Smack dab in the middle of Davis Square sits Mr. Crepe, a comfortable space with delicious and cheap food. Part coffee shop, part gourmet take out shop, Mr. Crepe offers sweet and savory crepes in traditional and unique flavor combinations.
1
Results tagged “cavecibum”
Yesterday may have been the official start to Fall, but Bostonist isn't ready to let go of the summer just yet. And what's more summery than eating fried seafood while sitting on plastic chairs? Luckily, the Morse Fish Company in the South End serves up fresh fish in a clam shack-like environment year-round. The nautical decor, highlighted by a giant mural of fishermen on one wall, might even make you feel like you're by the beach.
Moody's Falafel Palace may not look like much - cramped quarters with little sitting room in a building that looks like a shack - but the food more than makes up for the lack of ambiance. Whether you're looking for a fresh lunch or a late night meal to sop up all that excess booze, Moody's will deliver your food cheap.
Brookline is certainly not lacking in Mexican food, and with the opening of Dorado Tacos & Cemitas one week ago, the pool of offerings has gotten richer, not more crowded. The restaurant, located in JFK Crossing on Harvard Ave, is bright and sunny, with a focus on high quality ingredients and eco-friendly materials.
For the longest time, this Bostonist thought chicken and waffles sounded like the weirdest combination of foods there could be. But after one taste, it was clear why this is a favorite meal of so many people. Crispy and gooey, salty and sweet, chicken and waffles are perfect for when you can't decide if you want breakfast or dinner. Luckily, Boston has it's very own source for chicken waffles in The Hen House, where $7.49 buys you a full plate of warm, gooey, crispy deliciousness.
It seems that happy hour is truly back in Boston. No, bars still can't offer drink specials like in so many other states, but they can offer a close second with cheap and delicious food. Rocca is one of the many Boston restaurants that has picked up on this trend, and their 5@5 deal is one of the best around. Two choices would definitely be big enough for a meal, or order them all and share with friends.
All of the choices are tasty (even the crispy tofu, considering that this Bostonist is not a fan of the tofu), but there are a few real standouts in the bunch. The candied garlic spare ribs, 2 per order, are sweet and savory, with a crispy caramelized exterior and meat that falls right off the bone. The veggie rangoon, which looks more like an eggroll, is filled with cream cheese and tender shredded vegetables. And the edamame gyoza are crunchy envelopes stuffed with pureed edamame, an excellent combination of crispy and smooth textures.
It's hard to imagine one slice of pizza being enough for an entire meal, but at Penguin Pizza in Brigham Circle, one slice can definitely fill you up for only around $3. Each slice is roughly the size of a dinner plate, or two good-sized slices anywhere else. In fact, the slice is much easier to eat if you just cut it in half to begin with. Penguin offers four types of pizza by the slice daily: cheese, pepperoni, and two changing flavors.
Sage, formerly of the North End, now of the South End, doesn't seem like the best spot for cheap eats. Pastas hover around the $20 mark, and entrees run between $20 and $35. But between the hours of 5:00pm and 7:30pm on Monday through Friday, only $10 will buy you a heap of food in the form of delicious little bar bites.
Clearly, 163 Vietnamese Sandwiches is used to serving a wide array of hungry people. They whip out those sandwiches in about a minute, prepared to order. Pay attention to the sign at the counter that lists all the ingredients - if there's something you don't like, they'll be happy to leave it off. Choose from tofu, chicken, beef, or cold cuts, which are then piled high along with cilantro, cucumber, pickled carrots and daikon, spicy peppers, mayo, and fish sauce, all wrapped in a crunchy baguette. But be careful when you're eating - that baguette is delicious but also a mess. With the weather getting nice, you may want to save yourself the vacuuming and eat one of these outside.
In a quiet spot just off the main road, with a menu that deviates from the typical fare, Sofra Bakery in Cambridge offers a wide variety of tantalizing eastern Mediterranean flavors. With so many choices, you're sure to find something you like.
Drinks and snacks at the bar are a great way to unwind at the end of the day, but the food and drinks can add up fast. Many restaurants in Boston take this into account and have developed special bar menus for these economic times. 33 Restaurant & Lounge's $3 Menu is just one delicious example.
This past weekend, Chinatown was abuzz with preparations for Chinese New Year, which begins today. Tables were set up on the sidewalks, selling flowers and paper lanterns, the line to get into Eastern Live Poultry was down the block, and large family groups were grabbing tables at the Gourmet Dumpling House.
Despite the fact that Happy Hour drink deals are illegal in Boston, there are still a lot of great deals to be had at bars around town. The bar at McCormick & Schmick's, for example, offers up cheap and delicious meals, a pleasant surprise considering that dinner there can be more on the expensive side.
