Pipes Cafe   

Best-kept secrets don't usually last too long, so it wasn't unusual to hear Food Network's bargain-hunter Rachael Ray crowing about Pipes Cafe's original Cardiff by the Sea location on an episode of her show, '$40 a Day.' After all, the lines for their deal-breaking breakfast burritos and other surfer-stuffing meals have been out the doors of both the San Diego and San Clemente locations for quite a while now, so it was a sure thing that someone with a camera would come along and the whole thing down for posterity. Which seems to be the chosen challenge at Pipes, given the prodigious size and shape of their offerings, a boon to those nearby waterbugs with nearly empty wallets. About three dollars gets the starving students a massive plate of eggs, potatoes and an English muffin, while a couple bucks more can nab them everything with the aforementioned (and enormous) combo breakfast burritos to burgers, chile-chicken sandwiches and more. Better yet, everything is freshly prepared. Ingredients for the day are chopped and cropped each morning, sometimes right after you order.