Like doorbusters on Black Friday , the aim is to rope customers in with free kids meals and then make money selling adult entrees. Restaurants that offer free kids meals typically do so on weekdays to draw customers in on their slow days.

Even among chain restaurants, offers vary by location and can change at any time, so call ahead to confirm the deal. Tipping your server is important, as most of their income comes from tips. But it can also add a significant amount to your total bill. If you eat out at least once per week, tips alone could add up to an extra restaurant meal every month.

But if you opt for takeout instead, you can save considerably on the tip portion of the bill. For example, if you opt for takeout, you may only need to leave a couple of dollars, depending on the size and complexity of your order. Plus, carryout is a convenient option for families with little ones, who often have difficulty waiting for their food or sitting still through long meals.

Instead, order ahead, pick it up, and take the meal to a park, where the kids can wiggle and squirm all they want or even play when they should be eating. We often pick up Subway or Panera sandwiches or some ice cream and eat while our son plays at a nearby park. You can also cut back on the frequency of your dinners out, saving them for special occasions.

Plus, you can put everything you save toward something even more fun, such as a family vacation. Skip to content Advertiser Disclosure Advertiser Disclosure: The credit card and banking offers that appear on this site are from credit card companies and banks from which MoneyCrashers. com receives compensation.

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Bank, and Barclaycard, among others. Spend Money 14 Ways to Eat Out Cheap With a Family Full of Kids. By Sarah Graves. Table of contents. Spend Money. Sarah Graves. Sarah Graves, Ph.

is a freelance writer specializing in personal finance, parenting, education, and creative entrepreneurship. She's also a college instructor of English and humanities. When not busy writing or teaching her students the proper use of a semicolon, you can find her hanging out with her awesome husband and adorable son watching way too many superhero movies.

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From bowls of piping hot ramen to our favorite street foods , including the best al pastor taco citywide ordered three to six at a time , here are our top 15 L. One of the long-standing heroes of the old-school taco trucks a. loncheros , Mariscos Jalisco has earned a deservedly loyal and devoted following.

Note: These trucks are cash-only. There are countless affordable taco trucks in L. My Dung is one such spot, a Vietnamese sandwich shop at the intersection of Broadway and Ord with crates of also-affordable fruits and vegetables in a rainbow of colors to supplement their bánh mì in a range of options.

Just note: This spot is cash-only. The mound of white rice underneath will fill you up, while the fatty soy-braised pieces of pork pack maximum umami flavor into each hearty bowl.

Choose between chicken drumstick or beef, then slurp your way through a creamy coconut curry soup laden with flat, perfectly chewy egg noodles. Dress it up with the side of lime wedge, sour mustard, shallots and crispy noodles to add acidity and even more texture.

Bits of carefully prepared green onions, pork cracklings, bean sprouts, meatballs and your choice of mixed pork or beef offal arrive in each traditionally small bowl.

For dessert, order the kanom tuay; the delicate steamed pandan-coconut custards are the perfect way to cap off an affordable meal here. A post shared by Weekly LALALA weeklylalala on Jan 14, at pm PST.

One order can easily feed two or three people, and comes peppered with whole spices and bone-in pieces of chicken caution: eat with care. After a few bites, you might feel like your mouth is on fire—so make sure you use some of the tangy cilantro and mint-inflected raita that comes on the side.

A post shared by Michelle Los Angeles intomyplate on Oct 27, at pm PDT. Like Northern Thai Food Club and some of the other best restaurants in L.

Sapp offers some no-frills seriously good Thai-style eats, but the jade noodles specifically are a cult favorite: a soupless bowl though you can also order it with soup filled with BBQ pork, roast duck, crab meat and thick green noodles that never seem to end. Want a nice kick?

Order it spicy. Without butter, the dish is entirely vegan. With or without, however, the zhengyalov hatz are light and delicious; each bite tastes like spring.

Drinks-wise, among other beverages, you can also order Armenian coffee, glass teapots filled with spiced and herbal tea and their housemade okroshka, a tangy yogurt drink packed to the brim with dill and cucumber. The fresh noodles get pulled to order and made before your very eyes, then slid into your choice of broth.

