! No vacation for us this year. No traveling and discovering new places. No new faces and no new food. But wait! This is Dave’s Cheap Eats, so we will find some new food usually at pretty cheap prices. This summer we are going on an exotic field trip to discover an interesting, if sometimes scary, place on Delmar Blvd that straddles the St. Louis Line/University City Line called “The Loop.”

It’s not scary because of any crime. It’s actually a fairly safe place that is beginning to find its own with the tourists. Nevertheless, it is still the home of the “Fringe” in St. Louis with such places as Iron Age Studios, Vintage Vinyl, Subterranean Books and the offices of Riverfront Times. Today we will be sampling the foods from some of the better and lesser known establishments along The Loop.

American Cuisine

Blueberry Café:

This dining hotspot is one of my favorites, and it’s popular with both the tourists and the locals. Many famous music acts play in the Duck Room. Customers can see their pictures on the wall. The menu changes regularly, but anyone can find something they like from salads to burgers to more exotic fare. My wife’s personal favorite summertime treat is a cup of Gazpacho for $2.75. Burgers and sandwiches run from $4.50 to $6.00 without any real chance of sharing, but it’s still fairly cheap. Plus you can “people watch” through the large windows or gawk at owner Joe Edward’s oversized collection of Americana.

Fitz’s:

I have never done this before, but I am including a restaurant that I don’t like. I feel pressure to include Fitz’s because everyone talks about how much fun it is to eat where they brew root beer. People I know rave about the great food. The root beer is one of the best I’ve had, but the food is just like what you would find at Applebee’s. The cheapest sandwiches will cost you $7.00 to $8.00 a piece. My advice: go for dinner somewhere else in The Loop, then go to Fitz’s for a creamy root beer float.

Middle-Eastern Cuisine

Saleem’s:

Their motto is “Where Garlic is King,” so it probably wouldn’t make a great restaurant to take a date. They are known for the best Lebanese food in town, which isapparently very heavy on the garlic. They aren’t cheap, but doesn’t their motto just pull you in?

Al-Tarboush Deli:

This is my personal favorite in The Loop. It’s actually just off the loop on Westgate, which is the light east of Blueberry Hill. If you want some great, freshly-made, real Middle Eastern food, then this is your place. They have the best falafel ($4.50) outside of Israel, and I’ve tried a lot! My wife’s favorite is Haifa’s salad ($4.95), named after one of the owners. Our kids love the meat, spinach, or cheese pies ($2.50 a piece). This is truly one of the great cheap eats in St. Louis!

Asian Cuisine

Thai Country Café:

There are at least a couple of Thai restaurants in The Loop just north of Skinker. Any of these are good, but Thai Country Café has the reputation for being the best bet for good cheap eats; nothing on menu is over $7.00. Their authentic cuisine will take you to Southeast Asia, even if the wagon wheel leaves you a little confused!

There are so many more places in The Loop that deserve mention, but I can’t write about them all! One Saturday afternoon first take a summer vacation to The Loop. Park your car, walk around, and find a restaurant that will take you someplace new. For more information on these or other restaurants go to: http://www.ucityloop.com/ and explore new cuisine options.

(This article orignially appeared in the July, 2005, ATT)