On the Menu: Value

At these five restaurants, you don't have to spend a lot to eat well

Rich and poor, CEO and starving artist -- everyone I know is cutting back on their spending. Paying for a personal trainer in a state-of-the-art gym is giving way to do-it-yourself discipline at home ("I'll do 100 crunches when I get up!"), and buying bestsellers at bookstores is being jettisoned for browsing library shelves.

The new frugality has had a pronounced effect on the dining scene. Anyone who has eaten out lately has probably noticed what I've observed: more empty tables, even in some of the most popular establishments.

Yes, times are glum, the business news depressing. But food helps, particularly food that shows thought, food delivered with flair and food that doesn't stray too far from single-digit menu prices.

Last month, I scoured the landscape for deals on meals. Here are some of my picks, each priced at $10 or less. Saving money never tasted so good.

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"The Best Food Around" brags the banner outside Amoo's House of Kabob (6271 Old Dominion Dr., McLean; 703-448-8500). I'm not going to challenge that claim because the Persian restaurant's ground beef cubes, buried under a fluffy pyramid of glistening rice, taste right on target: They're moist, deftly seasoned and, at $8.99 a plate, priced to please. The entree amounts to a filling feast, made more so when pita bread and a fiery herb dip are factored in.

Don't count on a lot of interaction with the staff here; the suit that takes my request utters just two words to me all night. ("It's coming," he responds when I walk over to the counter, which is stacked with carryout orders, to check on a dining companion's straggling main dish.) Yet the storefront dining room, packed with families on a recent Saturday evening, squeezes in some personality. Red drapes, gold frames and silver candelabra lend flair to the bargain.

Open daily 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.

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When restaurateur Francis Namin decided to open a couple more chicken joints, he knew he could count on his longtime employees for help. Who better to give him advice on the subject and its sides than a group of Peruvians, Costa Ricans and Argentines?

The menu at the 3-month-old Don Pollo in Bethesda (7007 Wisconsin Ave.; 301-652-0001) is the result of the workers' consensus, and all I can say is, great team work. Don Pollo's signature gets its savor from an initial wash in lemon juice, a soak in beer and vinegar and a (dry) rub of cumin, oregano and other seasonings. The chicken, available in three sizes, exits its charcoal fire golden, sticky to the touch and as moist as you could wish.

My standing order is half a chicken for $7.99, a deal that includes warm corn tortillas, a couple of dips and a choice of two sides. The creamy coleslaw and earthy black beans and rice are standouts, but I'm also fond of the finger-length fried yucca, stuffed in a wax paper bag to keep it crisp for carryout orders.