Our last culinary adventure took place at the Eureka Grill in Surprise, AZ where we were pleasantly “surprised” by a fantastic lunch. Since we both tend to play in the east valley, we never dreamed that the west valley would be such a hot-bed of great restaurants, but Eureka Grill proved to be well-worth the drive out of our comfort-zones.

In this Dining on a Dime, Julie and the new DOD-Girl, Emily, try to have an elegant French style lunch at Zinc Bistro in Scottsdale for under $30.

Dining on a Dime:

So, this time out we decided to try something a little healthier and chose Pita Jungle in Arcadia for their happy hour. This is a place we come to often with friends especially the vegetarian ones. It isn’t often that you find tasty cuisine that’s not only healthy but reasonably priced. Pita Jungle was defiantly a score!

For this Dining on a Dime, we chose a popular little BBQ spot on the east side of town called Joe’s Real BBQ. Julie thought it would be a great place to go since she had eaten there several times in the past and knew that Joe’s BBQ is for real!

After just returning from a recent trip to China, we decided to forego Asian food for awhile.

The warm December afternoon in Phoenix, and we were in the mood for a nice light lunch. We came across a little place on Central just south of Missouri called Postino and thought it would be a perfect Dining on a Dime opportunity (the best meal we can find for $30).  

Our trip to China was unlike any other we have taken together. We traveled to Shanghai to participate in the annual FHC International Culinary Competitions. It was a crazy, busy experience. Still, as culinarians, we had to get out for just a bit to try local fare.

Dining on Dime (great meals for $30)

by Katie Remick and Julie Fiedler

Anyone in Phoenix knows that a day of shopping in old Scottsdale can be fun but expensive. We were out on our occasional excursion and wondering where we could eat outside a food court without spending a lot. We were in the mood for something different and noticed that Stingray Sushi had a happy hour special, so we decided to see what it was all about. We are both sushi lovers, so we are always eager to discover new, great places.

into the Soup has recruited two of our favorite young chefs Julie Fiedler and Katelyn Remick for our new feature – Dining on a Dime. 

The Challenge? Find the best meal you can for two people under $30 (ok, so it is a bit more than a dime). These are tough economic times, but that doesn’t mean you can’t still enjoy good food. It exists all around at local your local family owned and chef driven restaurants. So get out there, eat well and support your local restaurants!