Cheap Eats

6 ETHNIC EATS

Little Tokyo
The only thing better than sushi is cheap sushi, but it's hard to find a large-portion specialty roll at a reasonable price-unless you're enough of a sushi insider to make Little Tokyo a regular stop. Our favorite, the Crab Rangoon Roll, includes crab and cream cheese tempura and smoked salmon in a rice roll, smothered in eel sauce. You get nine pieces for $5.95, a price that at most joints might get you six pieces of something not nearly as tasty. 1635 N. Glenstone Ave., 417-866-5596

Ocean Zen
We know what you're thinking: There is no way you can find something genuinely cheap to eat in a restaurant like this. C'mon, you're smarter than that. Ocean Zen Pacific Rim has a crispy wok chicken dish  served with a bed of jasmine rice, thick pineapple salsa and a light coating of sweet-with-a-kick citrus sake glaze. At $7.50, it's arguably the best entree bang for your buck in the restaurant. Also, it's not sushi, so no need for the can-I-eat-raw-stuff paranoia. 2058 S. Glenstone Ave., 417-889-9596

Tasia
When a restaurant's name stands for "taste of Asia," you walk in expecting variety, and Tasia's menu takes that concept as far as it can go. It's an old standard we're concentrating on here, however: the shrimp lo mein, a mega-plate of noodly goodness with a little seafood thrown in for extra mmmmmm. It's a pretty average price at dinner ($9.95), but the lunch serving ($7.95) serves us just fine, even if it is a little smaller. In case your stomach is still growling, it comes with a side of soup so you can slurp your way to satisfaction. 4728 S. Campbell Ave., 417-890-6789

Mexican Villa
Stop us if these ingredients sound familiar: A rolled flour tortilla filled with ground beef, melted shredded cheese, burrito sauce and lettuce. So the contents may not surprise anyone, but Mexican Villa's sancho is a filling frat-boy's dream meal that only costs $3.85 in its regular form ($4.75 if you substitute chicken for beef). There's also an enchilada-style sancho for $7.50 that's large enough to split between two people at no extra charge. 1408 S. National Ave., 417-869-4459; 1337 E. Sunshine St., 417-887-1010; 2755 S. Campbell Ave., 417-883-1040; and 1100 W. Sunshine St., 417-866-7292

Rasta Grill
Great for a small meal or an appetizer, Rasta Grill's requisite zinginess is served in patty form in their delicious crab cakes ($7.95 for three largish cakes). The cornmeal-and-crab meat cakes are deep fried and seasoned with house spices, and are served with two sauces-the spicy curried red sauce and a milder white seafood sauce. When it comes to crab cakes, we'll take Jamaica over Baltimore any day of the week. (319 W. Walnut St., 417-831-7221)

Tong's Thai Restaurant
When Tong Trithara invented the Thairito, he wasn't sure if the dish would remain on his menu. "Thai people laugh at it," he says. But 18 years later, it's a mainstay his eponymously named restaurant. The Thairito-which was inspired in part by Tong's favorite Mexican dish, the enchilada-is a tortilla wrapped around curried panang chicken, coconut, zucchini, carrots, onion, and peppers and smothered in panang sauce and cheese. It's only $6.45 for a lunch portion, which includes an egg roll and soup or salad. Tong-who is enjoying the last laugh-says the Thairito is one of his most popular items. 3454 S. Campbell Ave., 417-889-5280

3 SCRUMPTIOUS SANDWICHES

Cassil's Coffee Café
"It's actually served on sourdough," Cassil's chef Brandon Moore says, "so it's not really a panini." Fair enough. What we've internally called the portabella panini is actually the Bella Portabella, a sautéed mushroom coated in balsamic vinegar and olive oil and topped with roasted white onions, green peppers, sweet red peppers and feta cheese. Add the sourdough bread and you have a killer sandwich-not a panini-for $6.88. A good meal by any other name is still, well, a good meal. 2925 W. Republic Rd., 417-882-7282