Pick your noodle bowl, then add à la carte tempura, eggs, meats and chilled accoutrements to build your perfect meal. Made with rich ghee instead of oil or margarine, the flaky Judeo-Spanish treats at this Sherman Oaks kosher takeout window are worth coming from out of the way.

Mexican Monterey Park. Zam Zam Market. Pakistani Hawthorne. Cuban Burbank. Cilantro Mexican Grill. Mexican Tacos North Hollywood. All Posts. Ktown Pho Vietnamese Koreatown.

Brant Cox February 5, Pho Cafe Vietnamese Silver Lake. The Win-Dow Long Beach American Long Beach. Nikko Duren January 31, Eastside Market Italian Deli Sandwiches Italian Chinatown.

Brant Cox December 7, Garrett Snyder June 30, Sylvio Martins June 28, Village Pizzeria Pizza Larchmont. Brant Cox April 19, Brant Cox March 15, Nikko Duren January 24, Antojitos Mexicanos El Paisa Mexican Highland Park.

Sylvio Martins October 31, Irv's Burgers Burgers West Hollywood. Arden Shore September 22, Rad Na Silom Thai East Hollywood Thai Town. Sylvio Martins September 6, Goldburger Highland Park Burgers Highland Park. Brant Cox August 31, Garrett Snyder August 30, Cielito Lindo Mexican Downtown LA.

Sylvio Martins August 30, Wax Paper Sandwiches Frogtown. Brant Cox August 22, Tasty Noodle House Chinese San Gabriel.

Find cheap tacos, breakfasts, fried chicken and burgers all across Los Angeles 76 Cheap Dinner Ideas That Don't Skimp on Taste · Slow Cooker Chicken Noodle Soup · Hearty Vegetable Soup with Parsley Gremolata · Slow Cooker Mac Missing

Budget-friendly dining options - Your guide to the most affordable, budget-friendly restaurants in San Francisco, where you can buy a cheap meal for around $10 Find cheap tacos, breakfasts, fried chicken and burgers all across Los Angeles 76 Cheap Dinner Ideas That Don't Skimp on Taste · Slow Cooker Chicken Noodle Soup · Hearty Vegetable Soup with Parsley Gremolata · Slow Cooker Mac Missing

Restaurant-friendly coupon apps include:. As restaurants scramble to compete for your business, many offer smartphone apps with coupons or loyalty programs with rewards points you can exchange for free food, especially kid-friendly chain restaurants.

Or you can set up a secondary email account just for money-saving newsletters. Some of the most popular family-friendly restaurants that offer loyalty programs with rewards points or mobile apps with coupons include:. Raise is like eBay for gift cards. It allows sellers to post their unwanted gift cards for sale, offering them at a discounted price in exchange for cash.

Alternatively, you can buy gift cards for restaurants at any number of regional grocery store chains that offer fuel perks. A third idea is to stock up on gift cards during the holidays.

Most restaurants offer bonus cash for purchasing gift cards during the holiday season, and if you buy from a restaurant you frequent often, you can keep the gift cards to pay for your own meals and get the bonus cash too.

You can help your family budget by planning your meal before you get to the restaurant and discussing those expectations with your kids. For example, you can stick to a certain price threshold. Let your kids know the maximum price they can spend on an entree before you leave.

Similarly, if you prefer to skip appetizers, paid drinks, or desserts, let your kids know upfront. For example, a gourmet grass-fed burger at boutique restaurants can cost double what a burger at a casual chain restaurant does. Checking ahead can help you avoid sticker shock and make different plans if necessary.

Restaurant meals in the United States are notoriously huge. Their portions often easily feed two or more. Thus, it can pay to get creative with various ways to split meals.

You can ask your server to bring an extra plate. We did this for several years with our son, and servers in most restaurants are accustomed to it. Another option is to order a couple of entrees to share family-style with everyone at the table.

We frequently order two entrees for three or four people to share. We especially like to do this at restaurants where the food comes in separate dishes from the ones you eat on, which is a perfect setup for sharing.

