Recession Busters

[ChickenBrocandZiti]

Headed to Tremont 647 tonight for two dollar taco Tuesdays. Name some other deals in this vein. Maybe we can put a weeks worth of good, inexpensive dining together.

[Joanie]

Didn't we just have a thread on this? Save this list:

An Tua Nua: $3/4 apps from 5-7, Miller $2.50
Bambara: daily 4-6, $5 and under apps
Banshee: Dorchester, daily lunch special $6 until 4PM
Daisy Buchanon's: M-F 3:30-7, $2
Bukowski's: til 8PM, $1.69 burger
Excelsior: 3 course wine dinner on Wed. $39
Flemings: M-F 3-6 $1.95 bar specials
Gari: 4:30-6:30 dinner 2 for $35
Great Bay: M-F 5-6, $1 bites
Grendel's Den: 1/2 price 5:00-7:30pm, jug of sangria $10
Jacob Wirth: $6 beer and brat
Kingston Station: M-Wed, 5-7 1/2 price apps
Lineage: $1 oysters M-F evening
Living Room: M-F 4-7, $1 oysters on Wed.; 1/2 apps weekdays; Tues.
Masa: M-F 5-7, $1 tapas
Masona: 5-6:30 Tues-Sun., $12 early supper
McCormick & Schmick: til 6 or 6:30 and late
Morton's: M-F til 5-6:30, 9:30-11, $6 apps
Myers+Chang's: "Cheap Date Night" Sunday, Monday Tuesday,$40 per couple
Noir: M-F til 7, 5-4-3-2-1 (nuts, cookies, salad, skewers, sandwich)
Novel in BPL: tea M-F 2:30-4, $19.95
Pho Republique: M-F, 5:30-7:30 $2 dim sum
Redbones: 4-6PM 1/2 price apps
Red Sky: M-F 1/2 price apps
Rustic Kitchen: $3.95 apps
Shay's: $4 apps Sun-Thurs., 6-10:30
Sorriso: Mon 5-9, pizza $5
Summer Shack: happy hour til 6:30 and late
28 Degrees: Tu-Fri., 5-7 $1 oysters
Uno: 4-7PM and 10-close Sun-Fri, $1.99-2.99
Vecchia Roma: 3 courses for $22.95 on Tue-Thurs.
Vox Populi: 3 course prix fixe

Emma's, Bridgewater: .99 pizza Sun. and Wed.

Sun.
family dinners: Garden at Cellar ($5 small and $10 large plates), KO Prime (Retro Sun $25 all you can eat prime rib), Pigalle ($40-$5 3 courses w/ wine and bar menu), Rendezvous ($38 3 courses), Rialto ($40 3 courses), Rocca (4PM $22 for 2 courses and a sweet), Sage (5:30 $25 w/ cheese plate), Vlora ($35 3 courses)
Thirsty Scholar: Sun. 6-10PM $4 burger and chicken sandwich

Mon.
Salvatore's: Mon. Flight Night, 6-8PM, $15, 4 cocktail infusions
Beacon Hill Bistro: Wine & Dine every other Mon. 7PM, 4 course dinner w/ wine $55
Pops: Mon. sandwich nite
L'Espalier: Mon. 7PM, 4 small courses w/ wine, $55
Ashmont Grill: Mon. Nite Wine Club, 6-8PM, $25 or 30, 5 wines w/ small plates
Davinci: $29 3 courses on Mon & Tues.
Red Hat: 10 cent wings on Mon. & Tues 5-10; trivia on Wed., 9PM 1/2 apps
Khao Sarn: every 3rd Tues., sample wines w/ free apps, 6:30 $16 pp

Tues.
Miel: wine tasting and food, $35

Wed.
33 Rest: Hot off the Vine, Wed. 5-7PM, $20-40, 4 wine samples w/ food
Robyn's: Roslindale, $5 pizza on Wed. and Thurs.
Sel de la Terre: Wine Wed. 7PM, $45
Stadium: Southie, Wed. trivia, 8PM; $2 Tues., $4 Fri. 4-7PM

Thurs.
Meritage: Thurs. wine nite, 5:30-7, $25

Fri.
Felt: Fri. free pool til 8PM, 1/2 price apps
Intercontinental: Fri. martini workout

Sat.
Fireplace: every other Sat. 3PM, $25

[galleygirl]

Excellent work, Joanie; I'm printing it out to carry in my wallet!
Thanks,
gg

[sheila]

Have anyone tried KO Prime Retro Sun. all you can eat prime rib? It sounds good.

