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26  WaterFront CaféSteak Tip Sandwich $9.45 450 Commercial Street, Boston, MA (Map it) 617.523.4055
25 El Pelon Torta and Horchata Drink $6.35 The Mexican Big Mac (menu reads Torta Carne Asade) is a steak sandwich slathered with refried beans, limed onions, salsa, house guac — and a special spicy mayo sauce. The neighborhood taqueria has a wholesome, funky feel: the walls are tacked with vacation and house-party pics; the line cooks rub elbows with each other; the chips are usually hot, and the outdoor picnic tables seat all sorts. For an extra dollar and some change, wash it down with a cinnamon-and-almond spiced Horchata drink. We’re lovin’ it. 92 Peterborough Street, Boston, MA (Map it) 617.262.9090
24 The Paramount Restaurant Turkey Burger with Cranberry Chutney and Mashed Butternut Squash $8.00 44 Charles Street, Boston, MA (Map it) 617.720.1152
23 The Fish Pier Restaurant & Market Fried Scallop Dinner at The Fish Pier $8.95 667 E. Broadway, South Boston, MA (Map it) 617.269.2111
22 The Green Dragon Tavern Washington's Favorite Burger $9.99 The lot at the Green Dragon Tavern claim Old Sod origins. A round of Irish brogues and Guinnesses later, we learn that pub manager Alan Loughnane’s favorite burger is the Washington, a Black Angus burger mixed with herbs and slicked with garlic-parsley butter. It’s served with a side of Irish fries. We order another thick, dusky stout because we’re pretty lousy with beer and budgets. Plus, the pub won the Guinness Brewing Co.’s “Perfect Pint of Guinness” award. 11 Marshall Street, Boston, MA (Map it) 617.367.0055
21 The Breakfast Club The Princess Belgian Waffle $5.95 270 Western Avenue, Allston, MA (Map it) 617.783.1212
20 Houston's Clam Chowder, Macchiato, and a Cold Glass of Water $8.00 Tucked between the Financial District and Faneuil Hall, and steps below the bucket-drum and break-dance crowds, Houston’s draws locals from the Quincy Market tourist trap. Houston’s, in Boston, adheres to the chain’s food and art fusion. Though wary of corporate shackles at mealtime, we’ve acquired a taste for Deborah Butterfield’s equestrian Green Earth sculpture, Aaron Fink’s bleeding Strawberry mural, and Houston’s house-made clam chowder topped with bacon, oyster crackers, and freshly cracked black pepper. In deep red booths, we slurp the soup and sip a $1 macchiato and watch the city beat through open windows from underground. 60 State Street, Boston, MA (Map it) 617.573.9777
19 Café Polonia Smoked Salmon Potato Pancakes $9.00 611 Dorchester Avenue, South Boston, MA (Map it) 617.269.0110
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18 Meze Estiatorio The Cretan $10.00 The dinner menu and wine list at Mezé Estiatorio are in transition while chef Paul Delios passes the torch to Anthony Caturano, Italian god of Prezza. Mezé’s general manager, Fotios Stamos, tells us he’s confident in the transition and confident in Chef Caturano’s interpretation of Greek cuisine. Fotios also tells us that his native island of Kalymnos — the sponge diver’s island — was under Italian occupation during the Second World War. His favorite burger on the lunch menu is the Cretan. We find that in a mélange of marble and thatched ceiling, rabbit and lamb, acclaimed chefs and foreign hosts, we, the alternative, the sweaty, the cheap, receive the best service. So we order the Mediterranean burger — grilled and spiced ground lamb, topped with peppers, onions, and mushrooms. It’s the cheapest eat on a gourmand-crafted menu, but we are not made to feel cheap. We feel peacefully upscale. One Hundred City Square, Charlestown, MA (Map it) 617.242.MEZE
17 Bob's Southern Bistro Fried Chicken and Waffle $9.95 604 Columbus Avenue, Boston, MA (Map it) 617.536.6204
16 Il Panino Express Chicken Sub $5.95 Pass the stuffed provincial rooster and place a fast order for the chicken sub: fried chicken in a sweet and salty San Marzano plum tomato sauce, swathed in imported parmesan. The gourmet sub is roughly one foot long and three times wider than the average human mouth. In tattered jeans and old sneakers, we plan to stain our undershirt. The dark wood and floor-to-ceiling windows, open to the street, are fancy enough. But we’re dining at Il Panino’s — the cheapest eat on the block. 264-266 Hanover Street, Boston, MA (Map it) 617.720.5720