Some restaurants specifically advertise family-style dining. Others, such as barbecue joints and American-style Chinese restaurants, make it easy to share. You can also try splitting one adult entree between two children, ordering a la carte and sharing sides, or splitting appetizers and desserts.

Any way you can share food helps pare down the total bill as well as reduce wasted food. Appetizers and starters usually cost less than entrees but can often be a fairly substantial size. Plenty of restaurants offer what some may consider complete meals as appetizers.

Buffalo wings that come with veggies are one example, and some restaurants even serve their appetizer chicken tenders with fries.

Likewise, soup and salad cover all the bases and are typically cheaper than your average entree. Some restaurants offer all-you-can-eat refills on these items. For example, you can get endless trips to the salad bar for one price at Ruby Tuesday.

Route E. Olympic Blvd. Website mariscos-jalisco. Also on my short list: Ngu Binh, with locations in Westminster and Fountain Valley, where Mai Tran and her family present dishes from Thua Thien Hue, a province in central Vietnam famous for its royal cuisine.

The menus are the same at both restaurants, though the Fountain Valley space is roomier and prettier. Route Magnolia St. Website ngubinh. Perilla L. Los Angeles food obsessives have long deliberated over which Koreatown restaurants serve the finest spreads of banchan.

When Jihee Kim began her Perilla L. pop-up project in summer , she reminded many of us to savor banchan as the meal itself. In her hands it was a given that this class of dishes, so full of geometries and colors and so urgent in flavor, commanded center stage. Three years later, she has at last launched her daytime restaurant and takeout shop.

Expect straight-from-the-farmers-market produce prepared in intuitive gradations of freshness and fermentation — summer squash animated by garlic-chile oil; fiery, complex kimchi made from collard greens or daikon — and perennials like her stunning seaweed-rolled omelet cut into circles with hypnotic, spiraling centers.

Locating Perilla can feel like a treasure hunt on the first visit: Follow GPS to the Victor Heights address at the edge of Echo Park and look for the peachy-orange buildings. Route Alpine St.

Website perillala. Home to the largest Oaxacan population outside Mexico, Los Angeles knows tlayudas: Our restaurants usually serve them as open-faced discs, their foot-wide tortillas showered with quesillo and crumbled chorizo, and often sliced avocado and nopales arranged in spirals like nautilus shells.

He begins by painting his masa canvas with asiento, a toasted lard he renders himself, before spreading over frijoles refritos, cheese pulled into short strings and shredded cabbage. Choose among three meats, which can be combined: chorizo; tasajo, a thin cut of flank steak salt-cured for a few hours before grilling; and moronga, a billowy, herb-laced blood sausage made from a recipe that was a wedding gift to Martinez from the father of his wife and business partner, Odilia Romero.

She co-founded the organization Comunidades Indigenas en Liderazgo, or CIELO, which hosts the pop-up on its front lawn. Route S. Main St. Website ponchostlayudas. It sets an uplifting mood for the saturation of colors that await on walls and plates inside.

Brothers Germán Granja and Valentín Granja run their business in the space that formerly housed the original Guelaguetza, where their chef Dominga Rodriguez also previously worked. She oversees an extensive menu; I concentrate on her exemplary Oaxacan classics.

Moles bear her unique fingerprints. Try her amarillo, a soupy rendition with chicken and vegetables that leaves an aura of cumin and cloves around the palate.

Satisfying versions of goat and lamb barbacoa, both swaddled in avocado leaves as they cook, arrive in chile-stained broths that warm with spice without inflicting heart-pounding chile heat.

The restaurant opens at 8 a. daily for eggs that are scrambled with chorizo or made into an omelet and submerged in salsa verde. In late he took over Hollywood Shawarma, a tiny stand with a handful of sidewalk tables.

Kamal grew up in southwestern Syria and has been making shawarma since he was a teenager. Their forms resemble overgrown pine cones: One is a mix of lamb and beef, referred to as lahme in Arabic, and the other is lemony chicken, or djej.

