ZuZu

This tiny area chain, co-founded by Espartaco Borga in 1993, is a health-conscious bargain muncher's paradise. None of the menu items is more than $10. The kitchen goes to great lengths to provide good eats, even making the corn tortillas and thirst-quenching peach-mango iced tea from scratch. The foundation and the most popular dishes here are tried-and-true Tex-Mex classics, including a crispy beef taco, the Poncho Dinner combo platter (chicken enchilada, crispy beef taco, chicken flauta with a small side of queso and chips) and the house specialty relleno, a grilled poblano stuffed with chicken or steak and smothered in queso and ranchero salsa and two sides. Zuzu also prides itself on the vegetarian options. Among those is the crowd-pleasing (even for avowed carnivores) Lakewood Enchilada. Just goes to show you, Tex-Mex cuisine doesn't have to be the gut-busting, waist-expanding fare it's commonly thought to be.