Best Cheap Eats located Mid-Peninsula

[RenoRed]

Hello fellow chowhounds. We live in RWC and would like to know others opinions on the best cheap eats located in the mid peninsula area. We like all kinds of food...(and as a chowhound, who doesn't?) Would like to know of places from Millbrae to Palo Alto. Thanks, chowhounds!
PS We like "Al's fish and chips in RWC, and "Little Biscuit" in San Mateo

[sgwood415]

Iberia in Menlo Park. It's across the street from the train station, kind of hidden on the quiet (east) side of the tracks. Go to the extremely cozy bar and order tapas over a glass of Temranillo. It's a great place.

[Melanie Wong]

How "cheap" is Iberia?

[rednails]

Here's another rec: I had lunch today at Daphne's Cafe near Whole Foods in San Mateo. Greek food, very, very cheap. It's part of a chain, been open a few months but it was my first time eating there. Order at the counter, but the food is delivered the plates to the table. The manager preset each table w/napkins (paper) but REAL silverware--something I didn't expect. The mgr said they're jammed weekdays during lunch.

Most plates are under $8.00. Definitely going back soon.

[snw]

There are a lot of good suggestions here -- especially Mediterranen Delight in San Carlos.

I would add Naranjos Taqueria in Redwood City, Broadway just off of El Camino, and the Alhana Cafe on 37th in San Mateo close to L'il Biscuit House.

[rednails]

As noted above, downtown San Mateo has lots of options. About 25 places to eat/drink on B Street alone, many more on the cross streets (1st to 4th Aves).

In Burlingame, I like Crepevine (SF Chron Cheap Eats entry on Burlingame Ave) and Steelhead Brewery (on Lorton off Burlingame). CJ's is a great hole-in-the wall sandwich shop on Primrose off Burlingame Ave (next to Aida Opera Candy).

[BBQ Boy]

Cheung Hing has decent roast duck and pork.

[Melanie Wong]

We bought a roast duck from Cheung Hing in Millbrae a couple weeks ago. It was quite good, though I had to skip over a few of the ones first offered to me because of an excess of pin feathers. I think it was $12, and the counterman had no objection to filling an 8 ounce jar with the duck jus for me. He just cautioned that it was very hot and wrapped it in napkin so that I could handle it.

Here's my post on the char siu and roast pork -
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/45635

[yimster]

Need to take a drive down ot Middlefield Road and you will find a so many cheap Mexican taco joints it will take you months ot try them all. I lived RWC fo years and have not tried them all.

[bbulkow]

yimster, any hot tips on those?

I need motivation to kick myself out of my regular lunch rut. It's just too easy to walk over to my local Mi Rancho on Willow and get the Spicy Chicken.

[yimster]

I will drive by our favorites this week and get the names. I fear my shortcoming is not remembering names. I remember smells and the food. .

[P. Punko]

I would also like to get some tips in that area. Have been to a couple places on Middlefield near the Costco in Redwood City- an El Grullense (they don't all seem to be the same) and maybe Estrellitas? They were both OK, I guess, but would love to know more about the rest of that drag. There really are so many places.

[Melanie Wong]

I've only been to one, Gonzalez -
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/21346
plus La Casita Chilanga and Chavez Super on ECR.

[yimster]

You are right not every El Grullense is the same. Same owner but there is no syetem. So the small El Grullense on El Camino has better tacos while the larger El Camino to the south has better plates.

But so many places to go and so little time.

[Melanie Wong]

Someone told me that the various El Grullense have different owners, but are members of the same extended family --- brothers, cousins, uncles.

[P. Punko]

The one down El Camino is patchy, very oily yet flavorful carnitas, and al Pastor all over the place, but it is the one we usually go to. I like the Chile Colorado, but I don't know if it is any "good." This one is Tacos el Grullense "J and G." The one on Middlefield is definitely different (still could be same family)- maybe "E. and E." Here the Tacos are PILED high with meat, and I think the tortillas get griddled a little longer. I don't get to that one much, but it is pretty popular. The one on El Camino in Redwood City, I'm not sure if it is an "E. and E" el Grullense or yet another one.

