Dallas under $5

[vktp]

I saw this thread under a couple other regional boards and realized I don't have many good ideas. A lower-end hot dog at Big D's runs $3.50. Tin Star's cheeseburger tacos might qualify (can't remember how much they are). This probably explains my monthly credit card balance.

Anyone have any good suggestions?

[philsgr8]

McCormick and Schmidt's has an awesome happy hour and reverse happy hour food menu in the bar. For $2 you can get a giant burger and fries or for $4 get fish tacos and beans. All of the food is under $4 and they offer calamari, fried pickles, pizza, quesdillas, sweet potato fries and gumbo. You can have a mini feast. The catch is you just have to buy a drink whether it's a coke, lone star or a martini.

[DiRotiman]

A lot of Indian Grocers have a chaat counter. Very filling, very well spiced non-meat stuff. Really outstanding for those with a palate for outside the hum-drum. Taj Mahal Imports in Richardson is a great example of what I'm suggesting. It'll cost about $4 and you can sip on a cold coconut water or mango juice included.

[philsgr8]

Not exactly $5 bucks but, $5.50 for the Deperado Taco plate on Thursdays at Desperado's on Greenville south of Lover's. Get the beef, the chicken wasn't so good.

[jesharris]

Cuquita's, on Henderson, has a gordita plate that's a great deal. I get one shredded-chicken gordita that comes with rice and beans and some salad, plus they'll bring tortillas/butter and chips/salsa beforehand. It is $2.95!

[yumyum palace]

Tios Tortas. $3.99 for a nice torta. Ya can't beat it w/ a stick!

[planojim]

most bbq places will serve a chopped beef sandwich for less than $5. Of course, finding a decent bbq place is somewhat difficult. my current fave is C&B BBQ in Allen. $3.99 for a chopped beef sandwich.
http://candbbarbque.com/dine/
La Paloma has good tacos in downtown Plano for $1.25/taco. I prefer one on the corner of 14th and Jupiter in the carniceria. You get more meat, and they're only $1/taco.

[air]

What are the hours that La Paloma is open?

[Thefoodczar]

Guys, speaking of Mexican, don't forget Planet Burrito! They offer a very good one-pound burrito starting at $4.99, and you can get 'em to make it like you want it.

[kindofabigdeal]

Thought of another one, but I'm conflicted about sharing it. The Empire Baking Company at Inwood and Lovers makes very good sandwiches that normally run about 7-8 dollars. They close at 6:00 and if you go in right before close they will make you a deal. I got two day old caprese style sandwiches (with a good amount of fresh mozz) for $5. $8 is a fair price, but this is just outstanding. They'll also make a deal on a sandwich/salad combo.

[soulslinger]

Kindofabigdeal,

Sneaky tip there...kinda like getting day old cookies at Breadwinners for $0.80 warming them up in the microwave and making them great again. I will have to run by there one night when I work late since it is close to the office and snag a sandwich!

[kindofabigdeal]

or how about going into breadwinners for breakfast, taking a long time to order then pocketing the free bread samples and running out the door. Leave 50 cents for the waitstaff's trouble at least.

of course, I'm kidding.

[kindofabigdeal]

I'm adding the El Rancho Supermercado @ Coit and Belt Line to the list. So far I've been very pleased with everything I've had there (except the carnitas, quite dry). Tacos are .99. Full chicken with torillas and beans is $8.90. Tortas, full plates and stews are all under $5.

A must try is their buche. This was a new thing to me, and I can't get definite information on whether it's skin or something like tripe, but I believe it's skin from a specific area, neck maybe. It's gelatinous in a good way with a rich porky flavor, but it doesn't taste dirty like some more primal pieces of pork can.

