Cheap Eats

Pasadena's Pie n Burger (Bryan Chan/LA Times)

'Tis the season for two summer publishing staples: The "Best of L.A." issues (such as this month's Los Angeles mag, last week's Downtown News, and upcoming LA Weekly) and the "Cheap Eats" list, which LA mag hit last month and the L.A. Times tackles today.

A quick rundown of the L.A. Times list:

1. Coctel de camarones (shrimp cocktail) at Mariscos Guillen, $3.50. (3306 Lincoln Blvd, Santa Monica)
2. Special combination pho at Pho Thang Long, small, $4.95; large, $5.45. (15579 Brookhurst St., Westminster)
3. Pain au chocolat at À la Tarte, $2.75. (1037 Swarthmore Ave., Pacific Palisades)
4. Sashimi lunch special at Sushi Gen, $10.50. (422 E. 2nd St., L.A)
5. Kibbeh maqliyeh plate at Sunnin Café, $5.50. (1779 Westwood Blvd., West Los Angeles)
6. Sunday night supper at Lucques, $35 for three courses. (8474 Melrose Ave., West Hollywood)
7. Asada taco, Tortas Mexico, $2.10. (11040 Ventura Blvd., Studio City)
8. Pastrami sandwich on rye at Langer's, $10.77 (tax included). (704 S. Alvarado St., Los Angeles)
9. A dozen oysters on the half-shell at Ocean Ave. Seafood, $15. (1401 Ocean Ave., Santa Monica)
10. Costillas de puerco en chile negro at Teresitas, $9.99. (3826 E. 1st St., Los Angeles)
11. Corkage at Rocca, free when the wine was purchased at Wine Expo. (1432A 4th St., Santa Monica)
12. Butter-poached lobster at Opus Bar & Grill, $32. (3760 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles)
13. Hamburger at Pie 'n Burger, $5.45. (913 E. California Blvd., Pasadena)
14. Blood orange ice at DiDio's Italian Ice, $2.50. (1305 Montana Ave., Santa Monica)
15. 13-course menu at Yong Su San, $22.99. (950 S. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles)
16. Souvlaki plate at Papa Cristo's, $8.99. (2771 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles)
17. Literati salad, at Literati II, $10. (12081 Wilshire Blvd. (at Bundy), Los Angeles)
18. Spanish tapas platter at Ciudad, $16.50. (445 S. Figueroa St., Los Angeles)
19. Trenette alla carbonara at La Buca, $12.25. (5210 1/2 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles)
20. Chicken basket at Reddi Chick BBQ, $7.95. (225 26th St., Brentwood)

The paper admits that several of these picks aren't exactly cheap -- but it's all relative. I can vouch for Langer's and Ciudad, as well as Lucques -- although I haven't tried the Sunday night spread (yet).