You’re eyeballing Good Taste, your weekly guide to eating in the Bay Area. Today, we go one step further than last week’s $10-or-under sandwich challenge, with five spots where you can find items for $5 or less.
Various items at La Cocina Municipal Marketplace
Most of the minority woman-owned food vendors at La Cocina Municipal Marketplace (101 Hyde Street, SF) offer at least one $5 item on their menu, which is available for dine-in, takeout and delivery. For example, $5 buys a side of black eyed peas and rice from Boug Cali, a Senegalese empanada filled with ground beef or tuna at Teranga (actually $4), or a choice of taco de guisado or tamale at Mi Morena. If you’re ordering online, there’s also a pay it forward $5 meal option to gift someone in the surrounding neighborhood.
Small sushi rolls at Basa Seafood Express
Mission market Basa Seafood Express (3064 24th Street, SF) is still a reliable spot to pick up $5 makimono sushi to go. The six-piece orders of rolls are filled with either negihama (green onion and yellowtail), salmon, shrimp, or tuna. Larger rolls and fried seafood platters run around $10-15.
Lunch pizza slice at Little Original Joe’s
If you’re in the West Portal area around lunchtime, Little Original Joe’s (393 West Portal Ave, SF) has $3 cheese pizza slices and $4 pizza of the day or pepperoni slices. It’s the only spot in the Original Joe’s empire to even do pizza, and the bubbly, crispy crust and sauce make it well worth trying (over and over).
Any onigiri at Kissako Tea
Kissako Tea (1581 Webster Street, SF), an OG kiosk in Japan Center, offers 19 different kinds of onigiri (seaweed-wrapped rice balls) starting from $1.80; at $4, the shrimp tempura onigiri pictured here is the most expensive. You could actually get a plain one along with one of the eight options under $3 for a total of $5. The menu also has udon noodle soups and rice bowls as well as mochi and Japanese drinks.
Dim sum items at TC Pastry
Open for decades in Daly City and the Sunset District, TC Pastry (2222 Irving Street, SF) offers a large array of to-go buns and dumplings at an average price of three for $3.50, which drops to $3.10 just before the 6pm closing time. You can also get soups and noodle dishes for under $5, but the cash only shop is currently on vacation until July 12.
Keep the food party going at Tamara’s site California Eating.
