[RWebb]

here are a few from my field notes and gleanings from Willy Week and etc.:

Cheap Places

Hoda's
3401 SE Belmont Street
(503) 236-8325
"Hoda" means enlightenment. Enlighten your wallet with tasty Middle Eastern food at this unpretentious restaurant.

La Calaca Comelona
1408 SE 12th Avenue
(503) 239-9675
Dine family-style to take advantage of modest prices for modest servings. And don't expect a burrito.

Pho Van
1919 SE 82nd Avenue
(503) 788-5244
Despite its almost elegant setting, this pho joint offers some of the cheapest (and best) Vietnamese noodle soups around, plus non-soup dishes that are equally great bargains.

Restaurant Russia
6433 SE Foster Road
(503) 771-8873
If you can resist indulging a taste for caviar, you can dine cheaply and heartily at Restaurant Russia.

Queen of Sheba
2413 NE Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard
(503) 282-2117
Ethiopian eatery with firey stews, great food, low prices

Delta Cafe
4607 SE Woodstock Boulevard
(503) 771-3101
This little temple of Southern food is always packed for three reasons: great food, huge portions and incredibly cheap prices. You'll find comforting dishes like hush puppies, fried chicken, creole, jambalaya, and mac-n-cheese—most of which come in at well under ten bucks a plate.

Gustav's Bier Stube
5035 NE Sandy Boulevard
(503) 288-5503
Be prepared to wait in line at this German pub-style restaurant, which specializes in big plates of sausage, along with rotisserie chicken and pork dishes, schnitzels, fondue and American favorites that rise head-and-shoulders above the usual bar fare.

Le Bistro Montage
301 SE Morrison Street
(503) 234-1324
In these parts, the Montage is famous for its Cajun-style food that varies from super-inexpensive bowls of mac-n-cheese to blackened catfish and frogs legs. If breakfast is in order, try the Dr. Seuss special: Green Eggs and Spam.

Noho's Hawaiian Cafe
2525 SE Clinton Street
(503) 233-5301
Portions here are huge, and the food tastes so authentic it's known to make transplanted Hawaiians homesick. Beware the "large"—or in Hawaiian, "blalah"—unless you're really, really hungry. We're talking a gigantic heap of food, all of it good.

The Roxy
1121 SW Stark Street
(503) 223-9160
The Roxy is awake 24 hours a day, and this is good news for famished vamps and nocturnal noshers on a budget. If the food here is designed to raise your blood pressure, the prices are not. You'll find big breakfasts, more-than-substantial burgers, and a number of deep-fried delights, all hovering around the $7 mark.

Magpie
1303 NE Fremont
(503) 331-8137
Mary Ellen Rowe makes all her main dishes heart-healthy and low-fat, saving the butter for no-holds-barred desserts and "really yummy cookies." Most of her dishes are vegetarian, too.

Nicholas
318 SE Grand Avenue
(503) 235-5123
One of Portland's most interesting restaurants also happens to be one of its cheapest. Menu items are constructed from wholesome staples—garbanzo and fava beans, spinach, eggplant, lentils, rice, chicken and beef—which are then mixed with a variety of spices to yield very tasty results.

Paradox Palace
3439 SE Belmont Street
(503) 232-7508
Paradox makes all its own baked goods, many of which are vegan, and offers organically grown products and wheat-, dairy- and sugar-free selections. And, at this '50s-diner-type joint, you'll be hard-pressed to find anything over six bucks.

Vita Cafe
3024 NE Alberta Street
(503) 335-8233
A very large and nutritious menu awaits health-conscious diners at Vita. You'll find a range of vegetarian and vegan Asian, Mediterranean and Mexican dishes, with breakfast served anytime. And the bill leaves plenty of change in your pocket.