21274 Mon Sep 09 17:09:53 -0700 2002 17 1 San Francisco Bay Area 0 75985 i'm tired of visiting the same stompng grounds so i seek the tastiest meals for the smallest amounts of dollars in any neighborhood in SF. i'm open to noodle bars, burrito places, sandwiches and soups- casual is fine. i also seek sit down restaurants less than $15.00 per person for those evening where i feel like going on date but not breaking the bank. if there is actual nice ambiance all the better! thanks Mon Sep 09 17:09:53 -0700 2002 0 canela 1 75987 Here are a few of my current favorites for dirt cheap pigging out (several of the following deliver such quantities of food that I have to declare defeat before the finish). Most of these tips were gleaned from chowhound. Filippino breakfast at Ling Nam in Daly City: two scoops of garlic-fried rice, two fried eggs, a pice of fried chicken and several longanisa sausages (sooo sweet and succulent) for about $7. Vietnamese 7 courses of beef. For $13.95 at Anh Hong on Geary & Hyde, you get beef salad, vinegar beef fondue, grilled beef with lemongrass, grilled sausage, grilled beef in lot leaf, steamed beef pate, and beef "broken rice". At New Pagolac in Oakland on International Ave, it's only $12.99, and the grilled beef and fondue are even better. Tortas: I have yet to try to fabled beast from Tortas Boos Vani, but one of my favorites is from a grocery/deli "Tortas el primo" on Folsom and 21st-ish. I don't know if that's the name of the place, or if they are (deservedly) speaking of their tortas. At $4.50 the milanesa de pollo consists of a thick, tender breaded chicken cutlet, a slab of queso fresco, plus all the usual torta trimmings inside a choice of a giant soft roll or a giant crunchy roll. The huevos con chorizo contains two eggs scrambled into a flat omelette with about half a pound of chorizo. Somehow these tortas manage to hold their shape and the bread stays unsoggy even after being wrapped up and transported halfway across the city. Duck noodles at June June Deli. Melanie first alerted us to this place, and the bun bo hue is indeed delicious (and cheap and large). But I like the vermicelli in light broth with dried bamboo shoots even better, served with a generous helping of poached duck and lots of fresh herbs on the side. About $6. Jjampong and dumplings at Zazang noodle house (branch on Geary near Kaiser Permanente). The fried dumplings have thin skins and are deep-fried, so they get crunchy all over, but stay juicy and soft inside. I keep going back again and again for the springy, smooth Jjampong noodles in spicy seafood broth. Ordering both will set you back about $10 if I remember correctly. I'm getting too hungry to write about any more food. Happy hunting. Mon Sep 09 19:11:47 -0700 2002 75985 0 chibi 2 75993 Have you been holding out on us, or did I miss it: I've been hoping someone would try the 7 courses of beef at New Pagolac, but I don't remember seeing a report. Have you been a bad chibi? Mon Sep 09 20:29:12 -0700 2002 75987 0 Ruth Lafler 3 76039 No, I didn't report on it. Actually, we did a head-to-head, eating at Anh Hong one night and New Pagolac the next. We were going to try to make it to San Jose to make it 21 courses of beef, but got too busy. And too full of beef to to write about it... I'll try to get round to it, I promise... Tue Sep 10 16:39:55 -0700 2002 75993 0 chibi 1 75990 For a nice date without breaking the bank, i would recommend The Metro at Divisadero and Page. if you go before 6 30 the prix fixe is only 12.50. if you go after it is 15 dollars. it is tasty and the atmosphere is nice. for cheap digs: Good luck dim sum is tasty and filling (clement and 8th) La Taqueria (25th and Mission) has great super beef tacos, and although i think 5 dollars is crazy expensive for a taco, it is one of the best tacos you will ever have and one of them should fill you up right. Arguello market (at Arguello and Balboa? Cabrillo?) has one of the best turkey sandwiches in the city. it is a rotisserie turkey that they cut fresh for you and will make it with whatever toppings you choose for under 5 dollars. it is a great sandwich! They'll make it a box lunch for 6.50 with a