Category: Cheap Eats

Cheap Eats, Huntington Beach, Mary, Orange County

kelly’s donuts and burgers / huntington beach – orange county, ca

Over Labor Day weekend this year, Jake, the kids and I headed up to Huntington Beach for the Civil War Reenactment that weekend. I got really interested in Civil War history after taking a few history classes in college at Boston University – I started liking history so much that it was my concentration (I was a little too lazy to actually minor in it though).

For the past two years, Jake and I have gone up to Calico for their Civil War weekend over President’s Day. I want to go to another one a little closer to home and this one was the winner.

Before we headed over to the camps though, we needed a little something to fill our bellies. We made a quick pit stop not too far from the Huntington Beach library to check out Kelly’s Donuts and Burgers.

[kind of empty looking donut case]

I started getting a little worried when we walked in and this was their donut selection.

All of the donuts mixed together just on a few trays. Say what? This was a donut shop wasn’t it?

[partial menu at kelly’s donuts and burgers]

Yes, it is definitely a donut shop but they also have other offerings for breakfast and lunch – including deli sandwiches and of course, burgers.

I put my skepticism aside as best I could after seeing the sad donut case. The kids and I each got a donut and Jake and I shared a breakfast burrito.

[polish sausage, egg, hash browns and cheese breakfast burrito – $3.75]

The burritos normally come with salsa, but I asked for it without since I don’t really like salsa inside of my food all that much.

[burrito closeup]

This was a fairly simple burrito. The polish sausage gave the burrito a good overall taste and the eggs were done well (maybe slightly overcooked but still solid). The hash browns were nice and crisp, too. I didn’t really taste a whole lot of cheese in it, so that could have been improved a little. Jake got a cup of salsa on the side and liked it better with some salsa. All in all it was a pretty decent breakfast burrito. Jake liked it a lot more than I did. The price sure is right though.

[donuts]

The kids were luckily able to easily pick out donuts for themselves, S. choosing the jelly donut and A. picking the chocolate and peanut cake donut. Jake skipped out on donuts while I got a blueberry donut.

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College, Rolando, Cheap Eats, San Diego County, Mary

milo’s pizza & subs / college area – san diego, ca

I went to Milo’s Pizza on a whim. I was at Jake’s waiting for him to come home from work and wanted to have some pizza ready for him. I went and got a couple of pizzas and some garlic bread. It was the garlic bread that hooked me – nice, thick sourdough with lots of crunch!

Jake and I finally came back recently so Jake could try out a pipping hot pie and have started to come here a bit more regularly.

[milo’s pizza mottos]

“Yes, our slice pies are cooked in a brick oven.” (Score)

“No. We do not use sausage that looks like dog food!” (Double score)

[16″ inch x-large pizza with ricotta and meatball – $11.99 + $1.50 per topping]

We ordered whole pies at first before discovering the slice specials. This one above has meatball and ricotta. The whole pie has a thin, sort of soft crust with a good amount of sauce. I liked how their sauce tasted – not too tangy and not overly sweet. Everything tasted fresh!

[sourdough garlic bread – 4 slices for $2.49 (i had already eaten a slice…)]

I love how thickly cut the slices of garlic bread are – nice, hearty slices of sourdough. Not too heavy with the garlic (not enough in my opinion) so it will sit well with most folks. Little sprinkle of herbs in there, too, but it’s just a hint.

Next up… the slice specials – cheap and delicious!

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Mary, Rolando, Cheap Eats, San Diego County

carnitas las michoacanas / rolando – san diego, ca

One day I was hungry.

For carnitas.

I was at Jake’s and started looking on Yelp and found this one place called Carnitas Las Michoacanas. Carnitas was right in the name! It had like three reviews, all good. The place was also very, very close to Jake’s house. We had unknowingly passed it so many times without ever noticing it.

No more!

On our first visit, Jake, T and I sort of stood awkwardly outside the shop, watching people go up and get carnitas. There was this nice gentleman outside, rapidly chopping meat like nobody’s business.

[the carnitas man]

Everyone was speaking super fast Spanish and I just looked at Jake and said, “Uhhh, what do we do?”

He shrugged at me. He was being so helpful.

I tried to get him to go up there but he shook his head and refused. My usually talkative boyfriend suddenly clammed up on me when facing native Spanish speakers.

Damn him.

I walked up and asked what was up. We found out you can buy carnitas by the pound, with all of the fixings. Then they gave us samples.

[three sample carnitas – just plain meat and fresh tortilla]

Well, one sample was all we needed to be convinced. We got a pound to go that first visit. We’ve visited since – they moved a few blocks down the road closer to La Mesa, pretty close to the Kroc Center.

We were again greeted with free sample tacos! Man, I love this place.

[their full menu with a bunch of other stuff I’ve never tried]

The carnitas are still sold the same way at $10.99lb. They had just run out when we stopped by so we had to wait for a bit. You can ask for a “mixture” of carnitas or get only belly meat. Your choice.

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