This brand new Pearl District restaurant expands the definition of tapas to include small plates from many different cuisines around the globe. The goal is to offer diners small plates ranging from $4 to $10 dollars, making it very easy to build a full meal under $12 — for instance, a Spanish meal of $4 soft potato croquettes and $8 garlicky gambas al ajillo, or a combination of the $6 peri-peri chicken and the $5 beef-filled sambusas “bravas.” Co-owners Ajay Narayan and Paresh Warke have experience cooking in kitchens across the world, and are bringing flavors from their backgrounds in India to the table, as well, from vegetable samosas to their take on a pudina chicken. The restaurant is open for onsite dining.

The local Mexican restaurant group started as a food cart on 50th and Division, and now has six locations across Portland, including food carts and restaurants. Every Gorditos location is casual and counter-service, and none of them break the bank, even for the enormous “garbage burritos” which stuff three types of meats, rice, beans, salsa, onions, sour cream, and cheese in a single, herculean tortilla for less than $11. It’s not just for meat eaters, though — Los Gorditos also has a sizable vegan menu at each spot with a variety of protein options to satisfy all diets. Los Gorditos is open for walk-in and online ordering. Some locations offer outdoor dining.

With two hippie-friendly food cart locations in Portland, Wolf and Bear’s vegetarian-pleasing menu is never too far away. Tender falafel, house-made hummus, roasted red peppers, grilled onions, and eggplant are wrapped in a warm pita for $8.50, while the super-smooth hummus bowl is just $6.50. Wolf and Bear’s offers walk-up and online ordering.

The iconic Alberta Market convenience store is a North Portland staple for its fried chicken wings, which have hovered at a nearly unbelievable price since opening. The wings are wonderfully crispy and golden, but no order is complete without a side of jojos, the large wedges of fried potatoes. Four wings and jojos clocks in at just $5.50. The market is walk-in only.

For Southwestern flavors like sopapillas and migas, the colorful Pepper Box Cafe is the place to visit for breakfast and lunch. The real deal here is the $5.25 Primo breakfast taco, an egg-and-pastrami taco with pickled hot peppers, onions, pepper jack cheese, and chipotle crema. It’s a potent cure-all for rough mornings after a night out. If that’s not decadent enough, the massive New Mexico-style smothered breakfast burrito is still just $6. Pepper Box Cafe is open for dine-in, as well as walk-up and call-in takeout orders.

The sandwiches at these two laid-back counter-service locations in Southeast barely count as sliders — at around $6 each, they’re practically the size of an average burger, especially with options like the Steel, a double cheeseburger that easily dwarves the average burger patty in town and comes in at $6.75. Those who want fries can add them for a few more dollars and stay around $10, as well as the recommended allowance of sodium for the week. PDX Sliders is open for indoor and outdoor dining, and customers can order in person or over the phone for takeout.

This new food cart off Alberta serves perfectly plump Nepalese dumplings alongside Kenyan coffee, merging the flavors of the two cuisines in a totally unique way. The titular momos are rich and filing and come with a small side of Kenyan tomato curry for dipping. At just $8 for six momos, they’re an accessible entry point to the worlds of Nepalese and Kenyan cuisines. Orders can be placed at the cart.

This micro counter-service restaurant in the hip, industrial Zipper complex serves a mammoth fried-chicken sandwich for $10; the crispy behemoth may be the best version of the quintessential sandwich in Multnomah County. For those who want some spice in their life, the Nashville-style hot chicken comes decently close to the real thing, served searingly hot on a thick slice of white bread with pickles, also for $10. Orders can be placed in person or online, check the website for wait times.

This cramped, family-owned bakery packs its shelves with all sorts of baked goods, from Thai green tea cakes and Chinese almond cookies to steamed bao and fluffy wrapped hot dogs. The show-stealer is the bánh mì sandwich on fluffy house-baked bread, which is one of the city’s best. Options like pork belly, bbq pork, and pâté will satisfy those who eat meat, while a few vegetarian options round it out for those who don’t; none of them are over $5.

Serving Filipino plates long before the cuisine's recent rise in buzz, Tambayan knocks out a fleet of hulking $7.99 combo plates, with options like fried chicken and sweet longganisa sausages, served with a fried egg and a nourishing garlic rice that'd slay a vampire. The vibe is low-key cafe, with the food being the main draw. Orders can be placed over the phone or in person.

This map could have been entirely filled just by the vividly colored food carts at Portland Mercado. Whether it’s the meat-stuffed arepas at La Arepa, the empanadas at Qué Bacano!, or the tortas at the new Principe Maya, it’s easy to visit every day of the week and find a different lunch for under $10. It’s also an integral part of the Latin-American community here in Portland.

A relaxed, spacious diner, Phở Dalat is a reliable stop for one of Portland’s most ubiquitous dishes, especially for those on their way to or from the airport. The bowls of beef broth, tender noodles, and accoutrements like tripe, round steak, and tendon are all around $10, including its signature Phở Dalat Dac Biet, with all sorts of beef bites includes steak, flank, and brisket. Orders can be placed over the phone or in person.

It may be physically impossible to leave this Centennial birria cart hungry. With a foundation of tender, methodically spiced birria, the menu of this cart ranges from crunch wraps with hot cheetos, to traditional quesabirria oozing with cheese, to ramen made with the braised beef’s consomme — all of them under $10. For $11, customers can get a smattering of various birria treats like vampiros, quesatacos, and mulitas, with a side of consomme for dipping. The cart has some picnic tables outside for those who want to eat there, but expect a wait on the weekends.