west-side
Garcia's Mexican Food on the West Side is a small, cash-friendly counter where the cheap carne guisada taco is the order; go early before the breakfast crowd.
Try: Breakfast tacos and carne guisada
Tip: The carne guisada taco is cheap and excellent. Small and cash-friendly; come early before the breakfast crowd.
north-side
Lucy's Cafe on the north side keeps breakfast cheap, with a bean and cheese with bacon taco under three dollars; it is cash-friendly and busy at breakfast.
Try: Bean and cheese with bacon taco
Tip: The bean and cheese with bacon is the order under three dollars. Cash-friendly and busy at breakfast.
north-side
Rolando's Super Tacos on the north side is famous for El Gigante, a single taco big enough to be a whole breakfast for the price of a coffee elsewhere.
Try: El Gigante, one taco that feeds a person
Tip: One El Gigante is a whole breakfast for the price of a coffee elsewhere. Order at the counter and add beans.
west-side
Henry's Puffy Tacos on West Woodlawn plates puffy tacos with rice and beans for a modest price, the Lopez family's cheap, filling counter for the West Side.
Try: Puffy taco plate under fifteen dollars
Tip: A puffy taco plate with rice and beans is a cheap, filling meal. The shells come hot; eat them straight away.
east-side
Pollos Asados Los Norteños grills whole mesquite chickens on Rigsby Avenue that feed a family for the price of one mid-range entree, a high-value cult spot.
Try: Mesquite-grilled chicken feeds a family
Tip: A whole grilled chicken with tortillas and onions feeds several people cheaply. Go early; the line builds fast.
downtown
Schilo's, the city's oldest restaurant, serves a bowl of its famous split-pea soup and a hearty sandwich downtown for a modest sum, a 1917 German-Texan deli.
Try: Split-pea soup and a sandwich
Tip: The split-pea soup and house root beer make a cheap downtown lunch with a century of history behind it.