15 Aquitaine Saturday Prix Fixe Brunch $9.95 567 Tremont Street, Boston, MA (Map it) 617.424.8577
14 Upper Crust Slice of the Day $3.25 20 Charles St, Boston, MA (Map it) 617.723.9600
13 Hong Kong Café Sesame Chicken Luncheon Entrée $5.95 We call it the Kong — a Chinese café in the lobby of HoJo. With a bright lobster tank, paper place mats, and views of the Howard Johnson swimming pool, the Kong serves large luncheon portions for less than six bucks. The luncheon entrée includes an appetizer, soup, and rice. The hot-and-sour soup sometimes comes too hot, sometimes too sour, but always in a swirl of wood-ear mushrooms. Dunk the crab Rangoon in bowls of duck sauce. The sesame chicken is a sticky favorite. 1271 Boylston Street, Boston, MA (Map it) 617.267.8300
12 Pizzeria Regina Small Quattro Formagio $9.99 226 Faneuil Mktplace, Boston, MA (Map it) 617.742.1713
11 The Fours Chicken Quesadilla $8.95 166 Canal Street, Boston, MA (Map it) 617.720.4455
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10 Chacarero Chacarero $5.80 Downtown Crossing’s Chilean Chacarero is a meal wrapped tight in shiny tinsel. The sandwich is a two-ply food pyramid, combining grain, vegetables, fruit, fat, oil, dairy, and meat. Is that possible? Yes. Is that possible and impossibly tasty? Oh, yes. The thick fresh-baked bun holds a beef-and-chicken combo, melted Muenster cheese, tomato, and salty-peppery steamed green beans. It is an imagined sandwich — something a drunken man would concoct, if he were drunk past human enlightenment. Like homemade summer absinthe, it’s a green-fairy lunch in the middle of a city street. 426 Washington Street, Boston, MA (Map it) 617.542.0392
9 Antico Forno Arrosta Di Agnello $9.00 93 Salem Street, Boston, MA (Map it) 617.723.6733
8 Boston Beer Works Triple Decker Turkey Club on Texas Toast $9.95 61 Brookline Ave, Boston, MA (Map it) 617.536.2337
7 Cafe Algiers Merguesa Sandwich $9.95 Café Algiers’ Merguesa is a soft lamb-sausage sandwich, spiced to gently season the palate. Rolled in fresh flat bread with ripe tomato, hummus, and parsley, it’s enough food for two. We like Café Algiers because, among the mirrors and under a cherry-wood tower, it is easy to hide. Sometimes it feels best to taste the Mediterranean like this, secreted in an alcove. Although we like the balcony overlooking Brattle Street too. 40 Brattle Street, Cambridge, MA (Map it) 617.492.1557
6 Ernesto's Chicken Rancho Slice $4.00 69 Salem Street, Boston, MA (Map it) 617.523.1373
5 Shawarma King Chicken Shawarma with Garlic $4.95 1383 Beacon Street, Brookline, MA (Map it) 617.731.6035
4 Haymarket Pizza Large Cheese Pizza and a Gumball $6.25 After suds at Pete’s Pub, we’re primed for next door’s $6 pie — fresh mozzarella, sweet tomato sauce, and the scent of oregano. A slab of red Formica on steady sawhorses satisfies our drunken craving for a large cheese pie at a common table. A giant gumball machine looms between stacks of pizza boxes and Ms. Pac-man. Dessert may be pink, green, yellow, or blue, but it’s only twenty-five cents. 100-106 Blackstone Street, Boston, MA (Map it) 617.723.8585
3 Steve's Greek Cuisine Souvlaki Plate $9.95 316 Newbury Street, Boston, MA (Map it) 617.278.2121
2 Deluca's Market Deli Sandwich and Sanpellegrino Aranciata $7.24 239 Newbury Street, Boston, MA (Map it) 617.262.5990
1 Blue Ribbon Bar-B-Q Texas Sliced Beef Brisket and Homemade Sweet Potato Pie $9.24 Blue Ribbon is road-trip-, truck-stop-, sweet-to-melt-in the-cigarette-sour-mouth-style barbeque. The place seats a dozen in chrome-lit vintage-license-plate digs and orders are placed at the counter. Take-out is cheap too. The Texas sliced-beef-brisket sandwich comes meaty, with a side of baked beans, slaw, and house pickles. Cornbread is $.75, but we save room for the homemade sweet-potato pie. 908 Mass Ave, Arlington, MA (Map it) 781.648.7427
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