snafu "she's awfully blunt, with no tact"

Cheap, cheap, cheap, cheap, CHEAP sushi. And it’s not cheap in that grocery store sushi way; it’s still good, but it’s cheap! And when you’re stuffed full of sushi, work off those extra pounds by walking around the mall and shopping for Japanese products with weird names.

Oh. My. God. This place is heaven. If I had to eat all the meals for the rest of my life at a single restaurant, I would choose Oishii (assuming I could afford it, of course). The long wait for seats may be daunting, but it’s totally worth it, because your life will change after you try some of their incredible sushi creations. By the way, I got Yo-Yo Ma’s autograph at Oishii one time (he lives in the neighborhood), so that’s another great reason to stop by.

This is possibly the most underrated Italian restaurant in all of Boston. This place is awesome — tiny hole in the wall atmosphere, shoddy insulation in the winter, but the most amazing Italian food in the whole city. The portions are large, prices are reasonable, and because everyone else is in the North End, you don’t have to wait forever for a table. It’s truly a hidden gem in Allston.

Like my favorite banh mi shop on the west coast, Ba Le’s pretty much an in-and-out operation. You get in line, order the sandwiches you want (there are 13 delicious options on the placard), wait for your order, take your tasty meal out, and dine in the comfort of your home while trying not to get jalapeno in your eye. Even better, if you order with a friend (or have a particularly insatiable appetite for banh mi), you can take advantage of the “buy 5, get 1 free” deal. Brandon and I typically order six at a time, devour two each, and then put the rest in the fridge for a snack later. My personal favorites are the Chinese pork and anything with pate. I give Ba Le 5 stars for being super cheap and delicious and having plenty of options on the menu.

Shan now has a restaurant seating area. Super cheap, huge amounts of food (we got 2 vegetable entries for $4 each, an order of lamb biryani for $6, and huge pieces of naan are $1 each), and you know it’s good because all the Chicago cabbies eat there.

Cheap, fast, and delicious. Call for takeout; they’ll tell you it’ll be 45 minutes, but they’ll probably show up in 15.