Budget Eats And Over Priced Crap

[Canadian Dude]

Well I have walked around Amsterdam most of the day, and I have become dizzy from how many pizza shops there are, the pizza's they disply in the windows look cold, old and uneatable. I was tempted at one pont but then passed.

Another SERIOUS rip off is the a bar on the Main street about 1/2 km from Central Station, its called Teasers, it has waitresses that are wearing next to nothing which is cool, but at 6E a 1/2 pint and no food being served I would have to give that the Amsterdam rip off award.

What I did find was a little french fri shop about 3 doors down from Teasers called Vlaamse Frits, they give you a huge portion of fries with mayo for a mere 1.90E what a deal, one helping is eough to fill even the most hungry of tummies, I would say that if you have to eat out, that is the budget way to go. B)

[Canadian Dude]

Budget Breakfast:

Argentijns Restaurant, 5.50E for a large english breakfast, the difference is this one throws in a free drink..even beer!!! I enjoyed a 1/2 of Hinny with my bacon and eggs this morning!!!

49 Damrak ( Main St.) B)

[travelpunk]

'preciate the suggestions and the restaurant warning, bro! the fries sound yummy :P

Don´t forget to take your vitamins or chow on some fruit to energize your system and protect your health B)

[rexo54]

hey its me again, well i was thinking about revamping my budget seeing as tui thinks that im over budgeting my self ( thanks bro, i would be saving to the bone if you had not said that) so how much do you guys and gals spend on a reg day in europe when it comes to eating? i maen i wanna eat well but i have no idea the prices over there. when i go to mac donalds here in the states i spend 5-9 bucks so i figured like 25-30 a day on food alone. any thoughts or fave resturants i should try.

thanx

rex

[Canadian Dude]

Hey Rexo!!

For 25-30 a day your not going to loose any weight!!!

To make the most of your money when it comes to food SUPERMARKETS!!!

When I started my trip I was doing my best to find cheap joints to eat at, well about 3 days into my trip I paid a visit to the local supermarket in Nijemgen, and man what a savings, i would buy a bag of buns, some meat, cheese ( a bit pricey compared to the other stuff) and wammo, food for the whole day for like 4 Pounds, or 5-6 Euros....I did that almost every day after I left Amsterdam and it saved me a bundle...Always check to Supermarket for sweet deals on food. And another thing It was so funny to go into a supermarket and see that a pint of milk was cheaper (35-45 pence), than a bottle of Spring Water ( 60-90 pence)...I have never drank so much milk in my life!!! It was so good though!! Keep your eyes out for the deals!!!

Just think, with the 20E a day you will save you will be able to book private rooms at some of these hostels!! Huh, not bad huh?? B)

[PhilBill]

Since the Dutch colonized Indonesia the best budget restaurants, generally speaking, are Indonesian restaurant with satays in yummy peanut sauce. Also lunchtime specials like Chinese are maybe the BEST time to eat your BIG meal of the day since they cater to office workers on a budget.

Another way of making a decision about restaurants, in general, wherever you are traveling in the world is to look for crowded restaurants and / or if you can see an overweight but clean looking cook / chef. Never eat anywhere that is empty; guess simple common sense helps one to avoid bad restaurants.

[travelpunk]

Hey PB, I use that tip everywhere I go too- especially in LA. If there are no or hardly any people in the restaurant, I won´t step foot in it. Either the food sucks, the service is bad, or it´s a rip off.

It´s true about the chinese restaurant lunch specials. In Madrid, I must´ve ate at the same one at least twice a week during lunch time. It was $4 for a heaping plate of fried rice that came with chicken, pork, or beef (with special sauce) dish, egg roll or salad, drink, and a scoop of ice cream.

Another very popular thing in France and Spain are Turkish kebab stands. For roughly $3 you get a pita type bread stuffed with special seasoned chicken or beef, lettuce, tomato, onions, and sauce. These things are sprumtiously delicious :P .

[joanofarc]

hey cd - what about refridgeration - i was thinkning i'd do the same thing you did, buy once for say two meals that day - i was worried about the meat and cheese though - it's okay to leave it in your pack all day??

i guess so, you're back on board and posting!!

[voyd]

Ah, I remember that Teasers joint - I assumed the food was overpriced and sucked like H00ters here - so didn't even bother going in. I LOVE eating the Middle Eastern street foods instead. Far cheaper and tastes better, IMO. Wish they had more of that here. All we have is Mexican instead.