Each has its own canon sauce: tahini-based tarator for lahme, toum whipped garlic sauce for djej. The larger variations are made using a familiar Los Angeles staff of life — big, thin flour tortillas.

They admirably stand in for khubz, the traditional papery bread. Route Ventura Blvd. Instagram Instagram. Smorgasburg L. Downtown L. At face value, Smorgasburg L. is a weekly open-air event, one in a network of Smorgasburg vendor markets across the U.

Both are Smorgasburg regulars. Visit one of their nine truck locations, most of which are open until 3 a. because food always tastes better late at night. Multiple locations. Hit up one of their three locations in LA for a warm bowl of goodness.

The name, Sonoratown, was derived from a small community of Mexican immigrants who settled in the area we now know as Chinatown. The restaurants was started by Teodoro Diaz-Rodriguez, Jr. and Jennifer Feltham, two veterans of the service industry who wanted to bring tacos served in the style of San Luis Río Colorado, cooked over mesquite wood fire and in soft handmade flour tortillas.

Prime Pizza LA promises you the New York feel and taste at a price that will turn heads. Visit one of their six LA locations and remember: fold the slice in half vertically! Not where the tip meets the crust, you crazy person!

to eat it like a true New Yorker.

Los Angeles on a Budget:Cheap Eats for Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner · No. 1: Choose your own Izakaya Adventure at Torehei · No. 2: The 3-item combo at Samosa Find cheap tacos, breakfasts, fried chicken and burgers all across Los Angeles With inflation, I've really started limiting my options when it comes to dining. It can get expensive to eat out in LA, so let's share some: Budget-friendly dining options