Crosstown BBQ
If you can wait to take a late lunch, 2 to 5 p.m. is the time to head to Crosstown, which is tucked neatly in between Drury and Evangel on Division Street. All of their regular sandwiches (i.e. none of their specialty versions) are available buy-one, get-one-half-off, which means you and a friend can gobble bread heaped with pulled pork or beef (and of course slathered in BBQ sauce) at ridiculously economical prices. That ought to make your midday meal more than worth the wait. 1331 E. Division St., 417-862-4646

Lenny's Sub Shop
Stop in at either of Springfield's Lenny's locations and bypass the cold cuts in favor of a piping hot cheese steak. The beef variety is good, but the thin-sliced chicken, with grilled onions and your choice of spicy or mild toppings piled on soft white or wheat bread is a revelation (especially at $5.75 for the plenty-big regular size). The Lenny's chain (a recent arrival in Springfield thanks to local owner Bryan Powers) started in New Jersey, with is more authentic than, say, cheese steaks East Sunshine style. 4121 S. Fremont Ave., 417-890-0008; 1903 S. Glenstone Ave, 417-877-0301

5 HEARTY HELPINGS

Buckingham Smokehouse BBQ
You probably know Buckingham BBQ as much by its smell as its taste, and there's nothing wrong with that. But next time you catch a whiff of barbecue on a cold winter day, we suggest following your nose inside either of Buckingham's Springfield locations and ordering the half chicken ($7.99 with sides). It's all the best parts of the chicken-most people will be able to split the meal-smoked to juicy perfection and served with two sides (cheesy corn, pit beans and sweet potato fries, just to name a few possibilities). Don't forget to grab a few napkins...if you're not drooling already. 2002 S. Glenstone Ave., 417-866-9979; 2415 N. Glenstone Ave., 417-863-0112

McAlister's Deli
Back when they were introduced at fast-food restaurants, baked potatoes were seen as healthy alternatives to fries. That is, they were until McAlister's Deli turned them into mutant meals big enough to make soccer moms cry. With the chicken fajita spud ($6.49), McAlister's has built the perfect beast: strips of marinated chicken, onions, bell peppers, cheddar cheese, jalapenos, diced tomatoes and light (thank god!) sour cream all on top of a potato so freakishly large it will be protested by right-wing evangelicals any day now. 2445-A N. Kansas Expwy., 417-866-2331; 1460 E. Primrose St., 417-890-5250; 210 W. Sunshine St., 417-831-4450; 1711 W. Battlefield Rd. Ste. M, 417-888-0899

Cravin' Pizza
It's the time of year when Oscar-worthy movies start screening in theaters, but we suggest spending your movie ticket elsewhere-lunch, actually. The same $7 you were thinking of spending at Brad Pitt's Newest Attempt To Prove He's Not Just A Pretty Boy can take you pretty far at Cravin' Pizza on East Sunshine Street. Consider the choices: a 9" pizza or pizone (a hybrid pizza-calzone-clever, eh?) with as many as three toppings; any pasta entree except lasagna or chicken fettuccine; any sandwich on the menu; or the Big Big Salad, which stacks its contents about three inches high on a full-size entrée plate. All of them come with either a dinner salad or garlic bread on the side. Plus, if it's a good day for a beer lunch, you can substitute your soda for any beer except Pabst Blue Ribbon for $1 off the beer's regular price. If it sounds like a lot of possibilities, we recommend trying a different one each day; the Oscars aren't until February anyway. 3641 E. Sunshine St., 417-890-8255

Riad
There are few items in the world of Mediterranean food that are as deceptive as pita bread. How can anything that flat expand so much in the stomach? Riad's shawarma (a.k.a. gyros) is a bang-for-your-buck deal at $6.99 for just that reason: It's a one-two punch of beef and lamb, served on pita bread and topped with cucumber dressing, onion and tomato. On the side comes your choice of hummus or baba ghanoush, each served with-you guessed it-more pita bread. If you're a little slower getting out of your chair at the end of lunch, we won't blame you. That bread is huge. 105 Park Central Square, 417-866-1151

