Top Five Meals Under $5 in San Francisco

By Jonathan Kauffman Thu., Nov. 3 2011 at 2:37 PM

Cheap eats here.

Now that burritos and falafel wraps cost $8 and a bowl of pho can't be found for less than $6, the under-$5 meal has become a rarity in San Francisco. Damn that Healthy San Francisco. (Kidding.) But the cheap meal is not a unicorn, and there's no need to resort to frozen burritos or step into McDonald's. It's still possible to find meals at local restaurants for $5, including tax and even tip.

Here is where SFoodie eats on the cheap:

Cherylynn N./Yelp

Yong Kee's dai bao.

5. Combination bun, aka dai bao, from Yong Kee Bakery (732 Jackson -- watch out, there's no sign in English)

Grab-and-go dim sum shops rarely advertise their steamed combination buns, or dai bao (big bun). But a few of them -- Wing Lee in the Richmond and Good Mon Kok in Chinatown, for instance -- make them. Yong Kee's dai bao is the largest. It's bigger than a grapefruit, heavier than a Big Mac, and stuffed with gingery chicken, shiitake mushrooms, Chinese sausage, and half a hard-boiled egg. If that doesn't seem like enough food, just double your order -- Yong Kee's combination bun costs $1.25 -- and then grab some mangos or apples from the Stockton markets to go with your bun.

Location Info

Venue

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Saigon Sandwich

560 Larkin, San Francisco, CA

Category: Restaurant

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Cheap eats, fast food, pizza, sandwiches

We Recommend

Afa

When I moved to the Bay Area in 1966, the CHRONICLE's Pink Section featured an article listing some two dozen SF restaurants where one could purchase a three-course meal for $2.50 or less. And now you can't even get a mocha for that price. Progress!

Dmorg123456

Mykonos on Polk and Pine has a $5 gyro that is bomb, have to get it to go though.

Alissa

$5 lunch buffet at the Gold Club beats all of these.

salsaman

Lots more possibilities with dim sum too! I recommend two options at Good Luck Dim Sum on Clement:1) two chive dumplings, three shrimp dumplings and three pork siu mai (~$4.50) or2) spare ribs with black bean sauce w/rice & bok choy (~$3.80).

J Hercules

Pupusas are MEANT to be eaten without Rice and Beans (and sour cream), that's a U.S. thing - and I suspect, aMexican-Salvadorean Restaurants way of appealing to a lot of people who don't know what pupusas are at first. My pick for best pupusas in SF? Los Planes on Persia and Mission and Balompie, although La Santaneca's are pretty good.