$5 Frugal Meal: La Batalla

When a friend and I got together for a meal and some long overdue catching up, we settled on cheerful, inexpensive La Batalla in Bergenfield.

I love that they have cloth napkins.


Guava nectar, $1.50. Love the fancy goblet! Whenever possible, I just say no - to straws.


Sopes, $3.50 Only beef, chicken or shrimp were listed as choices, but I asked for a vegetarian one, no cheese. Simply grilled cornmeal topped with beans and veggies. Delicious.


Beyond a few items, vegetarian and vegan options are rarely visible on a menu. It pays to look at more carnivorous options too to see how you can remove the meat. I'm guilty myself of looking for the veg options, making my decision, and sitting silently while my omnivore dining companion reviews their extensive list of options.

Incidentally, I made an entire meal out of this appetizer (plus a good portion of chips and their homemade salsa). Entrees in most restaurants will garner two meals, and I'm often armed with a reusable container to take leftovers for my office lunch. Consider an appetizer as a meal if you're looking to eat lighter or don't want the leftovers. Saving a few dollars is an added benefit.

The Closest I've Come to Mexico in New Jersey

Pancho's is good, and does score some major vegan brownie points for offering tofu sour cream and soy cheese, but the most authentic, and best, Mexican food I've had in Bergen County, New Jersey: La Batalla in Bergenfield.

I've blogged about this charming restaurant before, but it's so worth mentioning again.

Food is home-cooked here, and doesn't come out in five minutes, like it has at Pancho's. Feeling like you are in someone's home kitchen in Mexico is an accurate way to describe it. While you wait, snack on their complimentary chips and salsa. I love that this is BYOB, which saves a small fortune.

My stand-by is vegetable enchiladas (hold the cheese). The rice is cooked in chicken stock, so you can substitute with a small salad with sliced avocado. This entire feast cost $9.95.

I've gotten in the habit of bringing my own take-out containers for leftovers, so I can enjoy it all over again the next day (if there's any left!) and not have any disposables going into the landfill.

There's a vegetarian plate, $9.95, (cheese enchilada, cheese chile relleno, guacamole burrito), but go with the chile relleno with no cheese and guacamole burrito if you want to omit the dairy.

The service is always friendly, and the food....making my mouth water as I write this. I truly feel like I'm eating at local spot in Mexico, after a day of sandy beaches.

Bergenfield's main street is filled with "For Rent" signs, like many main streets. While I eat most meals at home, I will continue to support local, reasonabley-priced establishments such as this.

Visit La Batalla, 83 N. Washington Ave, Bergenfield, NJ.

How about a little Mexican packed into your lunch bag or for a festive, inexpensive dinner after a long day? These are new at Trader Joe's, and made it immediately into my shopping cart.

Add your favorite fillings. I like shredded lettuce, black beans and corn, or simple guacamole tacos.


If at home, finish with a fruit floe. A strawberry floe has just 100 calories, lime, just 60. The price is right: $1.99 for four bars. Their mango tangerine sorbet is just as yummy and wallet-friendly at $2.49 for a pint.

Bergenfield, or Mexico?

If you haven't caught the charming film Ratatouille, I recommend checking it out on DVD. It's about the great love of food, and the inspiring notion that "anyone can cook." My favorite scene is when the jaded food critic Anton Ego takes his first bite of ratatouille, and it instantly transports him to his youth, when the dish brought such comfort to him on a dark, dispiriting day. Just a bite of food has the power to bring you back to another place and time, and can nourish the body and the soul.

When I walked into La Batalla, I felt like I was back in Mexico, which I have such fond memories of and am very saddened by the swine flu pandemic and drug violence troubles that so burden our Southern neighbor.

A quaint atmosphere greeted me, as did very friendly service. Note the cloth (not paper) napkins. Fifty extra points! There weren't a lot of obvious vegan choices on the menu, but it's easy to veganize Mexican food. Just ask!

Who doesn't love free chips and salsa?

I shared the guacamole, $6.50, to start. Pretty tasty, but my meal was so filling, I probably could have skipped it.

Vegetable enchiladas ($9.95) weren't on the menu, but they were happy to make them. I know when I'm still reminiscing about a meal the next day on the bus ride to work, it was really good. The rice was cooked in chicken stock, so I got a salad with avocado instead. No complaints here! I washed this down with an Herbal Mist Yerba Mate iced peach tea, $2.

I couldn't resist the jukebox. For $1, I got three lively salsa tunes.

Visit La Batalla, 83 N. Washington Ave., Bergenfield, NJ