[marilees]

We went back in April - the girls ordered filet mignon off the menu, and the guys went for the prime rib. It really is all you can eat, pretty good quality - you just have to walk across the dining room each time with your plate for the next piece, which is a turnoff for some. It came with all the accompaniments but nothing else, so you may want to order some sides. Otherwise, just save room for the prime rib!

[professor shorthair]

I did this last year. I ate so much prime rib I figured they would discontinue this deal. I'll have to go back.

[jkv]

Here's another log to throw on the fire:

http://www.laverdadtaqueria.com/tacot...

$1 tacos on Tuesdays at Le Verdad. The limit of 5 tacos per person seems...unnecessary. Even a little gross to think about.

[Patricia]

Martini workout?!? Details, please. Great list.

[Suze123]

Martini Workout: http://www.themartiniworkout.com/imag...

[hiddenboston]

Hey Joanie, could you be more specific with each of these? ;-b

That deal at Masona sounds really good, by the way. Here are the details:

$12 from 5pm till 6:30pm; add $4 after 6:30. Options: roast turkey, pumpkin ravioli, sauteed shrimp, and fish and chips.

[cassoulady]

Joanie, What a great list! Thanks for putting it together, cant wait to check some out!

[hsquare2southend]

Oops- please disregard- I somehow missed the original post!

[joebloe]

Are these really big tacos? I've had them in many cities for 75 cents or 99 cents so I didn't know $2 is a special price here.

[pamalamb]

No, they're typical sized, but for a sit-down restaurant that's not a taqueria, they're pretty good.

[Sal Monella]

GURU Indian cuisine on Broadway (outside of Teele Sq) in Somerville. $7.95 for combination plates. Plenty of high quality food. And they're expanding to a sit down restaurant soon.

[catsmeow]

Townsends in Hyde Park. Choose one app and one entree for $15. Must order before 6:45. Monday through Friday

[ChickenBrocandZiti]

The wife and I did in fact hit up two dollar taco night and we had a great time. The taco's were very good, especially the catfish. I also sampled the grilled steak, the carnitas and the quesadilla. All were very good and did not seem to skimp. If it hadn't been for our last couple drink rounds this would have been a very cheap night. All told we spent 60 dollars on drinks and dinner so I feel pretty good.

[steinpilz]

I'll add Soul Fire BBQ in Alston ($5 pulled pork sandwich), the Lower Depths at Kenmore $1 hotdog.

For home cooking: I got hanger steak for less than $4/lb yesterday at McKinnon's market in Davis Square, there are always many great deals on meat there. Kotobukiya at Porter Square has a fresh seafood mix (clam, shrimps, fish fillets, scallop with roe, oysters) for ~$6-7, this makes for a couple of very nice meals.

[gramercyfoodie]

When is the $5 pulled pork special for? Also haven't heard much re: Soul Fire...we passed it yesterday and was curious...how is it?

[BarmyFotheringayPhipps]

It's pretty much crap.

[gramercyfoodie]

lol. no wonder i haven't heard of it here!

[Joanie]

Not everyone hates it, I know there are a couple others besides myself who've had okay stuff there. I pretty much have just had pulled pork sandwiches with really good potato salad and the collard greens are great. I also like the space a lot, so you can decide for yourself.

[BostonZest]

I'm one of the others. I've enjoyed it. Not the best in town but consistent and tasty. We usually do take out or have it delivered.

[steinpilz]

Barmy, you old grouch! I didn't even dare to recommend the brisket, that's the one you're not happy about right? ;-)

BTW, it's $5 all day - not a special price.

Thanks Joanie.

[BarmyFotheringayPhipps]

It was definitely an appallingly bad brisket sandwich that led me to give up once and for all (and just buy my own backyard smoker) after giving them many, many second chances, but I'm afraid I've always been kind of dissatisfied with Soul Fire. But that's another story.

For me, the ultimate recession buster remains the banh mi at PhoViet: it's gone up seventy-five cents since I started eating them, to a whopping $3.25, but it's still the best cheap lunch in the neighborhood.

