Florida Avenue Grill is a soul food budget eat in Washington DC.
Florida Avenue Grill in Washington DC is the LeDroit Park 1944 diner with breakfast all day, the city's cheapest soul food sit-down with eggs-grits-biscuit.
Editorially verified May 18, 2026 by Lewis Vaughan, TableJourney editor. Source.
Tip: Breakfast runs all day; the half-smoke breakfast plate at $13 is the editorial value meal of the menu.
Address: 1100 Florida Ave NW, Washington, DC 20009, Washington DC
Bindaas Bowls and Rolls in Washington DC is the Penn Quarter fast-casual Indian counter from the Rasika team of Ashok Bajaj and chef Vikram Sunderam.
Try: Chicken tikka masala kathi roll ($12-14)
Tip: The chicken tikka masala kathi roll is the bestseller; pair it with the chili-cheese curry puff for the editorial value plate.
Purple Patch in Washington DC is Patrice Cleary's Mount Pleasant Street Filipino dining room since 2014, with lumpia, pancit and an adobo plate that all run.
Try: Filipino lumpia and pancit ($14)
Tip: The lunch combo of lumpia, half a pancit and an adobo is the editorial value at under $16; the brunch tocino at weekends is similar.
HipCityVeg Chinatown in Washington DC is the Philadelphia-born plant-based chain's 7th Street counter, a fast-casual fully vegan room with crispy chick'n.
Try: Crispy HipCity chick'n sandwich ($10-12)
Tip: Late-night service runs to 02:00 Thursday to Saturday; the chick'n sandwich plus a side of fries holds the meal under $14 with no plant-based-tax surcharge.
Dukem in Washington DC runs a $16 vegetarian combination platter at the U Street Ethiopian dining room, a round of injera with misir, shiro.
Try: Vegetarian combination ($16)
Tip: The veg combo for two with extra injera at $4 is the city's best Ethiopian value at under $25 for the table.
Ben's Chili Bowl in Washington DC is the U Street half-smoke counter since 1958, the city's defining cheap-eat with the chili half-smoke at $7.95.
Try: Chili half-smoke ($7.95)
Tip: Pair a chili half-smoke with the chili cheese fries to share; $20 covers two people including drinks.
Pho 14 Columbia Heights in Washington DC is the Park Road Vietnamese counter with pho served from a 14-hour broth, a six-item menu and bowls under $16.
Try: Pho bowl ($12-16)
Tip: The pho dac biet (special) at $14 feeds two if you order extra noodles; the spring rolls are the value side.
