USA Today released its list of the best “cheap places to eat” in the country last month, featuring several restaurants in Florida.
The list excludes chain restaurants, which are defined as brands with at least 10 locations.
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Instead, it looks at “mom-and-pop joints slinging American comfort food,” taking into account factors like review numbers and ratings.
Mickey’s Subs in Tampa takes the top spot on the ranking, though Tacos 19 in Miami and Tampa Bay Empanadas rank at No. 2 and 4, respectively.
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However, the No. 8 spot belongs to a restaurant in Central Florida — Mediterranean Deli, located at 981 W. Fairbanks Ave. in Orlando.
As its name suggests, the restaurant offers a variety of Mediterranean cuisine, including gyros, chicken kabobs and falafels.
Going further down the list, other Orlando-area restaurants like Tacos My Guey (No. 14) and Pokekai A La Cart (No. 22) also rank within the top 100.
For the full ranking of budget-friendly restaurants, scroll down to the list below:
| Name | Reviews | Ratings | City | State | Ranking |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mickey’s Subs | 438 | 5.00 | Tampa | FL | 1 |
| Tacos 19 | 368 | 5.00 | Miami | FL | 2 |
| Teatopia | 350 | 5.00 | St. Louis | MO | 3 |
| Tampa Bay Empanadas | 330 | 5.00 | Tampa | FL | 4 |
| Cajou - A Plant-Based Creamery | 209 | 5.00 | Baltimore | MD | 5 |
| Blues City Deli | 2,215 | 4.90 | St. Louis | MO | 6 |
| Varasano’s Pizzeria - Buckhead | 2,154 | 4.90 | Atlanta | GA | 7 |
| Mediterranean Deli | 1,157 | 4.90 | Orlando | FL | 8 |
| Tacos Don Gera | 1,080 | 4.90 | Houston | TX | 9 |
| Czerw’s Polish Kielbasa | 1,048 | 4.90 | Philadelphia | PA | 10 |
| Brick City Vegan | 1,010 | 4.90 | Neward | NJ | 11 |
| Midway Classic Malt Shop | 985 | 4.90 | San Diego | CA | 12 |
| Balkan Treat Box | 926 | 4.90 | St. Louis | MO | 13 |
| Tacos My Guey | 922 | 4.90 | Orlando | FL | 14 |
| Turtle Boat - Colorado Poki Salads | 913 | 4.90 | Denver | CO | 15 |
| Uncle Sam’s Pizza | 869 | 4.90 | New York City | NY | 16 |
| Taste of Lebanon Restaurant | 814 | 4.90 | Chicago | IL | 17 |
| Leatherneck Club | 812 | 4.90 | Las Vegas | NV | 18 |
| MadMax BBQ (Food Truck) | 782 | 4.90 | Houston | TX | 19 |
| Thanh Tinh Chay Restaurant | 738 | 4.90 | San Diego | CA | 20 |
| Churromania The Galleria Mall | 651 | 4.90 | Houston | TX | 21 |
| Pokekai A La Cart | 628 | 4.90 | Orlando | FL | 22 |
| Heat Da Spot Cafe | 608 | 4.90 | Washington, D.C. | DC | 23 |
| Brothers Cousins Tacos | 576 | 4.90 | Los Angeles | CA | 24 |
| T-Loc’s Sonora | 573 | 4.90 | Austin | TX | 25 |
| Frankford Corner Store & Deli | 564 | 4.90 | Philadelphia | PA | 26 |
| Gyro Saj | 545 | 4.90 | Seattle | WA | 27 |
| All Square | 521 | 4.90 | Minneapolis | MN | 28 |
| 3 Little Pigs Chi | 519 | 4.90 | Chicago | IL | 29 |
| Renuka’s Kitchen | 510 | 4.90 | Austin | TX | 30 |
| Zaytoon Mediterranean Grill | 502 | 4.90 | Columbus | OH | 31 |
| BeanThru | 488 | 4.90 | Pittsburgh | PA | 32 |
| Kasbah Moroccan Cafe | 479 | 4.90 | Portland | OR | 33 |
| GoodFellas Pizzeria of SunnySide | 473 | 4.90 | New York City | NY | 34 |
| BISTRO 6050 | 471 | 4.90 | Chicago | IL | 35 |
| Panzerotti Bites | 465 | 4.90 | New York City | NY | 36 |
| Semper Sliders | 461 | 4.90 | Nashville | TN | 37 |
| Streecha | 424 | 4.90 | New York City | NY | 38 |
| Beyer Deli | 415 | 4.90 | San Diego | CA | 39 |
| Halal Pizza & Grocery | 410 | 4.90 | Jacksonville | FL | 40 |
| Francisca Charcoal Chicken & Meats | 406 | 4.90 | Miami | FL | 41 |
