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For a time, Pizza Meine Leibe (231 High St, Northcote) was my favourite pizza place and home to my favourite pizza, the Pizza 4 Cate. Then the standards slipped, I had a couple of disappointing experiences, and didn’t return for a year or so. I’ve been back a couple of times recently, and I’m happy to say that its returned to its best. Both times I’ve had the Pizza 4 Cate, which is topped with the delicious tomato sauce, mozzarella, prawns, sundried tomatoes and chilli. The one I had on my first return visit was incredible, the second only slightly less so, thanks to tails left on the prawns.

Pizza Meine Leibe is just as popular as ever, so much so that they’re now serving pizza in the bar next door, Joe’s Shoe Store.

There are plenty of cuisines that generally represent good value in Australia - Thai, Indian, Cantonese. Mexican isn’t one of them. Coyote Cafe (414 Nicholson St, North Fitzroy) is a happy exception to the rule, at least as far as take away is concerned. Like most Mexican restaurants here, the food is actually more Tex-Mex, but it’s good.
The burritos and enchilada dinners are both excellent, and cost only $9.60 and $7.50 respectively. In the case of burritos, the beef & japapeno is the best bet, with nicely shredded meat and delicious flavours. The honey chipotle chicken burrito is less successful. A couple of vegetable-based burrito options are also available.
As alluded to above, it’s really take away that represents the best value. Prices when you eat in are considerably higher.

I’m not sure how Thaila Thai (82 Lygon St, Brunswick East) does it - serve up generous portions of delicious and fresh Thai dishes for such low prices. Yes, there are other Thai restaurants that are just as cheap, however the quality isn’t the same.

There’s the standard range of curries, stir fries and salads to choose from, all at around $10 for vegetable or chicken/beef, with seafood a few dollars more.

Curries here are drier and less soupy than those at most Thai restaurants, but they’re still rich with coconut flavour. The meat is good quality - in the case of the chicken, it actually seems to be breast meat. Another difference is that the vegetables are a lot crisper, as the curries are cooked quickly in very hot woks, which also impart a nice ‘bbq-ey’ flavour to the meat.

It’s a similar story with the stir fries, which are available with a number of ‘flavourings’ such as as chilli & basil and satay. The serving sizes of the stir fries are particularly generous, and come with a lot of vegetables.

The satays are recommended, although they’re deep fried, and the salads are a great palate cleanser. As with a lot of Asian cuisine, it’s best suited to sharing multiple dishes.

Unless you’ve got a very large appetite you shouldn’t require more than 1 dish per person, meaning, with rice, you shouldn’t need to spend more than $13 - $14 each. The fact that it’s BYO makes it even more affordable. Take away is also available, although the serving are smaller.