Best inexpensive restaurants in Philadelphia

[MikeyTree]

I'm curious what everyone thinks are the best inexpensive restaurants in Philadelphia, where it's possible to get a good meal for less than $10-15 per person. I'm a grad student, so I don't have the ability to go out to many of the restaurants that get the best reviews. Ken Starr restaurants are right out.

Chinatown is my favorite place for that, with Szechuan Tasty House and Chung King.

[Andrew Fenton]

Ken Starr restaurants are right out.

Um, I think you mean Steven Starr. Ken Starr's restaurant would be very, very different ("Tonight's special prosecution is the Impeachment Melba!")

anyway, I agree that Chinatown springs first to the mind... off the very top of my head, there's Nan Zhou (maybe the best soup in the city, for $5.50) and dim sum: on Sunday, we had a terrific meal at HK Golden Phoenix, with tons of food for $14/person.

[michael_g]

The Vietnamese down on Washington Ave. is great and cheap. Banh mi for under $4, pho for $4 or $5. While you're in South Philly, be sure to try Slice ($3 huge slices, very good thin crust) and avoid Pat's and Geno's. The Mexican down there is fantastic, between $6 for a plate of tacos to around $12 for big plates of meat, beans, and rice -- there's a thread on the topic.

Chinatown is always a good bet, and it gets cheaper (and more fun) as your group gets bigger. Nan Zhou is a big favorite, as is Vietnam (though was about $35 for two people). The bakeries there have delicious buns that go for a pittance -- 60 or 80 cents. Perfect for a swollen postprandial belly?

You can get a good beer and an okay burger at the Nodding Head (15th and Sansom) for about $12 total, but one good beer for $4.50 can quickly turn in to three good beers for $15.50, which kind of bungles the whole "inexpensive" bit. There's a vegetarian Indian place on Walnut at 13th that's passable, but I wouldn't call them the best of anything.

In West Philly, I really like the Korean place behind Abners, 38th and Chestnut. Between $5 and $7, really well done, super friendly. Food carts in general are a good deal, but those aren't really "restaurants".

[SouthPhillyFoodie]

Ajia - Japanese restaurant located in the Left Bank near Penns' campus for all you can eat sushi for $22.00 - and they include white tuna with the deal!

The Pad Thai Shack at 18th and Sansom and 12th and Market does a great green or red curry - for about $9.00 bucks and will feed two people for take out.

Since you are new to this area -- make sure to check out Minar Palace, a beloved Indian restaurant that had to close a few years back -- when they reopen on Walnut street in the new months - cheap and good (if they offer the same menu as before)

Also - there are a few fabulous restaurants that offer great lunch deals that allow you to try their menus with out paying the big prices --

Amada (Catalan Express for $12.50) and Tinto (Bilbao Express for $14.99) - both are two courses

XIX at the Park Hyatt offers a $19, three-course lunch which changes everyday

Hope that helps!

Jennie

[KatieLoeb]

Hellooooooo? Mexican anyone? Is it possible that no one has yet mentioned Taquitos de la Puebla??? 9th Street just below Ellsworth and the very best Tacos al Pastor around. Equally cheap and delicious Mexican can be had at Jose's, a little market at 10th and Buttonwood just north of Chinatown. Great fish tacos, quesadillas and chicken lime soup. Yum. Good stuff for a cold rainy day like this one.

[michael_g]

Hellooooooo?  Mexican anyone?  Is it possible that no one has yet mentioned Taquitos de la Puebla???  9th Street just below Ellsworth and the very best Tacos al Pastor around.  Equally cheap and delicious Mexican can be had at Jose's, a little market at 10th and Buttonwood just north of Chinatown.  Great fish tacos, quesadillas and chicken lime soup.  Yum.  Good stuff for a cold rainy day like this one.

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It is, in fact not possible, and I quote:

The Mexican down there is fantastic, between $6 for a plate of tacos to around $12 for big plates of meat, beans, and rice -- there's a thread on the topic.

I didn't mention them by name, but they were, as always, in my heart.

[Carlson1105]

Oscar's Tavern on 15th and Sansom. You get a cheesesteak and a half and a 23 Oz. Draft for like 8 Bucks.

[Andrew Fenton]

Oh, if you're the sort of grad student who has access to a time machine, you can head to Ansill on Halloween of this year for a three course "Trick or Meat" offal menu, for only $15. What a bargain that was...

Sorry, I'm not being helpful. I'll try harder, I promise!

[cinghiale]

My gf and I regularly eat at Nam Phuong (11th and Washington) for about $30-35, which gets us a couple of apps, two mains, and maybe a beer.

[mattohara]

Cafe Diem: Pho Dac Biet: i think it's about 8$ and you get two meals out of it. same with the Bun Bo Hue (thanks dagordon)

it's on 8th just above washington.

vic sushi is very inexpensive. sansom between 21 and 20

[orion]

Tampopo at 21st and Chestnut and Jeweler's Row. Especially the Fresh Tuna BiBimbap.

Sang Kee at 9th and Winter. Especially the Roast Duck Wonton Noodle Soup, which is my favorite soup in town.

Tiffin at 7th and Girard. This place is so much better than other Indian in town it's not even funny. Prices keep going up but it's still a deal. Especially the funky delivery service if you, unlike me, are good at knowing that you want Indian food hours in advance.