Excelsior may not seem like the type of place to find cheap food, but at the downstairs bar, there are always surprises to be had. Be it $1 oysters (on Tuesdays and Wednesdays), half-priced pizzas (on Sundays and Mondays), or their new Winter Warmer Suppers, the deals at Excelsior's bar offer gourmet food at very low prices.
For a city with so many students and young professionals, it's no surprise that cheap eats are available almost everywhere, in every kind of neighborhood and in every type of restaurant. In 2008, Bostonist strove to introduce you to the well- and lesser-known hits of the Cheap Eats world.
Tacos are traditionally a low-cost food, but gourmet tacos in a sit-down restaurant can be hard to find. Tremont 647 in the South End has recently instituted $2 Taco Tuesdays, and their offerings definitely fill this gap.
Run by transplants from Cork, Ireland, this is the closest Boston has to the chip shops that are so easy to find across the pond. The menu is pretty basic - fries and battered things like fish and sausages. You can order a la carte or put together a supper with a main, fries, and a choice of peas, coleslaw, curry, or gravy. The fish (pollack) supper, shown above, is gigantic for only $8.95 - you really need to be starving to be able to put all this food away. The fish is flaky and steaming inside the crisp crust, and the hand cut chips are superbly crunchy on the outside and smooth on the inside. They're best enjoyed piping hot, though, as they lose some of their integrity as they cool. The Battery also offers Irish drinks, like Club Orange and Club Lemon, Lilt, Lucozade, and Ribena, if you want a truly authentic meal.
Let's face it: tapas can be an expensive endeavor. Everyone shares a variety of small plates, each costing anywhere from $6 to $18. It's lots of fun to try tons of different dishes, but the cost of the little plates can add up fast. At Masa in the South End, however, tapas in the bar are a much more economical night out.
Cheap Mexican food is easy to find, but cheap sit-down Mexican is not so forthcoming. Luckily, Fajitas & 'Ritas in Downtown Crossing offers south-of-the-border eats with less cafeteria-style ambiance. Whether you're looking for appetizers and pitchers of margaritas or a full meal, there's plenty on the menu that will satisfy.
You could eat at Bottega Fiorentina every day for weeks and never have the same thing twice. There are five specials a day (like Tuesday's lasagna with meat and bechamel or Friday's pumpkin tortellini in a butter sage sauce), plus a made-to-order option with your choice of pasta and sauce. The penne with Fedora sauce (tomato, red pepper, garlic, rosemary, and cream), pictured above, is both sweet and spicy, and the pasta is cooked to a perfect al dente. The majority of the pasta dishes are under $10 and are available for dine-in or take-out.
The menu at Aceituna Cafe has lots of options, mostly under $10, ranging from pita roll-ups to heartier entrees with meat, rice and salad. The real deals, though, are in the vegetarian plate and the combo specials. The vegetarian plate has a choose-3 option ($7.79) and a choose-5 option ($9.79), although three choices provides plenty of food. Try the tabboule, predominantly made of finely chopped parsley and served in heaping scoops, or the falafel, large, crunchy, heavily spiced patties with a more chunky texture than at most falafel restaurants. Other choices include hummus, babaghannouge, rice with lentils, grape leaves, and couscous salad. If sandwiches are more your speed, try the combo specials, featuring fries, a soda, and a falafel roll-up ($7.25) or a chicken or beef shawarma roll-up ($8.75).
Crazy Dough's also has some great specials that help you keep the costs down. A personal-sized (9-inch) pizza, paired with a soda, goes for as little as $4, and it's definitely big enough for a meal. For a few dollars more, you can have the gourmet toppings on your personal pizza. The crust (white or wheat) is super thin and gets a nice crunch to it in the oven. Two slices and a soda are a comparable price. And if you're still thirsty, you can get $1 drafts or $4 pitchers of Pabst Blue Ribbon.
Personal-sized pies and quiches make a quick and easy meal that will definitely fill you up. The scallion, bacon, and cheddar quiche ($3.25) has a fantastic balance between all the different flavors. The crust is especially good - buttery and flaky goodness that surrounds the filling. The peach and berry pie ($3.75) features the same perfect crust, plenty of sweet, fresh fruit, and a tender crumble topping. Pair them together, and you have a huge, delicious meal.
Well, now you know how to get around and where to drink. How about where to get some cheap grub? There's lots of great food in this city, it just takes some exploring to find it.
Who doesn't love melted cheese? La Papusa Guanaca is a small restaurant on Centre Street in Jamaica Plain that focuses on the food of El Salvador, including the delicious, hot and melty papusa. The little crispy corn pancakes ($1.25), about the size of your palm, are stuffed with cheese, cheese and pork, or cheese and beans, and then fried on a griddle. They're really hot, though, when they come out, so save yourself from a burn and wait a minute before eating.