Los Angeles Magazine - Cheap Eats: 25 under $25

Gingergrass is picked as one of the great 25 "Cheap Eats" in Los Angeles!

A meal in L.A. for under $25? You bet!
In L.A. it's easy to blow a small fortune on the tiniest of plates. Our list of budget eateries features cafes and restaurants of every persuasion, each one serving full meals for less than 25 bucks. From the Thai grills and Japanese noodle houses to hot dog stands and fried chicken shacks, here are our picks for the city's campions of cheap.

Gingergass - Silver Lake
Chef Mako Antonishek, ex of Colonial, is behind this snappy neighborhood cafe, which goes beyond the classic pho noodle soup and brings Vietnamese cooking into the mainstream. Many of the dishes are traditional. Others, like grilled lemongrass-marinated flank steak with shredded cabbage, herbs, and peanuts, show a California influence. Everything is artfully arranged on square white ceramic plates, and there are a good number of vegetarian options.

There are times for fancy foods. And there are times when you want to pick your entrée up with your hands, or put your lips close to a bowl of fragrant broth and noisily suck up its noodles. Sometimes you want the dollar-to-pleasure ratio to be wildly off balance. These restaurants will blow your mind. Not your wallet.

--By Linda Burum and photos by Maryellen Baker
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