salad, soda and cookie... and now i am hungry as well, so i am going to go eat my arm and if i think of anything else i will get back to you. Mon Sep 09 19:45:41 -0700 2002 75985 0 Jupiter 1 76002 try this thread, although there's not a lot of ambiance. My favorite dive of the moment is the Vietnamese food at Sugar Bowl on Mission St. in Daly City. The pork banh mi and the goi cuon (rice paper rolls with shrimp and pork) are delish. I'll also throw in another plug for Arinell Pizza on Valencia & 16th. Best $2 you can spend that I know of. Link: http://www.chowhound.com/topics/show/20992#74221 Tue Sep 10 03:13:13 -0700 2002 75985 0 Windy 1 76003 wow, cheap food in SF is so easy to do its mind boggling. Do you care what neighborhood or type? Try getting a Bay Guardian and looking in the food section - not the feature of the week but the list of about 100 restraunts. A few personal reccomendations for great, really great food under 15$ - - Golden Deer over on Clement - a lot of the restaurants on 16th and Guerrero, take your pick, there is a little Americana style place Im blanking on, Briarwood or something, a medetarrarianen (spelling) place next to the movie theater, any of the burrito places but single out the one that says "Salvadoran" food on the sign - Noodle place in Japan Town center acroos from Beni Hana, man my mind is failing me, Mifune, I believe it is called like 7$ for AMAZING noodles in broth with tempura (or endless variations thereof) - Ricks on Taraval (American 'comfort food') - Cafe Riggio on Geary (italian, I heard they changed chefs but this has long been a fav. I need to check out new chef) - Across from the Warfiled on Market street, this totally nasty looking Chinese place, great food. - Spend the 15$ and try Cafe Maccaroni (maybe 20$ with tip and a glass of wine, get the squid ink pasta) - Arts Cafe on Irving - Gordo Buttito on 9th - the taco truck on 16th past mission, parked on a little alley - its like the only 1 down there, 2 blocks past Mission I think - Brothers (Korean barbque) on Geary this list could go on literally forever. Avoid wraps they are simply a bad idea gone terribly, terribly wrong. -ALL of the above places should be able to provide more than satisfactory portions with a bill around 10$ including tip, some as low as 5$, except Cafe Maccaroni. Oh, and weep for the loss of a place called the US Restaurant, it was a classic in North Beach there, you could get lunch with soup for like $6, all gone, last time I was there the family had sold it - WARNING if its still there with same name its not the same some corporation bought it, quintupled the price and cut the food quality by a thousand-fold last time I was there, Im hoping they went belly-up and are now a newspaper stand or something. What a terrible, terrible loss. Tue Sep 10 07:18:49 -0700 2002 75985 0 Gileas 2 76038 That "americana" place on 16th between Guerrero and Valencia is Bitterroot, and the place across the street is Truly Mediterranean. I'm guessing that your Salvadorean place would be Panchitas #1, on 16th between Valencia and Mission. There are two noodle places in Japantown opposite Benihana - Mifune and Kushi Tsuru. Personally, I'm not so crazy about either of them, but then again, I haven't found too much to get excited about in SF Japantown overall. But I agree with you 100% on Art's cafe. I adore their omelettes and hashbrowns and the owners are absolutely sweet people. They wouldn't let me pay for my breakfast every time Korea won a big match during World Cup. Tue Sep 10 16:33:39 -0700 2002 76003 0 chibi 1 76015 The Cinderella Bakery on Balboa at 5th makes and sells piroshkis for cheap. Get them at the bakery takeout counter, or go into the lunchroom and order a bowl of soup to go with it. Tue Sep 10 11:27:32 -0700 2002 75985 0 Sharuf 2 76041 Oh, mourn the fall of house of Piroshki on 9th and Lincoln... I had forgot that this little slice of Russian heavan was gone until this post :( Tue Sep 10 17:33:22 -0700 2002 76015 0 Gileas 1 76028 For street food, I just discovered the Mexican food on 21st street. Someone else mentioned the torta place on 21st and Folsom, but walk a few blocks up away from Mission and