I'm taking a short hiatus from the Boston scene to dedicate this post to eating on a budget while traveling. I'm currently in Los Angeles, CA until tomorrow for the CAPPS Conference for my full-time job at Effective Student Marketing in Andover. My coworker and I are staying at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza - one high class hotel! So high class, that their three restaurants make visitors pay 18 bucks for an ordinary tuna sandwich. When I say ordinary, the only "fancy" thing about this overpriced dish is that the tuna is served on ciabatta bread. Although my co-worker and I are here on business, our company is small, and it's a gosh darn recession - we don't feel right eating $18 mediocre sandwiches for three days. Apparently, our fellow exhibitors at the conference agree, and willingly gave us tips on cheaper eats within walking distance from the wallet-emptying hotel. Last night, after we did our networking duties at CAPPS, we walked over to one such recommendation: The Pink Taco. Located in LA's Westfield outdoor mall, The Pink Taco was a rock 'n' roll, tattoo shop-inspired Mexican joint, crowded with hungry (and thirsty) twenty-somethings. Their food menu was limited and simple, and their margarita offerings were also slim, yet innovative. My coworker ordered the pumpkin spice margarita, which was suprisingly delicious, and tasted just like pumpkin pie, but with tequila. Can I get an amen? To make the bill even smaller, we split an appetizer of mini tacos with steak and avocado, as well as an entree of a stuffed poblano pepper. While neither dish was outstanding, they were fairly tasty, spicy, and filling...not to mention affordable. Splitting a few entrees for dinner and having a margarita each ended up costing us less than the two sandwiches we had at the Hyatt for lunch.
What corners do you cut when traveling on a budget?
Here are some things I do:
ReplyDelete- Hunting for an economical breakfast at the start of your day can be a hassle when you're just hankering for a first cup of coffee. Book hotels that serve a complimentary breakfast (Some Marriotts, Holiday Inn Express, etc). If they happen to have breakfast/granola bars, snag one on the way out for a mid-morning snack.
-Ask the locals where the good low-key spots are or the ones that have specials. I tend to travel during the week, and Mon-Wed is when a lot of restaurants tend to have deals to draw in customers on the not-so-busy days.
- Don't discount the street vendors. I.e. Chicago? Get a Chicago style hot dog. NYC, Lamb and Rice from a 6th Ave vendor.