The Vitals: the spot: Cassell's Hamburgers 3600 W. 6th St Los Angeles CA 90020 the eats: Cheeseburger featuring 1/3lb Meyer Angus Beef with cheddar, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickle and Thousand Island dressing the bucks: $11.75 the full nelson: A burger sequel that is better than the original

Once upon a time hamburgers were a simple affair. The very best ones were anointed so mostly because of the size and quality of the beef. Cassell's Hamburgers was such a place, especially in its first four decades of service(1948-1998), when it was considered the best in town by the likes of Pulitzer Prize winning author Jonathan Gold, legendary food writer Calvin Trillin, Jane and Michael Stern among other luminaries. By the time I came around to visiting Cassell's in the early 2000s I suspect the glory days were in the rearview mirror. Though sold by original owner Al Cassell in the 1990s, the torch was supposedly passed to good people. Sadly my experience was less Los Angeles Burger icon and more "I think I just died and went to Fuddruckers". By the time I tried Cassell's, Los Angeles was in the early stages of a burger Renaissance and Cassell's Hamburgers seemed like a fading burger relic. (more…)

Michigan is fast becoming a fav state to visit and Cheap Eats Ann Arbor may have been the icing on the cupcake. After getting wowed back in 2016 when Cheap Eats visited Grand Rapids and then experiencing the revitalization of Motor City a year later when Cheap Eats visited Detroit, I have been riding high on a wave of solid Michigan eats for a couple years now. Enter Cheap Eats Ann Arbor, Michigan's answer to college town eats and let me tell you . . . if this is what college kids eat these days, call me Rodney Dangerfield and send me Back to School, cuz up and down the Cheap Eats in Ann Arbor are really just Good Eats . . . minus the Alton Brown of course. So buckle up, Go Blue(even if you're a Buckeye fan) and take another bite out of Cheap Eats Ann Arbor! (more…)

The Vitals: the spot: Micklethwait Craft Meats 1309 Rosewood Ave Austin TX 78722 the eats: brisket, barbacoa, pulled lamb, spareribs, beet salad, escabeche, jalapeño cheese grits the bucks: $20 a person, $30 if you go big with beef ribs the full nelson: the most underrated barbecue in Austin 

If I had a nickel every time someone visiting Austin asked "is Franklin's worth the wait?" I would take that loot and head straight over to Micklethwait Craft Meats. The answer to the Franklin's question is really subjective. Do you want to spend a full day waiting to eat at just one barbecue spot, in a town loaded with more smoked meat masters than even I have had time to try in 3 years of living here? Look, Franklin's is indeed very very good. Their brisket can win over a vegan or at least a pescatarian and a little secret: their smoked turkey is one of the best things to ever have been pulled out of a smoker. But you will have to wait for hours and hours for like it was a damn job. If you have seen the post about Bang for your Brisket Buck or watched my episode on Best Thing I Ever Ate, you know my love for La Barbecue. But that too comes with a substantial wait. Enter Micklethwait Craft Meats, an East Austin food trailer slinging what I believe to be the most underrated barbecue in town. (more…)

One look at that low country boil I scored for dinner in Cheap Eats Savannah reminds me of two things: Savannah Seafood Shack offers up a steal when it comes to the pricey world of seafood and my Cheap Eats Savannah escapades did not come so easy, cheap eaters. Savannah reminds me of Charleston in more than ways than one. It's a gorgeous town that's a postcard for the Antebellum South. The hanging moss and stately abodes make you daydream about purchasing a second home here. And as far as food goes, there are more than a few options for the foodie's bucket list. While I was here, I slipped into Sean Brock's Husk, Cotton and Rye, and Collins Quarter; all of which make for splurge worthy meals but splurges nonetheless. Add to the fact that tourist friendly towns like Savannah are loaded with tourist trap restaurants and you best pick your Cheap Eats wisely my friends. And with that, let's take another big bite out of Cheap Eats Savannah! (more…)

When Cheap Eats wrapped the shoot in St. Petersburg, I walked away surprised and impressed with the level of cooking happening there. Once dubbed "God's Waiting room", St. Petersburg has transformed from a retirement haven to a destination city on Florida's Gulf coast. Sometimes on Cheap Eats, we feature restaurants that serve up deals despite offering a menu that upon first glance would be way out of our budget. Enter Red Mesa Cantina, whose sprawling three story set up(in an old firehouse) will take you through a packed lively restaurant, a private dining hall with vaulted ceilings and a rooftop bar serving up a myriad of the world's best ceviches(Mexican, Peruvian), mixology style cocktails and some pretty sweet views of the cityscape at night. Chef Chris Fernandez of Red Mesa offered to take me around town to meet some noteworthy local chefs and test out the St. Petersburg fine dining scene. Are you ready for it? Hang on. Now imagine you are watching the opening to Law and Order and cue . . .

"these are their stories"

(more…)

If I had to describe Cheap Eats St. Petersburg in just one word it would be this: surprising. Outside of Miami(where we did an episode of Cheap Eats in Season One) and a summer family trip to Destin in my tender Wonder Years, my knowledge of Florida eats is pretty darn minimal. Take away the heavy Cuban and Caribbean culinary influence in Miami and one might correctly assume that Southern fare becomes a big part of the edible mosaic. But Florida is also part of the East Coast and snowbirds who take refuge down here like to bring their eats with them. This is exactly the case of the aptly named Brooklyn South, our spot for lunch in Cheap Eats St. Petersburg. With that kind of back and forth between major cosmopolitan cities of the Northeast to the sunny environs of FLA, the idea of a legit crêperie doesn't seem that surprising nor does a swanky dessert themed bar. Add a plate of duck confit quesadilla and I'm sure you would find Cheap Eats St. Petersburg just as surprising as I did. Well seeing is believing, and seeing it twice will make you rethink just which side of Florida you will trek to next and so let's take one more bite out of Cheap Eats St. Petersburg! (more…)

The Vitals: the spot: Joe Junior 167 3rd Ave New York NY 10003 the eats: Cheeseburger the bucks: $5.85 the full nelson: can a burger with the appeal of a picky 5 year old indeed be the best burger in NYC?

Joe Junior has been on my burger radar for quite some time, in no small part due to the adoration of Nick Solares, host of Meat Life, The Meat Show, writer for Eater NY and Serious Eats, and author of the blog Beef Aficionado. If you haven't figured it out by now, Mr Solares is a serious carnivore, one that is never short for words when it comes to pontificating over the virtues of a truly excellent burger. I've never lived in New York but have made it a point to always get a burger when I'm there, which is frequent. I'd like to think I have somewhat of a handle on the burger scene here but, let's face it: the list is long, my credit card has a modest limit and I would be insulting my statin prescription to try and eat every NYC burger worthy of a visit without at least parking it at an Airbnb for a month. Still, I feel confident in joining in on the chorus that hails Joe Junior as the Best Burger in NYC. (more…)

The Vitals: the spot: John's Roast Pork 14 E. Snyder Ave Philadelphia PA 19148 the eats: cheesesteak, roast pork the bucks: $9.25, $8.75 respectively the full nelson: after you have tried the greatness of the Roast Pork, it's time to take on the Cheesesteak

If you caught the Philadelphia episode of Cheap Eats then no doubt you know about the greatness of John's Roast Pork and their Roast Pork sandwich, THE sandwich of Philadelphia. Yeah, cheesesteaks get all the credit, but the Roast Pork sandwich is as Philly as the original Rocky. That being said, this doesn't mean you shouldn't get your fill of a good cheesesteak and at John's Roast Pork, you certainly will find one of the best cheesesteaks in Philadelphia. (more…)