toward SF General. DONA TERE (corner of 21st and Alabama) Really nice chicken and pork tamales for $1.25. Very moist. Tostada's for $1.25, but the stewed meat gets them a little soggy, but covered nicely with shredded cabbage and Mexican cheese. Other items for $1. Saw they had pozole for $5, but I didn't try it yet. This is a little cart on the corner. The red sauce is really hot. Be warned. This is probably related to Dona Tere market a block up. EL Cachanilla (2948 21st St) Really need to speak Spanish as the menu is in Spanish and they even tell you the cost of your purchase en Espanol. If you don't speak Spanish, just had them a $5 bill and wait for change. Lot's of day laborers queue up here for the inexpensive and delicious eats. WONDERFUL selection of salsa's and condiments and some of the best beans I've had in a long time. Got this from a recommendation in 7x7 magazine. A real find. Mom and pop place where according to the article, mom does all the cooking. There's a restuarant attached, but I didn't have time and I was illegially parked. I had the al pastor (BBQ'd pork) but the article recommends the lengua (tounge). Didn't like the horchata though. Too ricey tasting. Almost musty. School bus stop across the street, so there's easy, if illegal, temporary parking to grab your taco. I'm really taken with 21st street where the pace is slower and more relaxed than the better known streets for eats in the Mission. Date place - Gira Polli in North Beach. The roasted chicken dinner is the only entree to order. Full dinner with 1/2 chicken, rolls, salad, potatoes and vegetables for $12. 1/4 chicken without salad for less. Good biscotti ($4 for about 8) or wonderful filled to order cannoli for a splurge. This tiny restaurant looks out on Washington Square and on a cold foggy night it can be quite cozy and romantic with the fire glowing under the roasting chickens. Tue Sep 10 14:29:40 -0700 2002 75985 0 Stanley Stephan 2 76184 Many thanks Stanley for the recs! I was in the neighborhood last night, intending to get a torta but ended up wandering two blocks as you suggested. First, a stop at La Cachanilla for tacos (the restaurant is closed "martes" and "miercoles", which I deduce to mean Tuesday and some other day - brilliant aren't I?) The al pastor had a rich, smokey flavor with lots of oregano - delicious but a bit soupy, causing me to spill quite a bit of sauce all over myself and the sidewalk. The tripitas were nice and crunchy but still chewy. I too was impressed by the array of salsas and condiments laid out in front and might have overdone it a bit. Then at Dona Tere's cart I definitely put too much of that red sauce on my tamale, despite your warning. I was almost wheezing, I think somewhat to the amusement of the cool kids hanging out on the sidewalk. To cool off, I got an elote, which turned out to be the sweetest corn I've had all year - huge, explodingly juicy kernels. Deciding that I had entertained the kids enough, I went down the street and ate it in front of the fancy condo complex so that I could drop cream, cheese and bits of corn all over their sidewalk. If anyone who lives in that complex happens to be reading this... sorry about the mess. To finish, I walked back to the torta place and tried a tostada de cueritos for the first time. I didn't know what to expect, but I was a bit startled when a giant mound of vegetables appeared. Under the heap of lettuce, tomato slices, onion and jalapeno was a big handful of pickled pork rind strips on top of a crunchy corn tortilla slathered with sweet cream. Needless to say, I made another mess before retreating home to do the laundry. Wed Sep 11 17:28:41 -0700 2002 76028 0 chibi 1 76055 Ok, this is one I really like but forgot about. You have to be able to stomach the reality of certain types of Chinese cooking - the not so pretty elements that result in... food, sooooo good. I call it "The Hanging Pig" but have no idea of its name. It is in the avenues, around 25th and Noriega. Exactly there, I think. There is a Safeway. Across the street from it, near the Bank of America versateller, is a big glass front with (inevitably) a hanging pig (cooked) on a meathook. Some