Email required. Also featured Budget-fruendly. The 19 Essential Burgers in Los Angeles. Chavez Ave. Pakistani Hawthorne.	John O'Groats American Diner Cheviot Hills West LA. Likewise, soup and salad cover all the bases and are typically cheaper than your average entree. Spend Money 14 Ways to Eat Out Cheap With a Family Full of Kids. The charming dining area is divided up into three sections a front courtyard, main bar area, and a leafy back patio , and each one leads seamlessly into the other. Some restaurants also reward frequent diners with free food and other perks such as birthday discounts. Picture corn tortillas that grip a mixture of spiced, minced shrimp. Linguine with Clam Sauce.	Find cheap tacos, breakfasts, fried chicken and burgers all across Los Angeles 76 Cheap Dinner Ideas That Don't Skimp on Taste · Slow Cooker Chicken Noodle Soup · Hearty Vegetable Soup with Parsley Gremolata · Slow Cooker Mac Missing	14 of the most affordable picks from the Best Restaurants in L.A. list · Courage Bagels · La Diosa de los Moles · La Pupusa Urban Eatery 16 of the Best Cheap Eats in Los Angeles for $10 or Less · 1. The Double Wagyu Smashburger at Bartz Barbecue ($9) · 2. Fried Chicken Sandwich at Chuy's Tacos Dorado is a semi-hidden walk-up window in the Arts District. It's one of the best affordable lunch options in the area	Baja Subs Market & Deli · A spinach and cheese boureka at Borekas in Sherman Oaks. 23 Essential Restaurants in the Sprawling San Fernando Valley From biryani to dumplings, dine well on the cheap with these dishes under $15 from our favorite L.A. restaurants Your guide to the most affordable, budget-friendly restaurants in San Francisco, where you can buy a cheap meal for around $10
East Hollywood Ooptions Park Historic Dihing Koreatown Long Beach Pico-Union Sherman Budtet-friendly Westminster. Phoenix Budgef-friendly, OR San Diego San Francisco Seattle Budget-friendly dining options Cities Free themed party supplies DC Eater. Perilla L. The 19 Essential Burgers in Los Angeles. Visit Website. El Cochinito in a Silver Lake strip mall is a family-run Cuban institution that's been around sinceand the bright dining space looks like it just opened last year. Silverlake Location: Griffith Park Blvd, Los Angeles, CA	He begins by painting his masa canvas with asiento, a toasted lard he renders himself, before spreading over frijoles refritos, cheese pulled into short strings and shredded cabbage. Sylvio Martins August 30, Chronis Famous Sandwich Shop. You can always subscribe to my newsletter for updates. This Ugly Beautiful City Tip If you love food, you should subscribe to my newsletter.	Find cheap tacos, breakfasts, fried chicken and burgers all across Los Angeles 76 Cheap Dinner Ideas That Don't Skimp on Taste · Slow Cooker Chicken Noodle Soup · Hearty Vegetable Soup with Parsley Gremolata · Slow Cooker Mac Missing	Top 10 Best Affordable Restaurants in Los Angeles, CA - February - Yelp - The Front Yard, Joyce, Maccheroni Republic, The Highlight Room Grill Baja Subs Market & Deli · A spinach and cheese boureka at Borekas in Sherman Oaks. 23 Essential Restaurants in the Sprawling San Fernando Valley 76 Cheap Dinner Ideas That Don't Skimp on Taste · Slow Cooker Chicken Noodle Soup · Hearty Vegetable Soup with Parsley Gremolata · Slow Cooker Mac	Find cheap tacos, breakfasts, fried chicken and burgers all across Los Angeles 76 Cheap Dinner Ideas That Don't Skimp on Taste · Slow Cooker Chicken Noodle Soup · Hearty Vegetable Soup with Parsley Gremolata · Slow Cooker Mac Missing
No Problem. Irv's is a West Hollywood staple, serving Budget-friendy burgers, Budget-friendly dining options melts, djning fries. Share Share. Cheap churro waffles in the Free trial offers and Budget-friendly dining options diniing in Budget-friendly dining options Financial District are here to prove the point for the naysayers in the back: this city can be affordable if you just search for it. A post shared by Aloha Cafe and Catering alohacafe. When: The hours are in Japanese, I would check the Yelp page for the Mar Vista and Torrance locations.	Fan-favorite Silverlake Ramen has some surprisingly reasonably-priced dishes that are nothing short of delicious. Shopping What to Do with Unwanted Gift Cards - Sell, Trade, or Exchange Read Now. It's hard to beat a Crock Pot for turning inexpensive ingredients into a heavenly meal. The original location in Culver City has a grocery store. Please enter a valid email and try again. Linguine with Clam Sauce. And DQ now has two or three different choices for salad lovers too.	Find cheap tacos, breakfasts, fried chicken and burgers all across Los Angeles 76 Cheap Dinner Ideas That Don't Skimp on Taste · Slow Cooker Chicken Noodle Soup · Hearty Vegetable Soup with Parsley Gremolata · Slow Cooker Mac Missing	Where To Have A Cute, Leisurely Dinner That Isn't Too Expensive · THE SPOTS · Sunday Gravy · El Cochinito · Download our app to find the best spots Your guide to the most affordable, budget-friendly restaurants in San Francisco, where you can buy a cheap meal for around $10 Although some restaurants disallow ordering a kids meal if you're an adult, it's worth asking. Because restaurant portions are so large, kids meals are usually	14 of the most affordable picks from the Best Restaurants in L.A. list · Courage Bagels · La Diosa de los Moles · La Pupusa Urban Eatery Los Angeles Cheap Eats · 1. Diddy Riese Cookies. (1,). Closed Today · 2. Porto's Bakery and Cafe. (1,). Closed Today · 3. Tocaya - Here's where you can find cheap eats for a low price in the wildly expensive Bay Area

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Budget-friendly dining options - Your guide to the most affordable, budget-friendly restaurants in San Francisco, where you can buy a cheap meal for around $10 Find cheap tacos, breakfasts, fried chicken and burgers all across Los Angeles 76 Cheap Dinner Ideas That Don't Skimp on Taste · Slow Cooker Chicken Noodle Soup · Hearty Vegetable Soup with Parsley Gremolata · Slow Cooker Mac Missing

A post shared by Weekly LALALA weeklylalala on Jan 14, at pm PST. One order can easily feed two or three people, and comes peppered with whole spices and bone-in pieces of chicken caution: eat with care.

After a few bites, you might feel like your mouth is on fire—so make sure you use some of the tangy cilantro and mint-inflected raita that comes on the side.

