I applied today to be a freelance "budget meals examiner" for a website called Examiner.com. Basically, that means that if I get the job, I get to write about all the hole-in-the-wall places in Philly that have unexpectedly great food. And I'd get paid for doing it. Granted, I'm guessing that the "pay" will be a fraction of a cent every time the page gets viewed, but it'd still be really neat to get any kind of compensation at all to do exactly what I love to do anyway. The application asked for a sample article (specifically not in the first person, which I thought was interesting and encouraging. I won't be forced to talk about myself!). So, for posterity, I'm going to post what I submitted. Also it means I killed two birds with one article. Or something.
Sniffing Out A Deal--How to Find the Best and Cheapest Restaurants in Any City
How do you know when you're a foodie? Here are some warning signs: You can't speak French, Italian or Mandarin, but know how to read a menu in all three of those languages. You constantly experiment in your tiny galley kitchen, packing odd ingredients into the fridge and trying to find places to hang your fresh pasta (much to the dismay of your roommates). Good food is one of our chiefest pleasures, and yet many people also find themselves in the perilous category of Extreme Cheapskate. It's a tough economy, and no one wants to spend more money than they have to, even on something as delightful as food. In order to balance the yin and yang of appetite and tightfistedness, therefore, cheapskate foodies make a hobby out of scouting out some of the cheapest places to get a great meal wherever they are.
Here's a food-scouting tip--look for the trifecta of size, smell, and clientele. The best-tasting food often comes from the tiny, scruffy hole-in-the-wall place that you might not think to try. Don't let looks deceive you--stroll slowly past the door and take a good long whiff. If something smells delicious, spicy, intriguing...it's worth a shot. Open the door and take a look around to see who's eating there. If the restaurant is full of depressed-looking people looking at their plates like their sandwich just insulted their mother, you might want to reconsider your decision. If, however, people seem to be making sweet, sweet love to their food, you're in the right place. Grab a table. This approach works almost every time, no matter what city you're in--for example, here are a couple of cheapskate-foodie-approved restaurants in Philadelphia, PA.
Moctezuma Restaurant (1108 South 9th St., Bella Vista neighborhood)--This is hands-down one of the best Mexican restaurants in all of Philly. For around five dollars you can get a plate of food that could easily feel a family of four. Everything is prepared fresh, the flavors are bright, spicy, rich, earthy and deeply satisfying.
Vietnam Cafe (47th and Baltimore, West Philly)-- This is a former hole-in-the-wall Vietnamese restaurant (what, you couldn't tell from the name?) that has expanded in the last few months to become a genuinely classy restaurant with a full bar, lacquered wood decor and lots more seating. Thankfully, the prices and the quality of the food have stayed exactly the same. Classic dishes like salt-and-pepper squid and spicy noodle soups are consistently delicious, and the portions are quite large.
Good food has the capacity to make people happy like very few other things in this world--the good news is, you don't have to be a food snob with wads of money to enjoy the great flavors that any city has to offer.
That's an article that's worth at least three cents, right? Right?
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