Top Ten Cheap Eats
(Kenneth K. Lam/Sun Photographer)
Cheap eats is a difficult category because there are so many good ethnic restaurants to choose from. Not to mention places that are Top Ten lists in themselves like burger joints. (Too bad crab houses are no longer cheap eats.)
I have to give a shout out here to Karen Nitkin, who writes the Dining for Under $25 column in LIVE. I needed her help because cheap eats isn't my specialty unless I'm spending my own money.
Consider the list below a starting point. Comments? Complaints? Suggestions? Later today I'll post something about other cheap-eats lists I came across when I was hunting around. ...
* Best cheap-eats place to impress a date or your in-laws with your worldliness: The Helmand, the Afghan restaurant in Mount Vernon.
* Most beautiful as well as good cheap food when you're not in a hurry: Eclectic Café and Creperie (723 S. Broadway) in Fells Point. Try the shrimp teriyaki crepe to see that crepes don't have to be French.
* Best vegetarian for small change: One World Café in Homewood. The fried zucchini cake gives a crab cake a run for its money. Sort of.
* Best new cafe food with style: Smedly's in Fells Point, with homemade soups, quiche and gourmet desserts.
* Best classy cheap-eats Asian: Shin Chon Garden (8801 Baltimore National Pike) in Ellicott City. Try the Korean barbecue cooked at the table.
*Best place to get gourmet thin-crust pizza: Iggies in Mount Vernon. (Pictured above.)
*Best pizzeria where gourmet isn't in the equation: Joe Squared on North Avenue.
* Best reason to think outside the burger box when you want inexpensive fare: Dukem, the Ethiopian restaurant on Maryland Avenue.
* Best cheap-eats example that not all Mexican is Tex-Mexican: Mari Luna Mexican Grill in Pikesville. Thanks to Dining Dish for suggesting this one.
*Top cheap Greek: Samos in Greektown. BYOB and your wallet (cash only).
And finally, a bonus selection:
* Best place still nominated in spite of its entree creep upwards: SoBo Cafe (6 E. Cross St.) in Federal Hill. Contemporary American comfort food. Its prices have put it just out of the cheap-eats range.
Comments
My favorite cheap eat was a hole-in-the-wall Chinese restaurant in Hamden called Pinebrook. We used to refer to it simply as "the cheap Chinese restaurant." The food was great, and it was so inexpensive that you almost wished they would take more money for such a good meal. I think it closed when the husband (and chef) no longer had it in him to wake up before dawn to make the day's dumplings.
Posted by: Kate | June 26, 2007 2:16 PM
Despite also noticing the creep up in prices at Sobo Cafe', it's still an incredible deal for incredible food.
Posted by: Jill | July 3, 2007 4:19 PM
Mari Luna is great for authentic Mexican food- and best of all it's BYOB!
Posted by: Kiki | September 29, 2007 5:04 PM
I got my first chance to try Joe Squared pizza.
I was volunteering at WYPR and Joe's pizzas were delivered for lunch.
I had a thin (very thin) crust with pesto and fell in love.
We'll be going there soon to try more of their menu.
Posted by: Janet | October 21, 2007 2:13 PM
I recently ate at Sobo Cafe with a friend and it was absolutely horrible. We ate lunch there on a Sunday at abour 12:30. We walked in and weren't greeted for 5 minutes even though we were the only patrons. We ordered the macaroni and cheese which was not bad for the first few bites until I got the the ice cold center. I then ordered the pork sandwich which was also cold. The butter and parmesan cheese were not melted at all. It just didn't taste good at all. My friend ordered the chicken pot pie which contained still frozen vegetables in it. All of the food was bland. I wanted to wash down the below par taste of the food down with my coke but there was some sort of bug swimming in my soda. We got our check and left. A few hours laters, my body rejected the meal. I called my friend and the same thing happened to her. I will never go there again and I strongly encourage people to eat at one of the many excellent restaraunts in Federal Hill.
Posted by: Clark | January 20, 2008 4:07 PM
I've eaten multiple times at Sobo Cafe, always thought the food was excellent and never had a complaint about the service.
Posted by: Jeremy | January 21, 2008 9:48 AM
I love Fiesta Mexicana on Rt. 7 Old Philadelphia Road in Rosedale. My favorite - sopes - so inexpensive you can afford to bring the whole family for real Mexican fare. Such nice people - friendly and accomodating.
Posted by: Karen Ruberry | April 22, 2008 7:23 PM