Grand Bistro is a vietnamese budget eat in Tower Grove South, St. Louis.
Grand Bistro carries on the Trinh family's South Grand Vietnamese legacy in the former Pho Grand space, with pho and com tam at neighbourhood prices.
Tip: Order the pho dac biet or a rice plate; the family ran Pho Grand here for decades before reopening as Grand Bistro.
Address: 3195 S Grand Blvd, St. Louis, MO 63118
Mama Fazio's Shaw Avenue shop builds cheap foot-long Sicilian subs and soups on The Hill, a lunch-only counter where a sandwich easily feeds two.
Try: Sicilian subs and soups
Tip: One foot-long Sicilian sub splits between two for a cheap Hill lunch. Lunch only, and the line moves fast.
A Benton Park sandwich counter, Blues City turns out cheap po-boys and muffulettas with live blues some afternoons, a beloved lunch-only spot.
Try: Po-boys and muffulettas
Tip: The muffuletta and po-boys are the value picks; arrive before the lunch rush. Live blues plays some afternoons.
A 16-stool roadside drive-in of six decades, Carl's griddles cheap crispy-edged burgers and pours house-made root beer, a Route-66-era bargain.
Try: Crispy-edged burgers and root beer
Tip: A double burger and root beer is the order for a few dollars. Only 16 stools, so expect a short wait at peak.
Hodak's has won reader polls for best fried chicken since the 1990s, plating a generous bird-and-sides dinner at a fair price in a no-frills room.
Try: Fried chicken dinner
Tip: The fried chicken dinner with sides is the value order. Expect a wait on Friday nights for the bird.
Sameem plates affordable Afghan kabuli palaw, aushak dumplings and kabobs in The Grove, a generous-portion kitchen of Afghan classics for years.
Try: Kabuli palaw and aushak
Tip: The aushak leek dumplings are the order to lead with. Plenty of cheap vegetarian dishes round out the menu.
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.
Try: Aji de gallina and pollo a la brasa
Tip: Aji de gallina or the ropa vieja are the value orders. Mains land in the ten-to-sixteen-dollar range, with sides extra.