[yumyum palace]

Tacos Y mas

[soulslinger]

Vktp,

My former boss has been a veteran on this subject. He knew exactly how much it would cost w/ beverage included. As for my favorites under $5 (in Dallas proper)are the following:

Bahn Mi with Grilled Pork (I am not Vietnamese or I would give the exact name) - Vietnam Restaurant (Bryan @ Peak) $2.50/sandwich
Pho Tai - Vietnam $4.25/small bowl
Pork or Chicken Tamales - La Popular Tamale House - (Munger @ Columbia) $8.75/dozen (I can eat quite a few 6 is pushing it so bring a friend!)
Italian Stallion Sandwich - Jimmy's Food Market (Bryan @ Fitzhugh) $4.95/sandwich
Lunch Special - Tipicos (NW Hwy @ Webb Chapel Ext (Directly in the flight path for Love Field) $4.95 drink included
Lengua Huarache - El Rincon De Villa (Greenville @ Lovers) $3.25/huarache
Burger House burger - Burger House (Mockingbird btwn Skillman & Abrams) or (Hillcrest btwn Rankin & Westminster) http://www.burgerhouse.com/mockingbir...
I am sure there are others but I wanted to give you some places that I have tried and tested.

[soulslinger]

Bahn Mi Thit Nuong - Grilled pork Bahn Mi^^^

[J.R.]

Here is a new/old deal. Chemeli. They have a Chicken Boti Roll (not on the menu) which is a big Naan rolled around spicy Boti Chicken with cucumbers, red onions, tomatoes and lettuce and Ranch. I have them hold the ranch and use the Mint/Cumin Chutney for a sauce. It's $3.48 including tax and it's huge. Can't get better for the money.

[pepper131]

Since I'm kind of new, I haven't seen this.

My fave under 5 bucks:
Chameli's on Polk at Greenville
The Bahn Xeo at Vietnam
Veggie burger at Goldrush
Mexican breakfast at All Good

[J.R.]

Pepper,

I agree with Chameli's. $5 for a huge plate of Biriyani is a deal.

[J.R.]

Richardson - Pho Bac which is on the NWcorner of Belt line and Plano Rd. Small bowls of Pho are $5 and it's plenty. Also their Vietnamese sandwiches are $3.50 which contain your choice of grilled chicken or pork, lettuce,carrot, cucumber, cilantro, jaleneno with mayo on French Bread.

Afrah (i think) on Beltline, just east of Greenville. #6 on the lunch menu which consists of a large bowl of fattoush salad, a bowl of lentil soup, and a swarma sanwich with pickles and fries on it. Heck then, the give you a small piece of very rich Baklava for desert. $5.50. Could be the best deal in town.

[TexasToast]

Fuzzy's Tacos Shop but it's in Fort Worth and I don't know what you can get for less than $5.

TT

[luniz]

China Sun is a little over $5 but it's real close. Usually a good meal especially for lunch.

[billjriv]

Any truck stop buffet will satisfy if they still do buffets might be a bit more than 5 texas truck stops have the best food for the money

[captainshen]

I can't believe this forum-- I can't believe I havent found you guys yet!

It's hard not to recommend more tacos for this.
Anyway, don't forget about the vietnamese huge sandwiches that you can get freshly made in some asian markets. I'm not sure what they're called (the clerk and I do a lot of pointing and smiling), but they're bloody AMAZING! They have a few different kinds of sliced meat, thinly sliced cucumbers, carrots, and something else... cilantro... and the bread. the bread definately makes the sandwich-- it's a crusty french bread (or Banh Mi).

these usually cost between 1 and 2 dollars, though (being from arlington) the place that I frequent on Collins St. is maybe 2.25. My friend and I split the sandwich, grab a bag of Calbee brand chips, and each get a soda.

Cheap and Great!

[Epicurious Esquire]

They're called banh mi thit or some such. Yum.

I also think you can get small bowls of Pho for around $5. I go to Vietnam regularly and while it's not the best Pho I've ever had, it's good enough. Ate it today, as a matter of fact.

[jaime24g]

Captainshen, if you are in Arlington try Ba Le. Its on Browning and Pioneer across from a pizza place. Very good banh mi thit nuong. Their fresh bread is awesome too.

