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Think you can’t find fabulous food for a fiver? Here are five spots where dinner will set you back all of a five spot.
The none-more-friendly Flava’s (606 Yonge, at St. Joseph, no phone) $2.50 Tuesdays – tasty jerk chicken leg with rice ‘n’ peas and coleslaw – have proven such a draw for this laid-back Caribbean cantina that it now makes the same meal deal on Wednesdays as well.
Long-time fans wary of the new, relatively upscale decor at Chinatown’s King’s Noodle House (296 Spadina, at Dundas West, 416-598-1817) will be happy to learn that a bowl of noodle soup topped with house barbecued duck still goes for less than four bucks.
Though Narula’s (1438A Gerrard East, at Ashdale, 416-466-0434), the threadbare south Indian vegetarian venue in Little India, might not be much to look at, its weekly Toonie Tuesday is hard to ignore, especially when everything on the menu – including its multi-course thali – costs a whopping $2.25, $2.50 if you take out.
Salad House (24 Roy’s Square, at Bloor East, 416-920-4964) may sound like a veggie joint, but alongside its lineup of green things like baby arugula dressed with shaved Parmisan in shallot vinaigrette ($3.49), it goes the way of the flesh with beefy meat lasagna ($4.34). And dig that crisply blowtorched crème brûlée ($1.99)!
But the undisputed cheap eats champ is Gale’s Snack Bar (539 Eastern, at Carlaw, no phone), a deliciously low-rent dive with three rickety booths just down the street from the Hells Angels clubhouse. Surprisingly tasty hot turkey sandwiches with house-made gravy – we could get all fancy and call it jus, but we won’t – sided with really good fries sell for $3, and a cheese sandwich on white Wonder costs 70 cents!
