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Not even close. Food, or otherwise. Used chainsaw with your D.F. style taco, senor?

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"By the fig, the olive..." Surat Al-Teen, Mecca 95:1"

The food trucks in Humboldt Park are pretty cheap, I tried one of them a few weeks ago and got skewers of fried chicken (each skewer had 3 pieces of fried chicken and 3 pieces of fried plantain) for $2.50 each, pastelitos (meat pies) for $1.25 each, and there are a bunch of other things.

Has nobody mentioned getting a Polish and fries from Jim's for $3.50?

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Well I got drunk and I ate a chicken
I ate a chicken I found in my kitchen
Not just a leg and not just a wing
I'd like to let you know that I ate the whole damn thing

24 bucks averages out to 8-bucks-per... which is more than sufficient to have 3 really good meals in Chicago, IMHO...

(pity about the sandwiches.. else Da Riv and Bari etc would all make the cut, as well as Nhu Lan and Ba Le.. and those are all outstanding meals).

Id personally go about 5-6 bucks for lunch.. as mentioned elsewhere, Pita Inn, Siunik Grill, and so many others. Chopal Kabab on Devon has Indian food for 4.95 at lunch IIRC (Chili-chicken, roti, rice).. and most things on the Ghareeb Nawaz menu would fit easily under an 8-buck-average (Chicken Biryani would be about 4 bucks, for instance). China Town has a bunch of lunch-specials for about 5 bucks.. Ive tried the Lao Hunan lunch specials, and they were quite excellent (and probably about 5 or 6 bucks IIRC)...

My choices would probably depend on where I was, location-wise... for example, just to go SouthSide for a minute... breakfast at Old Fashioned Donuts (best-in-class Apple Fritter for 2.50 would fill you up; if you could manage an extra donut at 1.00 Id be surprised); lunch at, say, Lao Hunan or Lao SzeChuan - 5 or 6 buck lunch-special; dinner at Uncle John's BBQ (best BBQ in the city - tip and link combo would be about 9 bucks; if you wanted to go just tips or just links, youd get out there under 8 bucks). (Another would be the lunch option at Uncle Joe's Jerk for lunch - for 7.50 youd get awesome Jerk or Curry Chicken, along with Rice and Peas, Bread, Sauce, Plantain, and 1 side - the candied yams are particularly terrific).

(2.50 apple fritter + 7.50 Curry/Jerk lunch + 9 Tip-Link dinner.. well under limit!)

Or, up North.. say Pita Inn or Chopal or Salaam for lunch (4 bucks or 5 bucks or 7 bucks respectively); and Ghareeb Nawaz for dinner.. heck, a pretty awesome half-chicken Peruvian Style (with sides) sets you back about 8 bucks at La Candela IIRC..

c8w

Please let me clarify, we can definitely DO sandwiches, it's just not ONLY sandwiches. So Bari is an excellent suggestion!

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If you go to Bari, please, please, please order a Will special, in memory of the late great YourPalWill. He'd be smiling down on you!

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Steve Z.
Photographer/Pseudojournalist

"The only time to eat diet food is while you’re waiting for the steak to cook." - Julia Child

I know exactly what you're talking about. I believe his name is Hamdi. He is quite a character. "What size small hummus do you want?"

Can you order a Will Special at Bari by name? I thought one could only do this at Riviera.

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"Good stuff, Maynard." Dobie Gillis

My mistake. I'm blaming the heat, but now that you mention it, why not add Riviera to the list?

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Steve Z.
Photographer/Pseudojournalist

"The only time to eat diet food is while you’re waiting for the steak to cook." - Julia Child

My personal pick for breakfast would be to either pick up a donut at DoRite - the carrot or maybe the pineapple rum if its Friday & splurge the extra buck for a cup of their Dark Matter coffee ($4 total or so depending on which donut) or head to Patisserie P in Uptown for the never fail (for me) "I'm stuffed" combo of a chicken curry bun plus a custard bun plus coffee (for a grand total of just over $3). Make sure to meet Peter Yuen at Patisserie P, he has a fascinating background before ending up in Chicago & the mix of traditional French, Hong Kong & Filipino pastries they offer reflect this.

Breakfast:

The Cousins Skillet ($8) at
The Cousins
1463 W. Leland Ave
Chicago

Chilaquiles ($8) at
Tiztal
4631 N. Clark St.
Chicago

Smoked Salmon Bagel ($6) at
Inspiration Kitchens
4715 N. Sheridan Rd
Chicago


Lunch
Kao Mok Kai ($7) or Nam Tok ($7) at
King of Thai Noodles and Rice
1129 W. Argyle St.
Chicago, IL

Asian Pocket Sandwiches ($1 each) at
La Patisserie P
1052 W. Argyle
Chicago

Dinner
Bosnian Beef Sausage ($8.20)
Restaurant Sarajevo
2701 W. Lawrence Ave.
Chicago

Southwestern Chopped Chicken Salad ($9)
The Cousins
1463 W. Leland Ave
Chicago

Joujeh ($8) at
Noon O Kabab
4661 N. Kedzie Ave.
Chicago

Just a mathematical observation, here, but if the total spend for the day, including tax and tip is not to exceed $24, then the total cost before tax and tip has to about $18 total, average $6/meal, assuming 10.75% Chicago restaurant tax and a 20% tip. Lots (not all!) of the recommendations above are aiming at $8.00 and (seemingly, possibly) ignoring the tax and tip. Just an observation. This is actually a significant challenge, as even my humble recommendation (Two Way Grill for a half order of biscuits and gravy and two eggs on top, with coffee) runs around $5.50.

