Friendz has $1 hot dogs, $2 jumbo all-beef dogs, and Wailua Wheat draft beer
(Credit: MikeAnthony Moffa)
International Drive Flea Market has all four of those primo items plus some amazing deals on cheap eats. For those of you who are new to this column, the goal here is to find a decent meal for fewer than five bucks. I particularly love when I find a meal deal in the tourist part of town not so much to help the sunburned masses, but the locals who work I-Drive.
Cheap seats: The flea market itself is a hollowed-out strip mall, re-divided into booths. This is a tourist town, so a lot of vendors are selling discount souvenirs, but others sell wigs or electronics or bootleg mix CDs.
Over in one corner are the food booths with a half-dozen central tables. The seats were all taken (and a little grubby), so I took my food to an abandoned booth with exposed PVC pipes and a faded Hawaiian Tropic sign.
Cheap treats: My favorite food stand didn't have a sign with a name, but the photocopied menu says Alexander's Kitchen. Depending on the day, you might find pernil on the menu. It's a Latin/Caribbean take on roast pork, marinated (with the skin on) in oregano and garlic. The woman at the counter says it takes her six hours to make, so if you don't see pernil on the menu today, she should have it tomorrow.
For $4, you get two thick slices of meat and a side of white rice. I'm positive you could find full-service restaurants charging double for the same plate. I've had moister pork, but I wouldn't call this "dry" and for $4, it's brilliant.
Alexander's also has a $4 bowl of beef stew that's the definition of homemade. Poured over that same rice, it's chunks of stewed roast, carrots, potato, tomato and green pepper. Again, I can probably find a fancier place selling a fancier version, but it'll cost you.
For vegheads, there's a $3 spicy noodle dish with lo mien noodles, a hot/sour sauce and broccoli florets talking the place of pork or chicken. Speaking of chicken, you can get a roasted leg and thigh with fries for $5.
Another food stand called Friendz has $1 hot dogs and $2 jumbo all-beef dogs. Despite being boiled, the $2 dog is garlicky with a good, solid "bite." Friendz has draft beer too, including a 12-ounce cup of Kona Brewing Company's Wailua Wheat for $2.50. Flavored with passion fruit, it's the kind of beer you need to drink ice cold. I gotta say that it's not my favorite, but who would have thought I'd find a new beer at a damn flea market?
Cheap gas: As a chaser, I'd suggest hunting up a cold drink from one of the multiple stands around the flea market. You can find sodas and bottled juices from Jamaica, Honduras, Columbia and Brazil. I bought a decent, fresh pineapple smoothie from the stand near Alexander's and Friendz. I paid $2.50, but got the vibe that he decided the price right when I asked him. If you get a better deal, let me know.
Add a comment