[captainshen]

Ok! Thank you! i just re-found this post :)

[Epicurious Esquire]

Try the tacos at Taqueria Lupita on the south side of Henderson about 2/3 mile east of Vickery Park/Fireside. The lengua and barbacoa are especially good.

[irodguy]

Yep that's tru8e the Ko Mart little mini restaurant is not bad and a great value.

[Vic Cheong]

Try Korean for $5 Ko-Mart(35 & Royal; West of 35). It is a supermarket with a food court in it. Everything from SoonDoBu, Galbi and BiBimBap for just $5 per dish. Best deal if you dig Korean dishes. Good luck trying.

[Mike C. Miller]

There is a very good hot dog place in uptown/Knox Park area -- Wild About Harry's. Has hot dogs and custard. Very good.

Also agree on taquerias. My favorite -- name unknown -- is at Harry Hines and Lombary -- on the northeast corner. Pretty good food and relatively friendly service once they figure out that even though you're a gingo that you mean them no harm.

[adkim]

mike, that taqueria place is good, but if you travel east on lombardy for a half mile there is a better taqueria place called paisano's. it's located on the north side of the street before you hit webbs chapel. it's across the street from a sonic and a car wash. there is a dining room, but you don't want to go in...instead look for the taco stand that is connected to the building w/ a wooden patio. you will see the line. the best tacos in dfw...hands down.

for east dallas try the gas station taqueria at skillman and abrams. i beleive it's in a exxon/mobil and there is a churchs chicken also connected to the gas station. the tacos are good and the gordiatas are great. they also have different tamals as well.

[adkim]

i take back my east dallas recommendation. i believe the place changed ownership and the quality has suffered immensely. words cannot describe the horror that is taking place in that kitchen.

[nitlsu]

Absolutely on the money!!!! That place rocks!

[irodguy]

Oops forgot one more suggestion if you want variety Buffalo Wild Wings has boneless wing Thurday .50 per wing min 5 wings. We do lunch there on a regular basis and have 5 wings and a side salad with water, or a soft drink (they almost always forget to charge us for the drinks) all for $4.23 + tip.

[air]

I can't believe I didn't even think to mention BW3 considering I go practically every weds night for 50 cent legs :) I like that deal much more than their .35 wings or the boneless thursday deal.

There's also Popeye's tuesday special, where you get a leg and a thigh for .89.

[air]

Update:
BW3 no longer has the 50 cent leg special on wednesday. Tuesday's wing special price has gone up to 50 cents per leg.

This would also be for the Plano location, anyone know about the Addison one?

[air]

It's so hard to find anything around DFW under $5 that is good. I hope that there's something good around Plano or Richardson!

[irodguy]

What part of town?

My personal current favorite is on 15th just East of 75 in Plano on the South side of the street. I belive it's called EL Pedrio or something similiar.

There is of course also the "mini chain" La Palamo that has several locations both up north and in Dallas.

There are all kinds of places around Josey and Valley View Lane ranging from the basic taqueria to places that you can have a couple of tacos and some chips for less than $5.

I personally think the best taqueria within running distance of DFW is in Terrell a place call Dos Aces near old downtown, I believe they also have a place in either Grand Prarie or Arlington.

You can find many of the same kind of places near downtown on Ross, or around Maple and Wycliff.

[vktp]

I live in Uptown, but regularly run around in East Dallas, Richardson, and Plano.

Anything in the Maple/Ross/Wycliff neighborhood would be great.

[jaime24g]

There is a meatmarket on the corner of Maple and Lucas. There is taqueria inside. They have the best tacos Al Pastor; their beef fajita tacos are ok. I think they are $1.25 each. You get the grilled onions and jalapeno on the side. Make sure you ask for the green and red sauce to put on your tacos. Their orchata (sweet rice drink) is also one of the best I've tasted.

[irodguy]

Actually almost any taqueria has tacos for $1.25 a piece. Two tacos are lunch.

[vktp]

Any suggestions for a particular taqueria though? I saw the thread about Fuel City. . .

[Maynerd]

Tio's Tortas are $3.99 for the small and it comes with their curly fries.