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JiLS

Jeff

Here are some ideas


Monday One dollar Tacos or the daily special any day of the week at Tacos Y Salsa .2 or three tacos is plenty for anyone - they are big and awesome and are normally only 1.75.
Tacos Y Salsa
6346 26th St # 1, Berwyn, IL
(708) 749-3581 ‎

Grab some of the fantastic cups of fresh fruit and melon with citrus from a cart or vendor throughout the city. I get these for 3 to 5 bucks

It has been mentioned but the 4.95 specials from Honey 1 for lunch are a great value and tipping should not be required because there is not table service.

China town small plates like Kam Fung early morning/late night menu for 3.95, or affordable Dim Sum.

Obviously Gene & Judes for 3 bucks though that may be something you have covered before.

If you are still hungry there is always the late night Uncle Remus hard times special for 2.99.

An option for a Cheap buffet could be the Old LVIV for 12 dollars at dinner and less at lunch.
Old LVIV for a 9 dollar buffet
2228 W Chicago Ave
Chicago, IL 60622
(773) 772-7250

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“Statistics show that of those who contract the habit of eating, very few survive.”
George Bernard Shaw, Irish playwright (1856-1950)

I like a lot of the restaurants that have been suggested, but most aren't specifically reflective of Chicago. Pita / deli / banh mi / noodle soup are staple cheap eats many places. So how about restaurants that are more specifically identified with our city? I suggest Xoco for breakfast, Hot Dougs for lunch, and Calumet Fisheries for dinner.

I totally agree with you, so I promise to find a healthy balance of both classic Chicago and more foodie chicago.

Thanks again for these great suggestions. Nothing is easy with the network and things are getting shifted around daily. Once a list is finalized, i'll let you all know!

_________________
New Episode of Sandwich King start Sunday April 7th, 10:00am!
Watch Sandwich King on the Food Network
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breakfast - filipino style breakfast at Ruby's Fastfood ( they open at 10 am though) - Tosilog ( tosino which is fried sweet-cured pork, 2 fried eggs and garlic fried rice) or Longsilog ( filipino longanisa sweet sausages, 2 fried eggs and garlic fried rice) for $5.75

lunch - Ruby's Fastfood, again- choose two items of meat and/or vegetable from the cooked food counter and steamed rice for $5.75

dinner - too bad Ruby's is only open til 5 or 6 pm. ok, go to SunWah

I love the hachapuri at Argo Georgian Bakery for breakfast (plus, they're cheap so you could have more for the other meals).
You could also do some/one of the Indian/Pakistani breakfast places on Devon (Tahoora, King Sweets, Sukhadia). Sometimes when I'm shopping at the stores on/near Argyle, I'll make a breakfast out of snacks as I walk (e.g. the snacks at Thai Pastry, taro dumplings and pork and shrimp "turnovers" at Chiu Quon, spare ribs at Hong Kee or Sun Wah...)

My grandma never made any of these:
Spinach Lasagna
Sirloin London Broil
Char Crusted NY Strip Steak
Chicken Marsala
Cuban Steak & Potatoes
Glazed Salmon

I suggested this place because it's a whole meal for less than 8 bucks.

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"Good stuff, Maynard." Dobie Gillis

With the exception of the Cuban Steak (have to say I've never heard of that and I grew up in Tampa), that reads like the weekly menu at my house growing up. Maybe not the spinach lasagna--that sounds a bit "modern" for the 70's/early 80's. Never been to Elegance in Meats so can't comment on the rec's suitability for the OP's filming needs.

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“The problem with people who have no vices is that generally you can be pretty sure they’re going to have some pretty annoying virtues.” Elizabeth Taylor

I would assume/hope this is a referemnce to a Palomilla, the thin cut fried with mojo criollo and onions, which is the steak one finds in Cuban cafeterias and restaurants all over. Only other steak that comes to mind is a Milanesa, which I doubt is what's at issue here.

Looks like this is finally airing on Sunday night and (TADA!) it looks like my recommendation of Honey 1 made the cut.

Nice! Here's a link to a story revealing all.

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JiLS

According to the article in the Trib, they also are hitting Mario's Lemonade.

Hey All! First off thank you all for your recs, once again LTH was instrumental in helping me nail down quality locations. The parameters are quite astringent (budget, good characters, FN-enforced midwestern-friendly food, no vietnamese, etc.), so you can imagine it wasn't easy to piece together 3 meals and a snack in all these cities, and this is with a team of many producers, executives and P.As. I believe we did an excellent job, the show has a great feel, a fresh look (all shot onCanon c300's if anyone cares) and I think its truly one of the funniest shows of FN. At least I hope....

A preview of the show is on this sunday, 9/23 @ 9:00pm - The Chicago Episode
The official premier is Monday, 9/24 @ 9:30pm - Cleveland

Thanks again.

With Love,

Jeff

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New Episode of Sandwich King start Sunday April 7th, 10:00am!
Watch Sandwich King on the Food Network
Watch $24 in 24 on the Food Network
twitter: @jeffmauro Facebook

Honey 1 was necessary! Truly my favorite location out of 7 cities and over 50 joints... Robert is the best.

_________________
New Episode of Sandwich King start Sunday April 7th, 10:00am!
Watch Sandwich King on the Food Network
Watch $24 in 24 on the Food Network
twitter: @jeffmauro Facebook

Best of luck, Jeff. My DVR's locked and loaded! I talked to Robert Adams yesterday and he's very excited about the show.

_________________
Steve Z.
Photographer/Pseudojournalist

"The only time to eat diet food is while you’re waiting for the steak to cook." - Julia Child