[steinpilz]

Barmy, you could be a "bespoke brisket" provider for Soul Fire and many other restaurants around Boston.

I haven't yet tried any banh mi, but thanks to Chowhound I think I soon will -- PhoViet will probably be my first though Chinatown is equally convenient. that $3.25 is a great deal.

BTW, I made some green chili stew this fall using your Chowhound recipe.

[Matt H]

If Chinatown is equally as convenient Mei Sum and Lu's are my two favorite in the neighborhood. Both sandwiches are still priced at $2.75 a piece as well.

[SOBoston]

Your best option's probably The Brown Bag...classic menu.

[avial]

dante at the Royal Sonesta revamped their bar menu - 4 classic drinks for $8 and half a dozen or so more creative ones for $10 plus a serious bar food menu of small tastes - sfizi(chicken liver pate, braised mushrooms, cannelloni beans and ham are a few) - and some larger items - sliders and a small steak frites. Lastly, from Friday to Sunday, from 4-7pm, they're doing $1 Island Creeks oysters and some of the sfizi will be just $1.

[chevrelove]

Oysters are $1 from 4-11:30, according to the website. Was there last night and confirmed this. Sfizi are indeed $1 till 7 only.

[WilliamTheFoodie]

It would be nice to have a list of prix fixe dinner or lunch options that is current, not months old. Appetizers just don't draw me out to aplace in this weather, especially when the drinks are still $15

[avial]

Devra First also just posted a list on her boston.com blog: http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/food/...

[Joanie]

Good stuff on that, more to add to my list.

[Fukui San]

Looking up this thread, as I went to the Sunday Supper $22 prix fixe menu at Sage in the South End listed on the boston.com blog, and it was outstanding. We tried both options of the prix fixe of the appetizers and entree, and there wasn't a bad dish in the bunch. My favorite was the slow cooked pork belly. The dessert was a full fledged dessert of four zeppoli, unlike the similar $22 Sunday prix fixe at Rocca, where the dessert was just a bite. At $22, I don't not recommend it, but Sage was a cut above that in value and taste.

I've also had the Sibling Rivalry fight night menu. More expensive, of course, at $35, but good as well.

[greygarious]

Through the winter, Summer/Winter in Burlington (same owners as Arrows in ME) is having a 3-course Friday night prix fixe for $35.

[BostonCharles]

they are pretty decent $2 tacos, but no better than Angela's cafe... if that good.

[djd]

-sigh- Am I just getting older? I keep being stunned that burgers and Cambridge/Somerville Chinese main dishes bust the $10 mark. Shouldn't burgers be $7.50 and Chinese entrées $8.25? I think my mind is stuck in 1999. (For pizza, it's stuck in 1991... I can't believe I can't get a slice of pizza and a can of soda for two bucks.)

[Joanie]

Ha ha, I had to break my not pay over $2 for a cookie rule when flour prices went up. Gave up on burgers for <$10 a while ago altho a few can still be found.

[MarsGirl]

Tavolo in Dorchester offers a Regional Pasta Tour on Wednesday evenings at 6:30. They highlight a different region of Italy every week. You'll learn about the local cooking styles and enjoy a three-course meal, with suggestions for the perfect wine pairing. Cost is only $18. This week (Feb. 24th) they are featuring Trentino-Alto Adige.

Coming Up:
Week 5 - Friuli Venezia Giulia
Week 6 - Veneto
Week 7 - Emilia-Romagna

I believe reservations are necessary.

[galleygirl]

O'Fado in Peabody has a $35 dinner for two...Steak tips and grilled shrimp, with a decent bottle of red wine...I forget what the wine was, but they're known for having a reasonable wine list....

[joebloe]

Texas Roadhouse $7.99 early dinner:

6 oz. Sirloin Steak
10 oz. Road Kill Chopped Steak
Grilled BBQ Chicken
Country Fried Chicken
Chicken Critters Dinner
Pulled Pork Dinner
Grilled Pork Chop (Single)
Chicken Caesar Salad
Grilled Chicken Salad
Chicken Critter Salad

All dinners (except salads) are served with your choice of two made-from-scratch sides along with bottomless fresh-baked bread and peanuts.