[Melanie Wong]

I've been spending more time on the mid-Peninsula in recent months, here are the posts:

Jersey Joe's -
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/355976

Shanghai East -
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/341265

China Village -
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/350871

Kabul -
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/347055

Dairy Belle -
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/361085

Old Port Lobster Shack -
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/34360...

[orezscu]

Those all definitely qualify as great local places, but I'd only call a couple of them truly "cheap eats." (I set my mental ceiling for a full stomach at around $5, for this thread) My roll and beer at OPLS was like $25!

[orezscu]

Best cheap eats around RWC/SC are in very unassuming places:

1. Mediterranean Delite (next to UK foods/Baskin Robbins on El Camino). Closed Sun.
2. Rihab's Bakery (Belmont) - awesome middle eastern baked goods at banh mi-level prices. Go soon as they're moving back to Palestine. Closed Mon.
3. Mi Ranchito on Laurel in SC is my favorite taqueria. Great chili verde.
4. China Village http://www.222.to/food/?co_id=37 is on Ralston. I haven't been but it's highly regarded on this board, for dim sum etc.

Personally I'd love to hear if you can get pho or banh mi around here. Sai's doesn't have it and it's the only Vietnamese I've seen. There's a place by Draeger's in San Mateo - anyone?

[chipman]

Are you talking about the asian convenience store on B st. It has a lunch counter and really good Viet food? I think the name is Central Mkt? Really nice people who own it.

[orezscu]

Yeah, that's the one. Past Talbot's toy store heading south. Glad to hear it -- I'll definitely check it out next time we're on a toy run. Thanks.

[mspea]

Saigon City in San Mateo (418 E. 3rd) has delicious pho and bun, good banh mi, and a full menu of Vietnamese dishes.

The new place on Woodside Road (in the same strip mall as the new El Grullense) has OK pho. There's another new pho place on Broadway in Redwood City but haven't tried it yet.

[redwoodshores305]

For good pho at a good price, try Pho Saigon. They have two locations in San Mateo, one is at the Marina Asian Supermarket plaza just east of 101 off the Hillsdale exit. Location is just to the right of the market behind the taqueira. The second location is in downtown San Mateo at 147 East 3rd. The menus are identical but the downtown location has a more elegant interior.

Sai's in San Carlos does have pho though it's nothing like going a pho restaurant.

[eatzalot]

Downtown San Mateo off 3rd, downtown Burlingame off Broadway, downtown Menlo Park near Santa Cruz Ave. and El Camino, downtown Palo Alto in the streets around University (secondary concentration on California Avenue) -- both near El Camino. These are all older, small-town business districts with lots of various restaurants.

You probably already know the Old Port Lobster Shack in Redwood City (851 Veterans Blvd, 650 366 2400), all by itself, with its casual crab or lobster sw's on sourdough rolls, picnic-type tables, beer and soft drinks.

Though outside your precise limits, the largest concentration now, by far, of diverse little restaurants in the region is in downtown Mountain View (Castro st.) with NINETY establishments now within easy walk of each other (it also has a Caltrain stop as do some of these others). Some locals started tracking them with an independent index (below) which showed 72 restaurants, coffee, and tea houses in 2005; now 90 and still growing. It has hit a critical mass and is drawing business. People way up the peninsula, Stanford faculty, etc.go there now by choice because of "so many good cheap places to eat in one place."

MV index by name: http://www.mountainviewca.net/name.html

Bon appétit! -- Eatz

[ML8000]

Downtown San Mateo has bunch of cheap eats and reasonably priced places. I'd go walk around. If you need a start point there's three taquerias w/i 2 blocks of each other - La Cumbre, Pancho Villa and Tres Amigos...all very good but subject to specific tastes.

[bbulkow]

Depends on what you like. Veggies? Fried?

A fav is the carnitas chimichunga at El Grullense? $ per cal is hard to beat.