greasy ducks, which have been fried (I dont like the duck there, but I dont like duck anywhere, really). A line of people going out the door. They have great food. Dont let the tree-stump they use for a cutting board, the guy smoking a cigarette standing over the Wok, or the rest of the ambiance intimidate you. This is a particular type of Chinese take-out (I never eat it there, I like to take it to the Irish bar on the corner, West of the Hanging Pig on Noriega and get a beer with it, the bar, by the way, sells imported candy bars from Europe, you have to ask though, they arent on the counter or anything. Get a Cadburry Flake if you like chocolate, it is a treat, and as long as Im on the topic, the bar serves pretty good food too, the price is very reasonable, the portions large and the quality very acceptable. I wouldnt drive to the bar just for the food, but if you are in the neighborhood and dont feel like Hanging Pig, its got a nice setup - ignore the smokers, people smoke it there and if you ask them to stop you will be asked to leave). I dont know what the story is behind this kind of Chinese place, or what region it servers, or if its a sin to order the spicy beef with noodles in a place that is supposed to be enjoyed for its crispy duck and hanging pork, I go there for the food I like, and I like it a lot. I hope it is still there, I havent been in a while. But it was there for a long time and showed no inclination of going out of business. If anyone knows what this style of Chinese food is called, or has any reccomendations for hanging-pig style chow in the East Bay, pls dont be shy. I'd like to know where to go. Enjoy. Tue Sep 10 19:15:08 -0700 2002 75985 0 Gileas 2 76058 There are several cheap Chinese dives in Oakland Chinatown, but the only hanging pig-type place I can personally vouch for is Hong Kong on International (aka East 14th St.) at 9th Ave (across the minimall lot from New Pagolac Vietnamese, which serves decent pho and seven courses of beef). Good, cheap food, huge portions. Also serves decent cheap dim sum. Since this is primarily a Vietnamese district (known alternatively as Eastlake or New Saigon), menu is in Chinese, Vietnamese and English. Restaurant is large and pleasant enough to sit down in(although you could probably take your food to one of the smoky Vietnamese "cafes" (i.e., gambling parlors) on East 12th btween 7th and 8th if that's the atmosphere you crave [vbg]). Tue Sep 10 19:32:25 -0700 2002 76055 0 Ruth Lafler 3 76100 Here's Jennifer Fong Wilson's rec for Yet Sun in Oakland Chinatown. Further up the thread is some advice for selecting a hanging duck. Link: http://www.chowhound.com/topics/show/16198#44800 Wed Sep 11 03:02:53 -0700 2002 76058 0 Melanie Wong 2 76092 The place of which you speak is Cheung Hing at 2339 Noriega Street. Their BBQ pork is good as well. And as one of those who like duck I can assure you that both types they have are quite good. The line looks long, but it moves fast. It certainly is fun to watch both guys go full steam with their cleavers. Noriega west of 19th Avenue is really a neat little street with a lot of lesser known finds. As you itimate, the avenues are a great place to find Irish fare. Shanahans Grocery at 9th and Kirkham sells Flake Bars and all sorts of chocolate bars from the UK and Ireland. They also get very good fresh soda bread and scones. In their meat section they have a selection of Irish sausages, Irish bacon (back bacon) and although not as often in recent times both black and white pudding. For an inexpensive Irish breakfast, try one of the local mom and pop places around 9th and Irving. We like Ms Cafe on 9th between Irving and Judah--their regular breakfast special is pretty good as well. Wed Sep 11 02:07:52 -0700 2002 76055 0 mikeb 3 76099 Here's a link to Yimster's rec for Cheung Hing. I also liked the french cruller from the donut shop on the corner. Link: http://www.chowhound.com/topics/show/19540#65482 Wed Sep 11 02:59:07 -0700 2002 76092 0 Melanie Wong 1 76085 For odd sandwiches, like Basturma and Kasseri, for no much dough, try Haig's on Clement (@ 18th or so?). Wed Sep 11 00:26:17 -0700 2002 75985 0 Zach Georgopoulos