Cheap eats in Norwood, Mass.

[pomme de terre]

I'm headed up for a business trip and want to avoid the Chili's Industrial Complex. Can anyone recommend some good places in or around Norwood?

I'm from outside New England, so something seafood-y might be nice, but is not a requirement. Nothing that will break the bank -- I have a $50 per diem. I will be eating bland deli trays all day, so something spicy would be appreciated.

The hotel recommended Sky and Bon Caldo, but they sound out of my price range. Finz looks appealing, but I am ridiculously biased against restaurants with overly cute names. Good food trumps bad names, though!

[Biba]

Saab's market on Rte. 1 in Norwood right near Staples has great Shawarma for $5. They have all sorts of very inexpensive Lebanese food.

[keencook1]

Tasso's Euro Cafe at the Norwood Airport has delicious, home made Greek food. No liquor license, no atmosphere, but great, inexpensive food.

[elcaminogirl]

Second Tasso's!

[winedude]

Bon Caldo is very good, one of the best places around. It can be pricey, but many of the entrees are right around $20, and well worth it.

[Elroy0415]

I live in the Norwood area and would suggest you try Conrads Rest on Washington street. Nice sports bar the food is great (but limited) but very inexpensive. I reccomend the Steak Tips which are excellent. The also offer basic Italian food as well as pizza, burgers and Calzones. The Calzones are also great.

If you're looking for take out food, I'd reccommend the Take Out. Small place located on Chapel Street on a mostly residential road. The pizza's are phenominal and the see food (fried clams and scallops) are very tasty.

Hope this helps.

[TomH]

Second the Conrad's steak tips. Good stuff!

[BikeToEat]

I agree with the Finz rec. It's a good seafood place. I was impressed with the selection and the variation in prices. The servings are large and I ended up with a salad and an appetizer for my dinner and had plenty.

I'm also a fan of Byblos and Siam Lotus. Siam Lotus has their soft shell crabs back on the menu.

I'm not a fan of Sky or Golden Abacus. I was disappointed with the quality of the ingredients and execution of the cooking at both of these restaurants.

One Bistro in the 4-Points Sheraton is fairly good and may be in your price range. It's got a menu similar to Sky and is definitely better.

[ShelT54]

Abbondonza on Washington St., Joe & Maria's on Rt. 1 are both decent Italian; Bamboo on Rt. 1 in Dedham is good Chinese as is Golden Abacus on Rt. 1 in Norwood.

[galleygirl]

You can eat at the bar at Sky without breaking your per diem, if it comes to that...

[trufflehound]

Finz is $$$ anyway.
There is a little Thai place on Washington St. and a Shawarma place on the same block, just north of Norwood Center. Both flavorful and cheap. Mug n Muffin for cheap greasy breakfast.
Not far in Dedham center is Deli after Dark with live and lively weekend music.

[chowfamily]

Finz doesn't have to be very expensive. They have an on-line menu with prices that you can check out in advance, and I would recommend calling ahead for the market and daily special prices.

It is good to have chow-worthy options in unlikely locations.

(I am assuming that the conference is providing the deli lunches and a token breakfast in thinking about the per diem.)

[chowfamily]

I understand your bias against Finz based on name and location. I would not have gone except that my host for the evening really wanted to go there.

That would have been my loss. The raw and fried oysters were delicious, and the fish got great reviews as well. It was an unexpected pleasure, and I still can't reconcile the awful billboard on 128 with the delicious seafood inside.

You can satisfy your seafood quest and spend less than $50.00 with no difficulty.

[lil_acorn]

There a few good places in the center of town. Byblos (lebanese food), Mint cafe (Thai) are both reasonably priced. Otherwise right on Route 1, Siam Lotus has great thai food too (better than mint cafe)