DiGiaCinto's
There's not a better Saturday special in town than the chicken parmesan, a weekend lunch staple. For $7.25 you get a heaping plate of linguini topped with a piece of breaded chicken parmesan. It's all smothered with homemade red sauce and served with fresh Italian bread and your choice of soup or salad. (And, yes, licking your plate clean is totally acceptable, even at a place as nice as DiGiaCinto. We said so.) 2259 S. Campbell Ave., 417-882-5166

4 PERFECT PIZZAS

Marco's Pizzeria
Don't you hate those specials that limit you to one topping? That's fine for fifth graders, but your tastes are more sophisticated. That's why Marco's lets you pile up to three toppings on a six-inch lunch pizza ($6.49 lunch special with soup or salad and drink). Marco's pizza is delish, with its thin Chicago-style crust and slightly sweet-yet-zippy red sauce, and the lunch special runs right up to dinner time-11 a.m. to 5 p.m.-which also makes it a perfect snack for an early happy hour. 301 Park Central West, 417-866-4477

South Avenue Pizza Company
Buffets get a bad rap (see repeated Golden Corral jokes in back issues of this magazine), but South Avenue is more than a lunch-hour feeding trough-it's a borderline religious experience. For $5.95 you get all the wheat-crust pizza you can eat between 11 a.m. and 2:30 p.m., specialty pies as well as the one-topping kinds. The chef keeps a nice variety on the hot plates, and if they're not too slammed will even take requests. The buffet price also includes unlimited salad bar visits-you know, for the salad eaters. 307 South Ave., 417-831-5551

WannaGetta Pizza
We can't get over how little we hear about WannaGetta Pizza, and yet it's so busy every time we go for lunch. That could be because a 13-inch pizza, two side salads (you must try their sweet celery seed dressing) and two drinks costs only $10.99-just $5.50 per person for a dining duo going Dutch. Though it's no longer on the menu, ask for a BLT pizza; the mozzarella and bacon-topped pie is piled with fresh tomatoes and chopped lettuce after it comes out of the oven. You can get a solo lunch special (10-inch pie, salad and drink) for just $7.59. 3302 S. National Ave., 417-885-0001

Springfield Brewing Company
Is there anything better than a pizza special that comes with a pitcher of hand-crafted beer? Do we ask a lot of rhetorical questions? The answer to both questions is a resounding "yes," but Brew Co. still has all the answers. For $10, you get a specialty pizza with an ice-cold pitcher of suds. How does a chicken alfredo spinach pizza (diced chicken and tomatoes with creamy alfredo sauce and fresh spinach) and a few glasses of Pale Ale sound? Damn, there we go again. 301 S. Market Ave,. 417-832-8277

4 BODACIOUS BREAKFASTS

Aunt Martha's Pancake House
The secret family recipe for blueberry pancakes is as popular now as it was when Aunt Martha's opened 43 years ago, which is to say that they're arguably the most recommended item on the menu. Here, history comes in stacks of three: a $5.75 order nets you three blueberry pancakes, each about five inches in diameter, with blueberry syrup served on the side. (Other pancake flavors come with hot maple syrup instead.) What's more, you can load up on a stack as early as 6:30 a.m. every day but Monday, so you can have your blueberries with a side of sunrise. 1700 E. Cherokee St., 417-881-3505

Gailey's Breakfast Café
An omelet is only as good as its options, and that's what a Gailey's omelet is all about. One choice is The Seville (named for the apartment building Gailey's is attached to), with sausage in the middle and a spicy kick provided by peppers and salsa topping. Another way to go would be the Egg-Stra Ordinary, which swaps the sausage for ham and the tongue burn for a more Mediterranean-style smoothness, thanks to black olives, hollandaise sauce and avocado. If neither of those $6.95 approaches fits the bill, there's always door No. 3: The chance to build your own omelet for $5.95, using six ingredients from the menu list (35 cents for each extra one). With a side of sweet browns (hash browns made from sweet potatoes) included, you can be sure any choice will fill your stomach. Post-breakfast nap, anyone? 220 E. Walnut St., 417-866-5500

