[Food Issue 2008] For Our Recessionary Times, 54 Orange County Meal Deals Between 99 Cents and $15

Tim Melideo

OC's cheapest grub: in HB

Jonathan Ho

A Dosa good food for seven bucks

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At the swinging eatery beneath the shadow of the Ronald Reagan Federal Building called JASON'S DOWNTOWN, come for the music, stay for the bastilla. Jason's nod to Moroccan pigeon pie uses chicken, but it's just as complex, packed with slivered almonds and dusted with sugar and cinnamon. And for $15, it's ridiculously big—as wide as a steering wheel and as thick as a dictionary. Got a friend? It's enough for both of you. 416 W. Fourth St., Santa Ana, (714) 347-1122; www.jasonsdowntown.com.

Menudo is meant to be eaten by a group, not a lone diner. And $15 worth of menudo at EL CAMINO REAL will nourish a small army, the broth perfectly spicy, the tripe as deliciously chewy as al dente pasta. Available only on weekends, and bring your own pot so you can take the soup home. And get over the whole cow-stomach thing—we're in a recession, remember? 303 N. Euclid St., Fullerton, (714) 447-3962.