Cocina Latina is a budget eat in Central West End, St. Louis.
Maritza Rios's CWE kitchen plates Peruvian, Cuban and Colombian home cooking, with aji de gallina, ropa vieja and rotisserie chicken in the low double digits.
Tip: Aji de gallina or the ropa vieja are the value orders. Mains land in the ten-to-sixteen-dollar range, with sides extra.
Address: 508 N Euclid Ave, St. Louis, MO 63108
A drive-in near the airport, Woofie's has sold cheap Chicago-style hot dogs since the 1970s, billing itself the home of the hotdog with dignity.
Try: Chicago-style hot dogs
Tip: Order it Chicago-style, dragged through the garden. It is a quick, cheap roadside stop near the airport.
Open since 1913, Crown Candy is the metro's oldest soda fountain, slinging affordable malts, a towering BLT and chili in an Old North parlour frozen in time.
Try: Soda-fountain malts and BLTs
Tip: A malt and the bacon-heavy BLT make a cheap, classic lunch. Expect a weekend line at one of the city's oldest counters.
Serving since 1941 on Route 66, Ted Drewes sells cheap, thick frozen-custard concretes, the landmark dessert handed over upside down to prove it.
Try: Frozen custard concretes
Tip: A concrete is a few dollars and a city rite of passage. Cash-friendly; expect a summer line at the window.
An LGBTQ-friendly coffeehouse across from Tower Grove Park, Mokabe's serves a cheap all-day vegetarian-leaning brunch, a welcoming budget spot.
Try: All-day vegetarian brunch
Tip: The all-day vegan and vegetarian brunch is rare and affordable. It fills after the Saturday farmers market.
Steve's Hot Dogs on South Grand loads creative toppings onto cheap griddled dogs and has been voted the city's best, a budget counter with a cult following.
Try: Loaded St. Louis-style hot dogs
Tip: The loaded specialty dogs are the draw and stay cheap. Counter service keeps the turnaround fast at peak.
The chain that made St. Louis-style pizza a city standard, Imo's tops cracker-thin crust with Provel, cut in squares, a cheap and essential local taste.
Try: St. Louis-style Provel pizza
Tip: Order it tavern-cut into squares to eat it the local way. A large feeds a group for not much money.
