Restaurant checks in Philadelphia can get pretty steep. Ten bucks won’t buy much of a meal in most of places, but there are some spots that a humble Hamilton will buy you a multicourse feast.

Mr. Joe’s Cafe
Owned by Termini crew and situated just across the street from the 8th Street bakery, Joe’s Café is only open until 5 p.m. But a leisurely lunch in this tiny café is reason enough to play hooky. Guests are welcomed with a gratis glass of red wine, and all of the $10 or less lunch items come with a salad and dessert. I recommend the ricotta gnocchi in marinara sauce and blueberry pie.

Kingdom of Vegetarians
It’s not the most stylish space in this city, but Chinatown’s Kingdom of Vegetarians does offer one of the best dim sum deals in town. For a mere $10, diners can sample all they want of the restaurants mock-meat buns, dumplings and spring rolls. While it’s hardly a Lakeside Deli stand-in, the fare appeals to vegetarians and non-vegetarians alike.

Konak
Every Tuesday night, Konak in Old City offers tapas-like portions of all its traditional Turkish dishes, including hummus, stuffed grape leaves and kebobs for $2 each. There is a five-item minimum, but the extensive menu might tempt you to order a few more. Don’t miss the tart yogurt dip or the savory lamb kebob.

Image, konakturkishrestaurant.com

This entry was posted on Monday, March 10th, 2008 at 6:00 am and is filed under Joy Manning, Insider Tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Posted by Joy Manning on 3/10/08 in Joy Manning, Insider Tips