The Vitals: the spot: Pietro’s 232 E. 43rd St. New York NY 10017 the eats: Shells a la Nat, New York Strip Steak for two, Caesar salad with bacon the bucks: $26, $106, and $16 respectively, plan on $100 a head with a stiff drink in the mix the full nelson: historic NYC steakhouse that twists the traditional line up with pastas, parms and a bacon laced Caesar salad. Pietro’s has been on my radar since 2007, when I came ...

The Vitals: the spot: Otherside Deli 1104 W. 34th St Austin TX  78705 the eats: The Roddy the bucks: $11 the full nelson: The first pastrami sandwich that has made me miss LA a little less In the weeks leading up to my imminent departure from Los Angeles in the summer of 2015, I made sure to eat at as many of my favorite haunts as I could. Knowing that I couldn’t get to them all, I made a special ...

There is a movement happening in Texas to declare tacos the official state food. I see a good case for that, although brisket is a strong contender as well. In California, I think making the taco the official state food would be nothing short of a slam dunk. Sure, Southern California is the birthplace of the fast food burger and up in San Francisco, a whole style of burrito awaits you. Still, North or South, big city or quiet surf ...

The Vitals: recipe: Al Pastor tacos difficulty: medium health rating:healthy time: 1 hour + marinade time <scroll down for ingredients and instructions> As much as I love scouring the country for Cheap Eats, I love grilling at home just as much. My preference is to cook over a “live fire”, which for me is hardwood charcoal. These days I have a backyard, so lighting up a grill is pretty easy but back when I lived in a loft, I had to ...

The Vitals: the spot: Little Big Burger 1630 East 6th St. Austin TX 78702 the eats: Little Big Burger with double patty, cheddar and bacon the bucks: $7.50, $4.50 respectively the full nelson: a burger chain that’s pretty keen on Bang for your Burger Buck One of my first jobs out of college would occasionally take the staff out for lunch. I naturally liked to steer the ship on where would we go, and fought relentlessly from dining at a chain. ...

The Vitals: the spot: Tsubaki Szechuan 1117 NW 25th St. Oklahoma City, OK 73106 the eats: Xiao Long Bao(soup dumplings), fried beef with cumin, pork wonton in chili oil  the bucks: $8.95, $13.95, $5.95 respectively the full nelson: dumplings as good as I’ve had in NYC, San Francisco or LA Growing up in the Midwest and being a 1st generation Bengali American, I know that even the “fly over states” have more diversity than what some might give them credit for. ...

I’ve never done a “best of” post before but after the year I have had in 2018 . . . there was no way I couldn’t. Between finishing Cheap Eats Season 4, shooting all of Season 5, plus numerous excursions to NYC and LA and appearing on Best Thing I Ever Ate, there are a lot of great meals to muse over. So take one long last look at the best bites I had in 2018 . . . my ...

The Vitals: the spot: Tumble 22 7211 Burnett road Austin TX 78757 the eats: The OG Classic Hot Chicken Sandwich the bucks: $8.50 the full nelson: a perfect fried chicken experience captured in a bun  Austin really isn’t a fried chicken joint town and that’s OK because these days it’s all about Hot Chicken, or should I say Nashville Hot Chicken. Now I’m sure of you saw Cheap Eats Nashville and know that I did indeed try some real deal Nashville ...

The Vitals: the spot: Lee’s Bakery 4005 Buford Highway NE Ste C Atlanta GA 30345 the eats: Large Combination Pho, Grilled Pork Sandwich the bucks: $10.25, $3.75 respectively the full nelson: the definition of why Vietnamese joints are Cheap Eats havens Upon my initial research into Atlanta for Cheap Eats, I knew I was going to have to make a stop at Buford Highway. The legendary drag is home to tacos, sushi, dumplings. curries, Korean food beyond BBQ and so much ...

The Vitals: the spot: Haat Bazaar 3711 73rd st suite 73 Jackson Heights Queens NY the eats: Biriyani, beef curry, dal, dimmer chop(fried egg), bhaji – basically get everything you can but fair warning: the fish has a million bones!! the bucks: $10 a person the full nelson: legendary Bengali grocer serving authentic home cooked Bengali food in the heart of Jackson Heights Queens Beyond Chicken Tikka Masala and Naan lies a complex world of regional Indian cuisines, like Bengali cuisine ...