The Skinny combs the neighborhood to find the best eats for the best prices.
     

Indian
Shalimar
532 Jones St (btwn O’Farrell & Geary)

We tried so much Tandoorloin Indian food that we’re buying stock in Tums, but damn, it was tasty – and we found that you can’t beat Shalimar for consistently good, rich, spicy and affordable cuisine. Start with the accoutrements – naan, raita, rice, salad; especially if you’re sensitive to spice, you’ll need palate cleansers, and at $1-2 each, why not? For veggie main dishes, we tried the palak paneer ($5.95) – cubes of soft cheese in an aromatic spinach sauce – and the bengun bhujia ($4.95), a thick, flavorful stew of eggplant, tomato and onion. The meaties noshed happily on saag gosht (according to Shalimar, “The favorite dish of the punjabi farmer” [$5.95]) – lamb cooked with fresh spinach, coriander and herbs – and the crowd favorite, murgh boti tandoori ($6.95) – tender cubes of boneless chicken marinated in a blend of vinegar and spices, then skewered and baked. Satisfying four hungry people for $30? Nice.

Vietnamese
Them Ky
717 Ellis St @ O’Farrell

The tiny and adorably chipper waitress looked at us like we were insane, two of us ordering a starter and an entrée each, and we realized why when our four-top table wasn’t big enough for all of it! Our appetizers were huge and might have filled us up on their own – sugar cane wrapped in shrimp meat with vermicelli ($7.95), which came with sheets of rice paper and a plate of veggies to wrap up with it, and the delicious taro pancakes with eggs ($4.95), unique in flavor and chockfull of green onions, a sure way to win us over. For main dishes, we tried the chow silver noodle with tofu, bean sprouts and seafood ($5.95) and the beef with ginger and onions over rice ($5.50). Huge portions of fresh, fast, tasty food – which we then ate for lunch, and dinner, the next day – all under $8 each? Nothing makes us happier.

  

Turkish
A La Turca
869 Geary St @ Larkin

A La Turca is our favorite place to enjoy seemingly endless amounts of quick, delicious food while catching up on Turkish soaps. To make proper use of the fresh, hot, fluffy bread you’re given on arrival, it’s best to start with the appetizer sampler platter ($14.75), which gives you a taste of nine of their cold starters including hummus, dolmas, a white bean salad and the best baba ghanouj we’ve had; and the amazing patlican biber kizartma appetizer – slices of fried eggplant and green pepper with house garlic sauce and yogurt ($4.75) – we fought over who would wipe the plates clean on both. If you’re in the mood for something familiar, there’s a huge, delicious falafel ($6.25) and various kebaps ($7-8), but we also like the gozlemes – flat bread filled with veggies or meat ($5-6) – which are basically Turkish quesadillas. For something meaty, try a doner platter – meat shaved off the spit, right in front of you. If you can’t decide which one to get, go for the combo ($8.75) – chicken, beef and lamb doner thinly sliced, served with salad and rice – a tender, tasty treat. Finish with a sweet Turkish coffee ($2), but if you like to sleep, try to do it before 9pm.

Thai
Bang San Thai
505 Jones St @ O’Farrell

Bang San is the best thing that could’ve happened to four ravenous and slightly drunk friends who arrived for their reservation at another neighborhood restaurant, which shall remain nameless, only to find it closed for a private party. Thanks to a tip from a savvy friend, we hurried over to this tiny Thai diner and were rewarded with a fast and delicious dinner. With its garish orange walls and fluorescent lighting, it wouldn’t be our pick for a romantic rendezvous, but everything was fresh and all their meats are halal – good news even if you’re not Muslim. We made quick work of the goong hom par (marinated fried shrimp rolls – $5.95), then gleefully gobbled up pad kee mao with prawns ($7.50), pra ram with chicken ($6.50), pad ma kuer with beef ($6.50) and crab pad thai ($7.50), washed down with Thai iced teas and a sweet and happy discovery – palm juice. Long story short, not only did Bang San save us with its amazingly tasty Thai cuisine, we bet they’d never book reservations for a night they don’t plan to be open (not that we’re still dwelling on that).
 
Vegetarian
Golden Era
572 O’Farrell St (btwn Jones & Leavenworth)

If you’re still snobby about fake meat, get over it already. There are tons of dishes here any fan of Vietnamese, carnivore or otherwise, will enjoy; the portions are generous and the meat substitutes come in a range of tastes and textures. We started with the vegetable fu-young patties ($5.25), potstickers ($5.25) and spring rolls ($4.50), and the wonton soup ($5.95), which had perfect little purse-like wontons that didn’t fall apart in the broth. Next came a deliciously dead-on sweet and sour chicken ($7.25), a tasty and not-too-sweet lemon chicken ($7.25), a vegetarian lamb claypot with thick, meaty chunks of wild mushroom ($8.50) and the teriyaki salmon ($9.95), which didn’t exactly recall salmon, but was yummy anyway. Tie it all together with coconut ice cream with jackfruit and bananas ($3.95) – sweet.
  
 

More frugal feasts
Bernal Heights
The Mission
Potrero Hill

Fancier feasts
The Tenderloin
Bernal Heights
The Mission
Potrero Hill
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