Cheap Eats for Dinner
So I have searched as I know we have had old cheap eats threads, but I have to say the new search feature isn't very good.
So the kitchen is being remodeled to add some cabinets. Wedding presents are stacked anywhere construction stuff is not (it's classy the bathroom is being remodeled too and the toilet is on the balcony at the moment).
Hubby and I are eating out every night. We are looking for some good cheap dinners, the closer to Arlington the better, but willing to travel, or get delivery. I know cheap is a relative term, but entrees around $15 or less and the cheaper being better. Ambiance is a bonus, but not necessary.
I am just getting tired of some of our normal ideas:
Lebanese Market Taverna
Lebanese Butcher
Italian Store (can you really get tired of this? I don't think so it is just in the normal rotation)
Aroma
Lost Dog
Taqueria Poblano
Big Buns
La Caraquena
Eat Bar
Tandoori Nights
etc.
So what do you suggest? Steve already gets points because he gave me some ideas in another thread. And are there any particular cheap dishes at this place you highly recommend? And if there are certain daily specials that make things even better or late happy hours that works too, for example Eleventh St. Lounge's deal on small plates on Thursday I like this as they have some good small plates.
Anyway please help... it looks like it might be a while till the kitchen is free of dust.
By ktmoomau
on Jun 12, 2009 07:29 AM
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Caribbean Grill (the one in North Arlington on 29).
Ray's Hell.
If you're going to the seven corners area, then HKP and places in Eden Center.
Seems like Nam Viet, Thai Square and Bangkok 54 is in your price range.
Add the sit-down side of Attila's?
Victor's (the one on 29 nearish the German Gourmet - not the other one).
Any of the pollo places?
Kabob Palace in Crystal City.
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We love Ray's Hellburger- the lines are just so much worse now :( can't wait till Ray's the Steaks converts.
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yeah, def the peruvian chicken places if cheapness is an priority. Super Pollo is the best bang for your buck.
-ravi kabob
-i second the eden center (esp. huong viet)
-rabieng
-el charrito caminante is pretty darn cheap, not the best food i've ever had, but i like the chorizo tacos...the beef are good as well but can be salty.
-if the lines have died down since the siestema review, you might want to check out Present restaurant for the shaking beef and some apps
a few places on my list that i haven't tried but want to and are reasonably close to arlington...
-Meaza (ethiopian on columbia pike)
-Flavors Soul Food
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I haven't had Flavors in a while, but they used to be great. The fried chicken is the stand-out. They cook to order - it takes 20 minutes. The pulled pork is decent after adding the vinegar sauce they have on the side.
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In addition to what has already been named:
Cafe Assorti
Pho 75
Earl's
Moby Dick
Vapaino
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Sette Bello on Wilson has great Happy Hour deals (before 7, I think?) not a huge selection, but I know they have at least their meatballs and a great charcutterie plate that's half off. Great deals on wine too.
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i love whole foods salad bar and their prepared foods....on weeknights when we feel neither like cooking nor eating out, that's usually where you'll find us.
the new afghan kebab place in courthouse is really good and we've been stopping there quite often lately. i think vapiano's prices are incredibly reasonable for fresh, great food. whitlow's on wilson has half pricce burgeres on monday night; ther'es not much else on their menu that i *love*, but the burgers are great.
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I didn't even think about Whole Foods, good idea. And vapiano is walking distance. You all are saints... I don't know why since I read about food all day, but when I get home I just run out of ideas. Hubby looks at me like where are we going and I am like deer in the headlights.
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I was going to also suggest Whole Foods' salad bar. How many meals can you really eat out until you are overloaded? You'll not only need to redo your kitchen, but your wardrobe! However, stick with the fresh veggies on the salad bar. A lot of their things on there are not so healthy or figure friends.
My other suggestion would be the Peruvian chicken place El Pollo Rico...HUGE portions. You can get a few meals out of one of their chickens.
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I have had to start working out again, it's that bad. I normally don't have to work out if I am eating out our normal amount. Thanks for the whole foods rec. We ate at the one in Falls Church by the tile store we had to finalize our tile at the other night. I have been eating a ton of salad to keep the figure, so I splurged with coq au vin (without the skin) steamed broccoli, wheatberry salad, a small pud of mashed potatoes (so bad for you but sooo good) and eggplant in tomato. It was nice to have something that somewhat resembled something I might make at home.
I think tonight it will be Lebanese Taverna for the wine deal. I am so sick of eating out at this point. or Ravi Kabob, I love Ravi Kabob.
We have eaten out so much I am pretty much done with it, although I have had some great experiences: Honey pig was cheap and very good. Eventide at the bar was wonderful, great cocktails, very nice bartenders who work that bar even when packed like a well oiled machine, the food was excellent, I can't wait till after the renovations when I am not broke and can eat dinner here. Lost Dog- their catahoula pizza with the broccoli is good. So many places I can't even remember what or where I ate.
I really just want some homemade grilled veggies with brown rice. The cabinets were delivered today so hopefully the instillation doesn't take too long.