[Canadian Dude]

Hey Joan,

I would not leave any meat or cheese more than 24 hour in my bag, In the morning I would go to the supermarket and buy a bug of buns ( normally 4 or so) then I would get some meat and cheese, make my snadwhiches wrap them as best I could and eat through out the day, but not more than 24 hours, for the exact reson that U mentioned, refrigeration...no where really to do it.

Now, what you can do and I did this as well, buns will last 2-3 days in you pack, other than getting flat'nd a bit there are all good...buy canned chicken or tuna or salmon, or some other canned food and you can acrry 4-5 of those to make yourself a sandwich when you want, no time worries on that. make sure you have a can opener.

[TheWills]

Hi all
I have to agree with the supermarket thing it definetly is the best way too go. You really see this in Tourisit cities. When I was in Rome last summer I saw all these venders set up at every major tourist place, its like this all over the world but of course the price is ridicuous it was like 5 E for 500ml of water or something like that. In rome supermarkets are hard to find becuase they are neatly tucked in along everyother shop you just have to keep your eyes out. I also found in most hot countrys the cities will have fountains usualy hidden off somewhere but still close to all the main spots, these fountains are strictly for drinking, a pipe just shoots water out of the wall, I was a bit hesitant at first but I saw alot of Romans drink from this so I figured hey, do as the romans do. Another thing is if you are gonna eat out NEVER eat at a hotel restaurant, mega toursit trap I made the mistake of doing this and they start buy putting bread down in front of you and if you touch it its an extra 2E so resitet temptation, then I orderd some pasta and I got like 3 bites worth no joke for 8E I was pissed, so its better to go a few streets over into more quiet sections where no tourists will walk through there are all the shops and stores with reasonable prices that are meant for romans, or where ever else your at
Thanks.
~Noobs

[worldwidemike]

All right, I admit this isn't advice or anything, but I have to admit this. I have a travel tradition that I do in virtually every country I visit: On my last night "in country," usually, I eat at a Pizza Hut. I know, I know -- the horror!

Usually by the end of the trip, I'm ready for a "taste of home." And what's more, virtually all Pizza Huts take credit cards, so if I'm trying to stretch out my foreign currency at the end of the trip, this helps. Plus, you know, it's just kind of a quirky tradition...I've probably eaten at Pizza Huts in two dozen countries across the world.

Anybody else have a goofy, food tradition like this?

worldwidemike

[joanofarc]

i found two delicious and completely affordable places to eat in amsterdam.

i wouldn't dare claim to be an expert on indonesian food, but i have been there and i found this restaurant: SARI CITRA to be the most authentic, not to mention cheap indo. restaurant in town, really affordable authentic javanese food.

this other place is a sandwich shop, it is so sweet though. in fact i learned the husbands meatloaf recipe. it's called something like sandwich shop V.D. BERGS. it's right off the damrak, pretty far down, on the right hand side of the street (if your back faces centraal s.) across from di bijenkorf department store. there is a french bakery place at the corner of this alley and you go right there and look for a blue and white place. really cheap sandwiches, a locals place - that cater to vegetarians too!

[Aisha]

A couple of cheap places to eat in London (in fact, the ONLY cheap places I've found in that whole expensive city):
Benjy's: across and down the road to the left a bit as you come out of earl's court station. Never been there for lunch/dinner, but the breakfast is FANTASTIC - the most expensive one is £3.70, its called the Builder - 2 eggs, 2 sausages, bacon, toast, beans, tomato, fries - we're talking a massive plate of food that will get you through the whole day. Plus you get the added advantage of experiencing a proper full english breakfast (consider it a cultural experience!). They have other breakfasts as well for progressively cheaper prices as they get smaller. And, the major selling point for me, endless complimentary tea and coffe.
Another place to score cheap food is, surprisingly, Camden Markets. Normally a total tourist trap, you'll get ripped off big time if you eat there during normal hours. But after about 4pm the food stalls start closing down and flogging off the food they've got left for cheap. The asian food stalls are especially good for this - full meals for £2 if you're there at the right time.
And there are some cheapish asian restaurants in Chinatown, they've all got menus in the windows and its worth checking out the prices on these before going in, some charge a lot more than others.
But if anyone has any tips on where to get cheap beer in London PLEASE let me know - I've tried, tried again and failed miserably!

[Canadian Dude]

Great idea about hitting those carts at closing time!!! 2P for a full meal!!! thats a steal!!!

As for cheap beer? I don't think thats exisits over in the UK