Cheap Eats: Top Five $1 Oyster Deals

Cheap has been marked synonymous with the most ungainly adjectives: cut-rate, contemptible, shameful, sleazy, trashy, and tasteless. It’s a term we decidedly disassociate from our selves and our lifestyle choices. Yet when it comes to our food, cheap is a descriptor that many self-proclaimed foodies sing out in praise.

Although chefs and purveyors probably prefer “inexpensive” or “affordable”, cheap is no longer a salacious signifier reserved for prostitutes and peep shows or drive-thrus and dingy dives. In San Francisco’s food world, where discerning diners want to eat well without emptying their IRAs, a varied roster of the city’s finest seafood spots offer a slough budget bites with dollar oysters at the top of the list. When you're salivating for shellfish, you can indulge in the decadent and delicious without bleeding your bank account bare.