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You can still cook even if you don't have a kicthen. Get a George Foreman, crockpot or a little burner from the hardware store. You can make home cooked, magnificent meals. If you don't have a fridge, stop by the store before you cook or keep some veggies in your office's fridge and bring them home with you.
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sure, if you have electricity on in the place you're renovating - those are all good ideas.
I cut the electricity to keep the workers safe when I redid mine, and with all the dust and lack of counters, I wasn't interested in carrying veggies home just to cook them in a dirty environment. Or my bathroom.
Not having a kitchen and renovating are different issues when it comes to feeding yourself or a family in my experience.
But, I had no problem picking up salads and light stuff because my area is well served and my renovation(s) didn't take long.
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Amen. When you can't wash dishes, or you have to wash in the teensy bathroom sink, which is always dusty due to the renovations, take out or eating out just become necessities. You don't always know when the electricity will be available. You might come home to find a stack of cabinets in the living room, blocking the one free electrical outlet. And not everyone has a workplace that provides refrigeration, or a place to buy veggies close to work. When our kitchen was being renovated, we ate off the salad bar from the grocery store, a lot.
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This is the problem... we have no dishwasher or kitchen sink. The stove still works but is dusty (not the oven though) and the fridge, but washing dishes in the tiny bathroom sink is really quite unbearable, especially since we only have the guest bathroom as our main bathroom is also being renovated. We could take our small weber grill out to the park. Plus the table is stacked with all the crystal that will go back up on the rack in the kitchen and they are using the balcony as the place to cut wood and etc (and to store the toilet of course) so we would have to eat on the couch and wash dishes in the tiny and only working sink in the house.
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This is about the time I would put out a plea to join in for whatever's on the table at your friends' houses, with offers to help wash up and then invite them over when your reno work is done. I hope you have a few folks you can hit up that way. I'm sure a homemade anything eaten at a real table with real utensils and no waitstaff scurrying (or not!) around you would be such a wonderful evening, even with some old crap playing on the TV in the background.
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Yes! I think I am in luck and going home this weekend to Western Maryland which means I will get homemade or down home style food and can eat it at a table.
Went to PS7 last night with a friend for her going away dinner (it was a splurge but hey she's leaving town) and that was great. Broke the tired of dinner out rule as we got a bottle of wine (had happy hour wine earlier) oxtail tots which are just so good in a bad for you way, I had the cornmeal trout which was not real fancy but very good with well balanced flavors between the crust, the trout, the green beans and sauce. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It isn't like wow food, but it certainly is good. I also had the lavender creme brulee cake which I loved the lavender cake part of the dish and the layer of raspberry sorbet made it very refreshing.
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Was it busy? Last time I was there about a month ago on a Thursday night--normal dinnertime--there was nobody eating in the dining room.
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It was ok, but not great at 7:00, two big parties, one in the back room, on in the front, probably about 4 other parties of two including us in the front room, and maybe two to three more on the side. Definitely slow, but not empty.
But the bar was busy... I think the problem is that for the price, the food is good, but it isn't wow, ya know? I mean my entree was really tasty and hit the spot as it was a little homey, but it just wasn't like something that is going to be memorable. The lavender cake on the bottom of the lavender creme brulee cake was amazing, I will remember that, I could have done with a big piece of it and berries. It was so good I want the recipe, but the dessert as a whole was good, the other components certainly weren't as mind blowing. I think it struggles between being a casual place and high end place, they want to be casual and affordable, but they are still doing it in a high end way. It wants to be Liberty tavern, but in a high end, higher rent place. And I hate to criticize the place because the drinks and food were good, they really were, they just weren't wow... Although the bar food is some of the best bar food in the city in my opinion. And they have a great bartender.
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what other option would you suggest if a kitchen is in remodel status?
When I redid the kitchen in the place I bought, which is not big, I couldn't cook and take out was the only option. If you have a microwave, things are easier, but if it's not an option, life is cruddy.
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Pulcinella: in McLean; I know this place gets a bad rap, but I like their Chicken Francese. This generous dish is equivalent to veal piccata -- lemon juice and capers -- but less expensive than a veal preparation. Besides inexpensive veal is usually poor quality veal. I usually sub the mixed greens with balsamic dressing for the regular salad (an upcharge) and skip the pasta which tends to be overcooked.
Ireland's Four Provinces at the intersection of West Broad Street (Rte 7) and Lee Hwy in Falls Church. Great Irish options: fish and chips, Guinness hamburgers, shepherd's pie. Don't expect higher-end options like steak to be decent quality for the price. Smithwicks', Guinness, and hard cider on tap. Lovely.
Pasha Cafe (Cherrydale/Arlington): I can happily build an entire meal around their Maramar, a dip of red peppers and ground walnuts flavored with pomegranate juice. My husband and I always make a meal of mezze. A friend who was with us once had an unsatisfactory experience with their lamb chops. I recall these were priced considerably higher than most of their entrees. At any rate, we've never bothered with any of the entrees.
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