downtown
Attman's on Corned Beef Row piles a hand-cut corned beef sandwich high for not much, a cash-friendly lunch counter that has fed downtown since 1915.
Try: Corned beef sandwich
Tip: A sandwich and a knish make a filling, cheap lunch; eat it in the Kibbitz Room out back.
greektown
Chaps Pit Beef on Pulaski Highway delivers a hefty, cheap pit beef sandwich, charcoal-grilled rare top round on a kaiser with tiger sauce and onion.
Try: Pit beef sandwich
Tip: A pit beef sandwich is a meal on its own; order it rare with tiger sauce.
fells-point
Ekiben in Fells Point feeds a citywide following on cheap, generous steamed bao like the Neighborhood Bird, a counter that grew from a food cart.
Try: Steamed bao bun
Tip: Two buns make a filling, cheap lunch; the Neighborhood Bird is the one to get.
downtown
Connie's stall in Lexington Market fries hand-breaded chicken to order, with the half-and-half chicken box a cheap, classic Baltimore corner-store meal.
Try: Chicken box
Tip: The chicken box with western fries is the budget order; it is a Lexington Market institution.
downtown
Lexington Market gathers cheap counters under one roof, from Faidley's crab cake to lake trout and chicken boxes, the city's oldest market and its best value.
Try: Crab cake, lake trout, market stalls
Tip: Graze the stalls for lake trout, a chicken box or a crab cake; cash speeds the older counters.
greektown
Matthew's Pizza in Highlandtown shares a cheap, filling thick-crust pie that has fed the East side since 1943, with a famous crab pie for a splurge.
Try: Thick-crust pizza
Tip: A plain thick-crust pie feeds a group cheaply; the crab pie is the worthwhile upgrade.