Stretching the dining dollar

We don't always eat out at elegant places. We do our share of the $1 double cheeseburgers at McDonald or the $5 footlong subs at Subway. I'm also a big fan of the street corner hot dog vendor. I just don't usually photograph and talk about these places.

Sometimes we head down to the D.C. institution, Ben's Chili Bowl on U Street, since they stay open til 2 a.m. on weekdays and 4 a.m. on weekends. They're celebrating their 50th anniversary this year. All of the local politicians make a special effort to come here during election years for photo opportunities, though I've yet to see photos of Senator Obama eating there.

Some will accuse me of heresy, but I've never really thought the chili at Ben's was that good. What I go for, though, is their world-famous chili half-smoke, a $4.95 special with D.C.'s own native sausage, the half-smoke, grilled and then put in a hot dog bun with lots of chili and onion; it also comes with potato chips. One of the other specialties there is their French fries, sometimes topped with chili, sometimes cheese, sometimes both. Below are cheese fries.


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Not long ago, Ian and I were in College Park with Kevin, where we grabbed dinner at Plato's Diner. Ian had a feta cheese omelette with accompanying home fries plus an order of French fries. Kevin had his usual enormous Greek salad, then the two of them split an enormous piece of their three layer strawberry shortcake with a big scoop of ice cream. I got the fried chicken blue plate, with cornbread dressing, mashed potatoes, and a choice of soup or salad; fortuitously, I picked the soup of the day, a delicious pumpkin bisque.

Robert and I were running errands in Columbia Heights the other day when a torential downpour started. Both for shelter and sustenance, we popped into Gloria's Pupeseria. Robert got the bistec encebollado, or steak with onions, and he especially loved the sauce on the meat. I got a huge bowl of sopa de pollo, a chicken and vegetable stew accompanied by those small, thick, Salvadorean style tortillas. We washed down our meal with glasses of horchata, that rice milk, vanilla, and cinnamon drink popular in Central America.

Both of these meals cost only about $10 per person, which, in Washington, is an extremely good deal.
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For just a little more money, Ian and I went to The Diner in Adams-Morgan a few days ago. For those so inclined, they have the advantage of a full bar, and, my favorite thing about them is that they are open 24 hours a day.

On this trip, Ian got an egg and cheese sandwich on an English muffin with home fries. I got a basic cheeseburger with pepper Jack cheese and French fries.


Then for dessert, I got the peach cobbler with an oat crumble crust and a scoop of ice cream, whilst Ian got the chocolate roulade, a chocolate cake rolled up with a mascarpone cheese filling.


So, those are some of our Summer 2008 budget dining favorites.