Chow   

Everybody loves Chow. The Church Street location (a block south of Market) serves up large quantities of reasonably-priced sandwiches, salads and pizza, but it's the international noodle dishes that set it apart from other moderately-priced cafes. Try the fusili with chicken and Italian fennel sausage, plus mushrooms and cream-tomato sauce; Spicy Szechwan garlic noodles with asparagus, roasted cashews and tofu; or Smiling Noodles with shrimp, chicken, coconut and fresh curry. The hot meatball sandwich and short ribs are quite popular, as are the pizza (sadly no longer available by the slice) and salads like the no-oil Thai salad or the arugula salad with grilled prawns. With a nice entree price (most are under $10), it's possible to throw in a dessert like ginger cake with pumpkin ice cream. Chow gives inexpensive food a good name.