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The LAist guide to eating on a budget (without sacrificing taste) in SoCal
Tacos filled with cabeza and beef cheek at Sonoratown.
(
Brian Feinzimer
/
For LAist
)
You're looking for something good to eat that won't break the bank. Where do you go? Yes, there are chains. But there are also small, unassuming eateries, often tucked away in strip malls, which offer great value — and great taste.
Our ongoing series Cheap Fast Eats is carefully researched by LAist food and culture writer Gab Chabrán, who treks all over L.A. and its environs to personally try out local spots that check all the boxes: delicious, casual and affordable. Among them, you'll be sure to find your new favorite dish.
- Cheap Fast Eats: Pasadena
- Cheap Fast Eats: Long Beach
- Cheap Fast Eats: Glendale
- Cheap Fast Eats: Downtown LA
- Cheap Fast Eats: Culver City
- Cheap Fast Eats: Koreatown
- Cheap Fast Eats: Silver Lake
- Cheap Fast Eats: Inglewood
- Cheap Fast Eats: Chinatown
- Cheap Fast Eats: Gardena
- Cheap Fast Eats: Mid-City
- Cheap Fast Eats: Boyle Heights
- Cheap Fast Eats: Canoga Park
- Cheap Fast Eats: Fountain Valley
- Cheap Fast Eats: West Hollywood
- Cheap Fast Eats: Pico Union
- Cheap Fast Eats: West Valley
- Cheap Fast Eats: North Hollywood
- Cheap Fast Eats: Alhambra
- Cheap Fast Eats: Santa Ana
- Cheap Fast Eats: Vegan
- Cheap Fast Eats: Missed Connections
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Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive from readers like you will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.
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