Dave's Cheap Eats

Dave Is Still Writing But. . . .

David Smith — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 12:40:43 +0000

I haven’t been frequenting many good cheap eats lately so you won’t see many new posts.

I’m going to leave this site up and will still update it as I find out about changes in the restaurants.

If you want to see what I am writing about, check out David Smith Travels.

Did I Just Say Beverly Hills?

David Smith — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 22:14:25 +0000

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

Tasty Streets!

David Smith — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 16:41:59 +0000

Ok, just so you know I’m still thinking about cheap eats, here is a link to an article I found about some great cheap eats streets in the US. There’s even one in my new town of Nashville!

http://www.goodmagazine.com/section/Features/americas_tastiest_streets

Where is Dave?

David Smith — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 16:40:08 +0000

Ok, why haven’t I posted lately?

3 big reasons:

Lack of Time: I’m a full time pastor, Dad, Husband, homeowner, and soccer coach. Needless to say, that doesn’t leave me much free time!
Lack of finding good cheap eats: I live in the burbs now. It’s the land of chains and second class class cheap food.
Lack of Traveling: I’m working full time now which means I don’t get 2 weeks off every 10 weeks and a summer off. I do have a restaurant in Nashville and Asheville to write about and a trip planned to California in June so there is some hope!

In the meantime, enjoy restaurants from the past!

And the weekly winners are. . .

David Smith — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 04:14:52 +0000

This week there were two search terms that you used to find Dave’s Cheap Eats far and away more than any other. But before we get to that, here is a sampling of some of the odder search terms that lead folks to Dave’s Cheap Eats:

“Who is adriana’s date on the hills?”

“Playground size wooden trains in NC”

“How to eat high class” (there is something seriously wrong with the search algorithim that brought up Dave’s Cheap Eats!)

And my personal favorite. . . . (no, I am not making this up) . . . .

“Stingy Little Dork”

Now, on to the two big search terms:

“New York City Cheap Eats” slipped to number two this week. Do you know why? Because all the stage hands are back at work now so they don’t need cheap eats anymore!

And our top search term? Shooting up from #3 last week, is “Parkers Barbeque.” Here’s to pulled pork and hush puppies!

Delicious D.C. Cheap Eats

David Smith — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 20:49:11 +0000

Every so often I stumble across a local guy who has a passion for food, and then tells you how much it costs. I was blessed with that experience when I stumbled across WhereInDC, who has a passion for great restaurants in our nation’s capital. WhereInDC also categorizes entries with a dollar sign so you know who light your wallet will be after dinner! Click here to find great one $ sign restaurnats in metro DC.

What are you looking for?

David Smith — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 17:12:14 +0000

This is a new weekly (maybe) post where I highlight what you’ve been searching for, based on the top searches and page hits, over the last week. Enjoy!

SEARCH ENGINE TERMS

The top search engine terms referring you here this last week was New York City Cheap Eats. Hmm, I wonder if it was all those striking stage hands trying to figure out where they could afford to eat. Good news for them, they probably found lots of good cheap eats on the site. Even better, they’re back at work now!

TOP POSTS

The battle for the top post this last week was close: only one vote seperated 1st from 2nd and 2nd from 3rd. Because they were all so popular, I’ll highlight each.

1st, the 3rd most popular: The Wilson, NC, barbecue institution: Parker’s BBQ. Mmm, I can hear the pigs squealing from here!

2nd most popular: Hodak’s, the popular local watering hole St. Louis home of cheap fried chicken and jack salmon.

And finally, the MOST POPULARpost on Daves Cheap Eats this week: St. Louis Battle-Pizza: Thin Crust vs. Deep Dish, the epic battle between the two best pizzas. Man, I miss St. Louis pizza!

Happy Cheap Eating!

Stingy Sacramento Sushi

David Smith — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 16:31:37 +0000

Found a post today about great cheap sushi in Sacramento on Eatin’ Sushi in Sacramento’s blog. Apparently this blogger has dreams of highlighting the best cheap sushi in Sacramento, but after four months he only has one review. But one is better than nothing! Check it out here.

Ok, so “stingy” probably has a bad connotation but I love the consonation of the “S”‘s.

Que Delicioso! – Review of Chavella’s « Brooklyn Skeptic

David Smith — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 02:33:35 +0000

I found this review of a Chavella’s, a great cheap spot in Brooklyn, on a fellow WordPresser’s site. Looks muy delicioso!

Que Delicioso! – Review of Chavella’s « Brooklyn Skeptic

Chattanooga Cheap Eats, Part 2

David Smith — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 22:14:06 +0000

Day 2 in Chattanooga found us at Rock City. Yes, we “saw Rock City.” No, we didn’t see all seven states. We did however see lots of gnomes. If anyone from Amazing Race frequents this blog here is a challenge idea for you: send the teams to Rock Cityand have them find a Travelocity gnome hidden amongst all the other gnomes. Then, you could have them drive to Nashville and I could be the guy standing by Phil that says, “Welcome to Nashville!” But I digress. . . .
After making our way through all the tunnels, caves and “Fat Man” passes, we had worked up an appetite so we decided to try for Bea’s again. With directions, but no map, in hand we left Lookout Mountain for the valley below.
Bea’s is in an area that has seen better days and that means that not all the street signs are still standing, like the one for Dodds Ave at Rossville Blvd. But after some circles, we did finally find Bea’s and it looked like it had seen better days, too. But it is famous for its lazy Susan dining so we ventured inside. When we went through the doors, it was like taking a time machine back to the 60’s with wood paneling and vinyl chairs. But there was a certain kitschyness to it all so we decided to try out lazy Susan dining.
What, you don’t know what lazy Susan dining is? Well, neither did I. They way it works is they sit you down at a round table that seats about 8 and in the middle is a big lazy Susan. (If you don’t remember what a lazy Susan is, it’s that circle on a spinner so you don’t have to ask to pass the food, you just spin it to what you want.) On that lazy Susan they put fried chicken, potatoes, corn bread, biscuits, green beans, pulled pork BBQ, masked potatoes, banana pudding, and cobbler. How much? $6! A little more if you want a drink. Pluses: it’s an all you can eat buffet that you don’t have to get out of your seat for. When you run out, the server will bring you more. (This is the epitome of laziness!) Minuses: The only way to stop eating is to find the one food you don’t like and spin the lazy Susan so that food is in front of you. But for $6 for an all you can eat buffet? I say spin the lazy Susan and give me another helping of mashed potatoes! Bea’s Restaurant. 4500 Dodds Ave., Chattanooga, TN, 37407. 423-867-3618