Dining on a dime: Where to eat well for less in Calgary

Dining cheaply yet deliciously is not easy in Calgary, but it can be done. The following eateries score big both for their low price points as well as their tasty food and charm. Spend a little, got a lot.

Dining on a dime: Where to eat well for less in Calgary
Ian Doig By

1263915 Alberta Inc

1
209 1 St Se, Calgary, AB T2G 2G3

The size of most restaurant entryways, tiny Thi Thi Vietnamese Submarine is tucked in beside Pho Pasteur Saigon on First Street Southeast on the eastern edge of Chinatown. Line-ups can be lengthy at lunch hour, but well worth the wait. These are some of the best Vietnamese subs you’ll find anywhere. Enjoy your takeout sandwich at the office or on a nearby riverbank bench.

This business is featured in the following Smart Lists:

T&T Supermarket

2
1000-9650 Harvest Hills Blvd NE, Calgary, AB T3K 4W9

Combine a discount dim sum meal with a grocery-shopping foray at T & T Supermarket. At Harvest Hills Boulevard and 96th Avenue Northeast, this Asian grocer features a dim sum counter with adjacent seating area. Mix and match a wide variety of dumplings, rice wraps and buns, which are served in takeout boxes.

This business is featured in the following Smart Lists:

The Big Cheese

3
738 17 Ave SW, Calgary, AB T2S 0B7

This budget-priced poutinerie serves a lengthy menu of styles and claims to use locally grown ingredients. Its basic poutine is served with potato or yam fries and all the gravy and cheese curds you can digest. Also walk on the poutine wild side with styles that include Scottish curry, chicken peppercorn and smoked meat, as well as an Indian version topped with butter chicken, peas and caramelized onion.

This business is featured in the following Smart Lists:

Peppino

4
101-1240 Kensington Rd NW, Calgary, AB T2N 3P7

The best little sandwich shop in Kensington Village, Peppino serves a gigantic roster of Italian subs. Great prices and deliciousness make for a sandwich queue that’s long at lunchtime, but service is speedy. Options include the Calabrese Delight with spicy salami, the cheesy, saucy hot Italian meatball sandwich and the prosciutto bocconcini, a cured-ham-and-mozzarella masterpiece.

This business is featured in the following Smart Lists:
More from Ian Doig Ian Doig
Ian Doig’s week may include dim sum lunch with friends, rummaging through indie bookstore shelves as well as scribbling in his notepad at Calgary shops and farmers’ markets. It most often concludes with a relaxing Friday evening pint of locally brewed craft beer.
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