I second Jose's, probably the best value for Mexican in town, especially the $5 lunch plates.

Grace at 21st and Gray's Ferry has my favorite burger, Martin's Sausages, good beer, better fries than Monk's and the same bourbon mayo. Of course, I never stop at one beer there, which puts it over $15.

Divan in Gray's Ferry is probably slightly over $15pp for the cheapest meal you could have there, but not by much, and I still think it's one of the best values in town.

Finally, while trying to look up an Indonesian deli that's dirt cheap and not bad (at 10th and Mountain maybe?), I came across a review of a full service place called Indonesia at 17th and Snyder in the most recent Citypaper. Looks very promising.

[Andrew Fenton]

Finally, while trying to look up an Indonesian deli that's dirt cheap and not bad (at 10th and Mountain maybe?), I came across a review of a full service place called Indonesia at 17th and Snyder in the most recent Citypaper.  Looks very promising.

And of course, there's Hardena. Cheap and good.

[Tom]

Taco Riendo

1301 N. 5th St. (one block north of Girard)

(215) 235-2294

[MarketStEl]

The Vietnamese down on Washington Ave. is great and cheap.  Banh mi for under $4, pho for $4 or $5.

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A specific recommendation in case you like pho but your dining companion is phobic:

Pho & Cafe Viet Huong, in the Hung Vuong Plaza at 11th and Washington. Ambience similar to that of a diner, but can't say whether it bustles like one (it didn't the Saturday I went there with our former neighbor). Extensive menu of Vietnamese dishes, several varieties of pho and bun (Vietnamese clear noodle soup). Delicious bun bo Hue.

Nam Phuong right next door also has pho on the menu, but I'd go there mainly for everything else. This large restaurant is busy on the weekend.

Neither of these will set you back more than $15 unless you work very hard at it.

Switching gears:

If you're willing to have just one brew, you owe it to yourself to try the Good Dog Burger once. At $10, it's outpriced (and outclassed) in the fancy-burger category only by the $15 Rouge burger, but it's actually a good value at that price.

It's a chain, but it's (a) local and (b) a good one: I've had several decent meals at the Marathon Grill, and you can keep your tab below the $15 threshold if you order judiciously. They are in the process of adding liquor service at the locations that don't already have it; 40th and Walnut (Penn campus) and 10th and Walnut (next to Jefferson) already do.

[orion]

Finally, while trying to look up an Indonesian deli that's dirt cheap and not bad (at 10th and Mountain maybe?), I came across a review of a full service place called Indonesia at 17th and Snyder in the most recent Citypaper.  Looks very promising.

And of course, there's Hardena. Cheap and good.

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Hardena is exactly what I was thinking of. I just wish it was spicier.

[philadining]

Hardena is exactly what I was thinking of.  I just wish it was spicier.

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Ask for extra sambal!

[Jack Sprat]

For the money, a spicy slow-cooked beef burrito and a negro modelo for about $10 at El Fuego at 7th and walnut is a great value.

I don't eat fast food in philly, period. but when i lived in dc I did occasionally frequent the plethora of chipotle/baja fresh joints. qdobe isn't even in the same league despite similar appearances. nevertheless, they all pale in comparison to the fire of el feugo.

[orion]

For the money, a spicy slow-cooked beef burrito and a negro modelo for about $10 at El Fuego at 7th and walnut is a great value.

I don't eat fast food in philly, period. but when i lived in dc I did occasionally frequent the plethora of chipotle/baja fresh joints. qdobe isn't even in the same league despite similar appearances. nevertheless, they all pale in comparison to the fire of el feugo.

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I was considering including El Fuego as well but didn't since it is fast food...though so is Hardena and Jose's really. I've had dozens of great lunches at el fuego, nearly always the veggie burrito, which includes guac, sour cream, cheese, salad and a mix of stewed peppers and onions that's awesome. In fact, that's what I'll get for lunch today. It's not quite as good SF burritos, but maybe the only CA-style burrito in Philly that's worth eating for me.

[serpentine]

I am so going to Fuego for lunch now. Veggie burrito is my usual too, with a mix of black and pinto beans.

[mrbigjas]

slow cooked spicy beef is the jawn there, if you ask me. i could go for one of them right now...

[Andrew Fenton]

slow cooked spicy beef is the jawn there, if you ask me. 

Word to that. Though I also like their veggie burrito, with guacamole. Good stuff.

[mattohara]

i really dislike that place for a few reasons. they wouldn't let me modify their preset selections for one thing. they throw a bunch of slop (it is tasty, i'll give you that) into a tortilla and just smoosh it into a sloppy ball and wrap it up in foil, making it impossible to eat. and it's some ridiculous charge for guacamole, like 2.00 for a dollop.

it tastes good yes, but i think they charge way too much for what you get (which is a sloppy mess)

[serpentine]

matt, I don't understand what you mean by "wouldn't let you modify their preset selections." You go down the line with them and tell them what you want in your burrito. If you want mixtures of meat or no rice or all three kinds of salsa or whatever, that's fine. They do overcharge for bonus guac in meat burritos. But it's included in veggie burritos.

I do think that they overstuff the burritos and that it's just way too much food. I don't find them terribly sloppy, though -- unroll a portion of foil, take bites, strip off more foil, take more bites...?