Pho Momma ★ 4.5
Pho Momma on Folsom Boulevard in Sacramento serves a Michelin Bib Gourmand pho under $18, the best-value Vietnamese counter with house pork wontons.
Try: Pho with house pork wontons
Vampire Penguin Old Sacramento is a budget eat in Old Sacramento, Sacramento.
Vampire Penguin in Old Sacramento at 2nd Street serves the signature shaved snow bowl under $10, the original 2013 storefront of the now-national chain.
Address: 1026 2nd Street, Suite B, Sacramento, CA 95814
Pho Momma on Folsom Boulevard in Sacramento serves a Michelin Bib Gourmand pho under $18, the best-value Vietnamese counter with house pork wontons.
Try: Pho with house pork wontons
Mother on K Street, midtown Sacramento, is the city's defining vegetarian counter under $20, daily-changing California farm-to-fork bowls and sandwiches.
Try: Seasonal vegetable bowls and farm sandwiches
Selland's H Street counter in East Sacramento serves rotisserie chicken under $17, a walk-in family room from the team behind Ella Dining Room and OBO'.
Try: Rotisserie chicken and seasonal sides
Squeeze Burger on K Street, downtown Sacramento, serves the signature third-pound patty with a fried cheese skirt under $12, the local institution.
Try: Squeezeburger with cheese skirt
Chando's Tacos on Arden Way is the family street-taco counter under $12, the relaunched Sacramento chain with stone-ground tortillas since 2010.
Try: Street tacos and NorCal burrito
Petra Greek on 16th Street, midtown Sacramento, serves chicken and lamb gyros under $16, the family-run Greek counter on the 16th Street strip.
Try: Gyro plate and lamb wrap