Cheap Eats , Good Treats

In today's tough economy, one has to find some financial relief. Since most of us are not Wall Street firms, values have to be found where you can find them. I have found my value oasis in Dinkytown, that enclave on the east bank of the University of Minnesota where bicycles outnumber cars and the diversity raises the diversity level throughout the state of Minnesota.
All of that aside if you want to eat cheap go to Dinkytown. I have made it my mission in life to sample every restaurant this area has to offer. Tonight I began with Binh and Duffy's Tavern.
Binh is a delightful pho restaurant behind the University technology center. What first struck me about this establishment was how clean and quiet it was. I did not do my bathroom test first but my server assured me that their bathroom was the cleanest. I sat down to a clean table near the window and began to peruse the menu. After a few moments, the server arrived. To start with I ordered what I always order when I have pho , crispy Vietnamese egg rolls , next I asked the server if they had grilled pork meatball bun alas, they did not. I asked why and she said it was on the menu but they removed it because it was not popular. At first, I was taken aback because grilled meatball is my favorite bun. She calmed my senses and assured me that the grilled pork bun was excellent.
When the egg rolls arrived they were as good and crispy as they always are and the bun was fantastic. It had plenty of well-grilled meat that was throughout the salad. In some bun you sometimes have to send out a search party to look for the scarce supply of meat. There was also an even distribution of veggies throughout the salad as well.
I was not just pleased with the meal but also with the price. For a little over $10 I had a good meal and ample change from my twenty.
Leaving Binh, I decided to go to Duffy's tavern for one reason, curiosity . I live in Saint Paul's Highland Park and there is a house on Fairview street that has a truck parked next to it with the sign Duffy's Tavern Dinkytown Pizza on the door. I have often said to myself while passing the truck that I was going to find Duffy's Tavern, tonight I did.
Duffy's is an unassuming place with pictures on the wall of what I assume is the owners many trips. I went up to the counter and ordered a slice of sausage pizza to go. The order came to $3.80 . When paying, I saw their late night special, a slice for 99 cents truly a value. When I brought the slice home and ate it it was New York heaven better than most in the cities and up there with Rays Pizza of New York.
So for roughly 14 dollars, I sampled two of Dinkytown's finest and have enough money left over to sample more. The journey continues.