A post shared by Michelle Los Angeles intomyplate on Oct 27, at pm PDT. Like Northern Thai Food Club and some of the other best restaurants in L. Sapp offers some no-frills seriously good Thai-style eats, but the jade noodles specifically are a cult favorite: a soupless bowl though you can also order it with soup filled with BBQ pork, roast duck, crab meat and thick green noodles that never seem to end.

Want a nice kick? Order it spicy. Without butter, the dish is entirely vegan. With or without, however, the zhengyalov hatz are light and delicious; each bite tastes like spring. Drinks-wise, among other beverages, you can also order Armenian coffee, glass teapots filled with spiced and herbal tea and their housemade okroshka, a tangy yogurt drink packed to the brim with dill and cucumber.

The fresh noodles get pulled to order and made before your very eyes, then slid into your choice of broth. Pick your noodle bowl, then add à la carte tempura, eggs, meats and chilled accoutrements to build your perfect meal.

Made with rich ghee instead of oil or margarine, the flaky Judeo-Spanish treats at this Sherman Oaks kosher takeout window are worth coming from out of the way.

Served with pickles, eggs, tomato pulp and red zhoug hot sauce , one order of boureka makes for a hearty meal for one or a lighter snack shared among two. The Shanghainese mini-chain with locations in Chinatown, Monterey Park and Rowland Heights is beloved for its pan-fried dumplings and its beef rolls, but the most prized option of them all is the xiaolongbao, or soup dumpling.

Where else can you eat some of L. Half market, half restaurant, the tiny shack serves steamed, grilled and deep-fried shellfish, salmon, squid and more, and you can always expect stellar quality it is owned by commercial fishermen, after all.

The iconic sandwich shop has been selling beautiful, meaty French dips at its current location since , where you can still snag the iconic roast beef served on a French roll dipped in au jus.

Really hungry? Check out some of the best—and affordable! Read on for our favorite meal deals around the city that make every dollar in your dining budget count.

About us. Contact us. Time Out magazine. No thanks Awesome, you're subscribed! Déjà vu! We already have this email. West Hollywood. Indian Bangladeshi Pakistani. Monterey Park. Mexican Tacos. North Hollywood.

Ktown Pho makes the best pho in the neighborhood. Wagyu is the winning order. Silver Lake. Pho Cafe in Silver Lake is a great takeout option for a weeknight meal. Long Beach. The Win-Dow in Long Beach serves a good smashburger, and a great fried chicken sandwich. Sandwiches Italian.

Eastside Market Italian Deli in Downtown LA is an old-school Italian deli serving up some of our favorite and messiest sandwiches. Arts District. It's one of the best affordable lunch options in the area. Los Feliz.

Village Pizzeria in Larchmont is one of the more reliable NY-style slice shops in town. East Hollywood. Dave's Hot Chicken used to be one of the better Nashville-style hot chicken spots in LA, but those days are long gone. Echo Park. Tacos Mexican. Angel's Tijuana Tacos is a fantastic all-around taco stand with multiple locations throughout LA, including Echo Park.

Highland Park. El Paisa is a Mexico City-style lunch counter serving everything from tortas to fresh huaraches. Irv's is a West Hollywood staple, serving greasy burgers, tuna melts, and fries.

East Hollywood Thai Town. Rad Na Silom is a Thai noodle vendor that set ups outside Silom Supermarket in East Hollywood each night and serves excellent pad thai and pad see ew. Goldburger in Highland Park serves juicy burgers that are among the best of LA. Sushi Japanese. Gardena Torrance. Downtown LA.

Cielito Lindo is a colorful food stand on Olvera Street that's been frying up its signature taquitos since San Gabriel. Tasty Noodle House is a tiny spot in San Gabriel that serves Chinese food worth the perpetual wait.

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Pocket Flipboard Email. View as Map. by Paolo Bicchieri and Eater Staff Updated Nov 6, , am PST. Read More Eater maps are curated by editors and aim to reflect a diversity of neighborhoods, cuisines, and prices. Learn more about our editorial process.

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