Ziggie's Café
Is breakfast really breakfast if you eat it before you go to bed? At Ziggie's it is most definitely so, and there's no better way to taste their entire after bars-friendly menu than the sampler platter ($6.99). See if you have the fortitude to make it through two eggs, ham, bacon, sausage and hash browns, plus your choice of toast, biscuits and gravy or pancakes. Wash it down with a bottomless cup of coffee ($1.99) and you might just make it to sunrise after all, you rock star you. 2222 S. Campbell Ave., 417-883-0900, ext. 1; 853 N. Glenstone Ave., 417-883-0900, ext 2; 1324 W. Kearney St., 417-883-0900, ext 3.

Cedar's Restaurant
For true breakfast connoisseurs, biscuits and gravy is NOT a side dish. It's a meal in and of itself, and Cedar's treats it as such. A large order (just $2.69) consists of two fluffy biscuits split in half, creating four lumps on your plate once the fresh sausage gravy is poured over the top. You might want some coffee or juice to go with it, but chances are you won't need anything else. 515 N. West Bypass, 417-865-3646; 3322 S. Campbell Ave., 417-890-1984

4 SUGAR-BUZZ SWEETS

Galloway Village Tea Room
Let them eat cake! Galloway Village Tea Room owner Susan Fudge says if you bring a copy of this magazine in to Galloway Village Tea Room, she'll give you a free piece of coconut cake, which pretty much makes her the Marie Antoinette of Springfield tea rooms (without the messy beheading, of course). It doesn't get any more delicious than this cake...it's like sweet tooth porn. Thankfully, even if you forget your copy of GO, a gigantic slice is only $4. The creamy cake-with coconut baked throughout and topped with a real whipping cream a second, lighter variety of coconut-is sweet enough to make a dentist cry and big enough to split. Perfect for decadent holiday parties, a whole cake costs $30. 4112 S. Lone Pine Ave., 417-889-7139

Kaldi's Coffeehouse
Kaldi's has a confession-they don't actually make their succulent carrot cake in Springfield; it's baked at their St. Louis bakery and shipped down here. But no matter, we'd gladly drive to St. Louis ourselves for a slice of this treat. Iced with a light cream cheese-based spread and stuffed with walnuts and carrots, this cake and served by the slice ($3.25) or whole ($29.95) year round. If we may be so bold, we suggest eating your carrot cake with a simple latte-iced or hot, depending on your preference-nothing too sweet or robust. We'd hate for anything to interfere with your tastebuds' fun. 900 E. Battlefield Rd., 417-881-5466

Maria's Mexican Restaurant
The phrase "sugar-coating" usually refers to changing a bad taste to a good one. That's not the case with Maria's sopapillas. While many desserts are sugary-sweet to the point of nausea, this recipe is different: simple and traditional, it's just fried flour dough coated with white sugar. An order comes to $2.40 and includes a bottle of honey to pour over them, which we recommend. It's the perfect, light way to conclude a meal that, more often than not, will stuff you silly. 406 South Ave., 417-831-9339
 
Beth's Bake Shoppe
Many restaurants present you with a conundrum come dessert time: cheesecake or chocolate? Usually, the decision is so tough you and your dining partner wind up ordering both and feeling like slobs. Beth's Bake Shoppe solves that problem with its delicious cheesecake bar ($2.75 each), which combines the soft tang of good cheesecake with the warm richness of a fudge brownie. There are always two varieties to choose from-plain cheesecake or a specialty bar that alternates between blueberry, strawberry, raspberry swirl caramel apple, pumpkin or other such delights. So skip that restaurant dessert and head to Beth's for a cheap compromise. But order two, of course. 1645 W. Republic Rd. Ste. D, 417-866-5533