| Raptor Canyon Cafe | 403 | 4.90 | Tucson | AZ | 42 |
| Urban Burma | 397 | 4.90 | Denver | CO | 43 |
| Eovaldi’s Deli | 390 | 4.90 | St. Louis | MO | 44 |
| Edible Happy Pizzeria | 388 | 4.90 | Oakland | CA | 45 |
| Chicago Paulie’s | 370 | 4.90 | Tampa | FL | 46 |
| OOZIE Mediterranean Restaurant | 353 | 4.90 | Oklahoma City | OK | 47 |
| Florish | 350 | 4.90 | Tampa | FL | 48 |
| Subito | 346 | 4.90 | Indianapolis | IN | 49 |
| Miss Flower Hotpot | 341 | 4.90 | Houston | TX | 50 |
| Fitzgerald’s Lunch House | 338 | 4.90 | Indianapolis | IN | 51 |
| Rise & Shine Biscuit Kitchen | 337 | 4.90 | Denver | CO | 52 |
| Cafe Porche & Snowbar | 319 | 4.90 | New Orleans | LA | 53 |
| Trieste Cafe | 318 | 4.90 | Minneapolis | MN | 54 |
| Favela Brazilian Cafe & Travel Pub | 306 | 4.90 | Portland | OR | 55 |
| Donny’s Cafe | 303 | 4.90 | San Diego | CA | 56 |
| Twozone Chicken PNW | 291 | 4.90 | Portland | OR | 57 |
| AustinMed Break | 287 | 4.90 | Austin | TX | 58 |
| The Mediterranean Chickpea | 285 | 4.90 | Tampa | FL | 59 |
| Island Fin Poke Company - Wesley Chapel | 285 | 4.90 | Tampa | FL | 60 |
| Ethio Coffee House | 275 | 4.90 | Nashville | TN | 61 |
| Naudi Signature Pizza | 269 | 4.90 | Chicago | IL | 62 |
| Dos Palmas Cafe | 269 | 4.90 | San Diego | CA | 63 |
| The Doughminican | 266 | 4.90 | Austin | TX | 64 |
| Taqueria Ibarra | 265 | 4.90 | Kansas City | MO | 65 |
| Milpa | 262 | 4.90 | Las Vegas | NV | 66 |
| Garcia’s Hot Dogs | 260 | 4.90 | Indianapolis | IN | 67 |
| The Portland Beef & Cheese Co. | 259 | 4.90 | Portland | OR | 68 |
| Shewhat Restaurant | 256 | 4.90 | Oakland | CA | 69 |
| Old City Market and Oven | 253 | 4.90 | Washington, D.C. | DC | 70 |
| Rodos Greek Taverna | 251 | 4.90 | Columbus | OH | 71 |
| Papa Frank’s | 248 | 4.90 | Albuquerque | NM | 72 |
| Gyro SABABA | 246 | 4.90 | Seattle | WA | 73 |
| Meat & Bread | 243 | 4.90 | Austin | TX | 74 |
| Bake on the Run - Authentic Guyanese Masterful Cuisines | 242 | 4.90 | Portland | OR | 75 |
| AZN GSU Store Sandwiches Bowls Juice Bar | 240 | 4.90 | Atlanta | GA | 76 |
| Bowls N Go/Healthy Foods | 239 | 4.90 | San Antonio | TX | 77 |
| DittyDog | 236 | 4.90 | Austin | TX | 78 |
| Persian Kebab | 233 | 4.90 | Portland | OR | 79 |
| Bis Bas Mediterranean Grill | 228 | 4.90 | New York City | NY | 80 |
| Bold Coffee Bar | 227 | 4.90 | Philadelphia | PA | 81 |
| Al-Baik Shawarma & Grill | 227 | 4.90 | Philadelphia | PA | 82 |
| Savor the Moment | 223 | 4.90 | Cleveland | OH | 83 |
| Afghan Burrito | 222 | 4.90 | Oakland | CA | 84 |
| Spring Cafe | 215 | 4.90 | Baltimore | MD | 85 |
| Early Bird Vegan | 215 | 4.90 | Phoenix | AZ | 86 |
| Himalaya Vegan Organic Restaurant | 215 | 4.90 | Sacramento | CA | 87 |
| Shewa Ethiopian Restaurant | 215 | 4.90 | Washington, D.C. | DC | 88 |
| Green District Salads - Fountain Square | 213 | 4.90 | Cincinnati | OH | 89 |
| HOTSWORDS | 211 | 4.90 | Austin | TX | 90 |
| Mattie’s Foods | 211 | 4.90 | Kansas City | MO | 91 |
| Cucina Zapata | 210 | 4.90 | Philadelphia | PA | 92 |
| Mammoth Poke | 208 | 4.90 | Chicago | IL | 93 |
| Sandra’s Kitchen Indian Cuisine | 204 | 4.90 | Baltimore | MD | 94 |
| Honest Pastures | 204 | 4.90 | Virginia Beach | VA | 95 |
| The Lab Bistro Co. | 200 | 4.90 | Virginia Beach | VA | 96 |
| Los Tacos No. 1 | 9,191 | 4.80 | New York City | NY | 97 |
| Gino’s Deli @ Stop & Buy | 3,490 | 4.80 | San Antonio | TX | 98 |
| Angel | 2,851 | 4.80 | New York City | NY | 99 |
| Angie’s Restaurant | 2,765 | 4.80 | Raleigh | NC | 100 |
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