Tips for Eating Cheap, Even on a Weak Dollar

Forty dollars for an appetizer in Germany. A hundred dollars for a main course in France. Sixty dollars for a melon in Japan. Just looking at the menus can take away your appetite.

Since the dollar has weakened against many foreign currencies, the cost of eating out on the road has soared. But it is possible to enjoy travel and still sample the local cuisine. Just follow these simple rules for surviving the high cost of dining in 1991:

--Eat as the locals do. In every city in the world, the average worker has to eat somewhere. In Tokyo, for instance, the top floors of the major department stores and the basements of most office buildings have small, inexpensive restaurants serving traditional Japanese food. There are noodle shops, tempura bars, even sushi bars that won’t bust the budget. Language isn’t a problem because plastic models of menu items are displayed in windows. All that’s necessary is to point.

At Tsunahachi, a small tempura restaurant on the eighth floor of the Matsuya department store, we had delectable deep-fried shrimp and vegetables. Sitting at the counter we watched the chef dip huge pieces of shrimp and fresh bell pepper, eggplant pieces and onions in a batter of egg, ice water and flour. After frying, the crisp tempura was presented to us on a piece of rice paper. The meal cost about $10 per person.

In London, try heading for The Stockpot, a chain of inexpensive restaurants with several locations in the city. The decor isn’t fancy, but the restaurants are clean and cheery, and you’ll see plenty of locals on their way to work. A full English breakfast is served with eggs, sausage, bacon, toast and broiled tomato for about $4.50. For lunch or dinner they serve beef Burgundy, a pork chop with apple sauce, or lamb chops and vegetables for about $6.

Singapore is among the best cities in the world for cheap eats. The hawker stalls are legendary. Vendors sell beef and chicken satay with spicy peanut sauce, Indian curries, Indonesian fried noodles, Chinese dishes, even sugar-cane juice and soybean milk from clean, outdoor booths in food centers throughout the city. It’s difficult to spend more than $5 per person even if you stuff yourself and the food is delicious.

Most restaurants don’t accept credit cards, and reservations are usually not necessary. In addition to getting a bargain meal, you’ll experience the city with the people who live there.

--If you want to try an expensive restaurant, go for lunch instead of dinner. In a lot of the major capitals, luncheon menus often list the same food that’s served in the evening at greatly reduced prices. When we wanted to try Bibendum, in the landmark Michelin tire building in London’s trendy Brompton Cross, dinner reservations weren’t possible. So we opted for lunch and saved money. The restaurant is on the second floor, and stained-glass images of Bibendum, the Michelin man, stared down at us as we dined on a refreshing cold curried apple soup and halibut with fresh mussels. A warm pear tart was a perfect ending. Lunch was about $50 per person, about 30% less than if we’d gone in the evening.

--Try restaurants in museums, zoos and railway stations. Washington, D.C., where almost all museums are free, was where we discovered museum dining. Our inspiration was the striking, modern cafe with its wall of falling water in the National Gallery of Art. We’ve since discovered that museums around the world often have restaurants that serve surprisingly good, inexpensive food. When we visited the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, we discovered a delightful cafe where we relaxed over steaming hot chocolate and pastries for less than $5 for two. In Paris, the Musee D’Orsay has an ornate dining room that rivals the decor in many pricier establishments. From the buffet, we chose salads, cold meats and couscous, the popular North African dish of semolina steamed with a variety of spices. The cost was about $7 per person. Hot meals, such as steak with French fries, were about $12 per person. For Paris, it was a bargain.

In Basel, Switzerland, we recommend the Basel Zoo for its sausage stands. There we ate freshly grilled sausages for under $3. We also like the Antiquities Museum, which has a small courtyard just right for afternoon coffee. And with contemporary murals high above the diners in its huge buffets, the Basel train station offers a wealth of affordable dining, including an authentic French bistro where we had hot cream of cucumber soup, roast lamb and creamed potatoes for about $25 per person.

--Try cafes for more than coffee. While specializing in coffees, teas and pastries, most cafes also offer light lunches at reasonable prices. At Angelina, the turn-of-the-century tea salon on the Rue de Rivoli in Paris, we had a croque-monsieur (grilled ham and cheese on toast) with a cup of the richest, thickest hot chocolate in the world for about $10. Cold sandwiches and salads were between $8 and $9.

In Madeira, we had espada, the local seafood specialty at the Apolo cafe, on the city’s main promenade.

In Helsinki, the modern Cafe Aalto is in the store designed by the renowned Finnish architect and designer, Alvar Aalto. Sandwiches and salads cost about $6 to $10 and pastries about $4.

--Plan a picnic in the park or in your room. Almost every major city has food stores that offer the makings of a fine picnic. Take that picnic to a city park or riverfront bench. If the weather is gloomy, have a picnic in your hotel room. It’s an ideal way to beat the high cost of dining and try some lovely food, too.

We have stopped in shops in Milan to buy a selection of sausages and cheeses that would never be found in a restaurant. In London, we often head for Boucherie Lamartine for French delicacies and for Marks & Spencer’s basement for a less expensive alternative to Harrods’ famous food halls. The selection is good and almost everything is neatly wrapped for take out. Remember that in most countries, residents don’t buy large quantities of food at a time, so it’s easy for travelers to buy small amounts from most shops.

GUIDEBOOK

Where to Eat Cheap

Tsunahachi, Matsuya Department Store, Ginza Dori Street, Tokyo.

The Stockpot, 6 Basil St., London.

Bibendum, Michelin House, 81 Fulham Road, London (telephone for advance reservations: 011-44-71-581-5817).

Bahnhof Buffet Basel, Centralbahnstrasse 14, Basel.

Angellina, 226 Rue de Rivoli, Paris.

Apolo Restaurante, Rua Antonio Jose Almeida, 20099, Funchal.

Cafe Aalto, Akateemin Kirjakauppa Pohjoisesplanadi, Helsinki.

Boucherie Lamartine, 229 Ebury St., London.

Marks & Spencer, 173 Oxford St., London.