PB&J ascends to real-meal status at this skilled patisserie. Match a freshly ground nut butter (from basic peanut to chocolate-hazelnut) with seasonal homemade preserves and oven-fresh bread. Add an impossibly flaky chocolate croissant for dessert, and you’ve got a surprisingly luxe meal for less than $10. ORDER: Almond butter and caramel apple jam on oatmeal bread, … Read more
This lovable BYO feels like home—if you live somewhere in Latin America. And if someone like Yari, (half Honduran, half Puerto Rican) were your mother, you would have been eating pastelon (think lasagna with plantains, ground beef, and cheese) and pernil (roast pork with onions and coconut rice) all your life. Lucky you. Order: Beef or … Read more
The best patty around costs only $7. It’s a heroic griddled double cheeseburger: a lightly toasted bun full of freshly ground, crisp-edged, and somehow ungreasy beef sandwiched between layers of melting cheddar. 1571 Sherman Ave., Evanston, 847-864-3396; 2218 N. Lincoln Ave., Lincoln Park, 773-697-9909
Among the dozens of cheap Indian eateries in town, this comfy BYO stands tall. An outsize order of gobi Manchurian—a plate of battered and spice-slicked cauliflower—is good enough to make you finish your vegetables. And you’ll use every last piece of naan to sop up the butter chicken’s lush, curry-soaked gravy. As well you should. … Read more
The cheery little shop’s take on this comfort food staple is perfectly satisfying for $9. But for $2 more, get it Buffalo-style—with a drizzle of housemade hot sauce and copious amounts of blue cheese—and it’s suddenly transcendent. 2051 N. California Ave., 773-276-8888
The addictive $12 tomato pie at this East Coast–style joint breaks pizza down to its basics: a pinch of cheese, great punchy tomato sauce, and a little oregano on a crunchy, charred crust. 711 W. Armitage Ave., Lincoln Park, 312-867-9111
The golden-crusted shrimp ($8.50 for a half pound) at this family-owned, cash-only South Side institution are no small fries—they’re juicy, crispy, and gone in a flash. 3259 E. 95th St., South Deering, 773-933-9855
The real extra-value meal: $2 gets you a freshly steamed pork-and-kimchi-stuffed wang mandoo that’s heftier (and tastier) than even the most supersize burgers. 3333 N. Kimball Ave., Avondale, 773-478-5566
Born from a beloved farmers’ market stand centered on the humble mushroom, this sunny café exudes feel-good charm. Fill up on simple plates (the best of which incorporate said shrooms), and—since you’ll have cash to spare—walk out with a bag of provisions from the impeccably curated grocery. ORDER: Fried stuffed mushrooms, $6 for 5; ravioli primavera, $11.99 … Read more
Ramen for $17—that’s cheap? Yes, considering what you get for the price. The housemade noodles soak up flavors like a sea sponge while retaining their slightly chewy texture. Choose a light, floral-like turkey consommé or a brooding black boar tonkotsu broth spiked with garlic, duck, and pork belly, and you’ve got a gourmet meal. ORDER: Tonkatsu ramen, … Read more
