13. Los Compadres: sunset pork in Sunset Park photo: Jay Muhlin more nyclife most popular most commented William Kristol is the Shameless Supervillain: The Propagandist This Modern World by Tom Tomorrow Columbia's Knotty Noose Problem by Graham Rayman NYPD's Busts Get Busted Runnin' Scared by Sean Gardiner The Gentrification Project That Turned into a Rat Castle on Ludlow Runnin' Scared by Maria Luisa Tucker Trash Talking with Harvey Weinstein by Tony Ortega Trash Talking With Harvey Weinstein by Tony Ortega Coming and Then Licking It Up. Is This a Gay Thing? Savage Love by Dan Savage At Home With Competitive Swallowers Crazy Legs and Eater X by Andy Kropa Gene Simmons and the Whores He Admires La Dolce Musto by Michael Musto Columbia's Knotty Noose Problem by Graham Rayman The 'W.' Stands for 'War Criminal' (17) Nat Hentoff Scientology's Crushing Defeat (14) Tony Ortega Runnin' Scared: From Brooklyn, a Rap Campaign Against Tight Clothes (9) Runnin' Scared: Arcynta Ali Childs Runnin' Scared: The City Pitted Kids Against Artists in the East Village (6) Runnin' Scared: Chloé A. Hilliard Savage Love: My Boyfriend Almost Fathered a Lesbian Couple's Baby?!? (5) Savage Love: Dan Savage

Welcome to the third annual "100 Best and Cheapest Restaurants" issue, this year spotlighting Latin food. While New Yorkers have long relished pernil and paella, the current influx of Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking immigrants has created a whole new catalog of taste delights—from Salvadoran pupusas oozing cheese, to Peruvian chickens thickly coated with spices, to tender charcoal-grilled Argentine skirt steaks, to spicy Brazilian shrimp swimming in coconut milk. Though Spanish is not yet required in the schools, it has become compulsory at the dinner table. Burritos have long replaced burgers in the affections of students, as their parents gleefully knock back ceviches and wash them down with margaritas, and meanwhile, salsa has officially aced out ketchup as our national condiment, scooped by billions upon billions of tortilla chips.

	View all top 100 inexpensive Latin restaurants in New York City Find the best Latin restaurants that are worth the splurge View the final box score. Cheap Asian Restaurants (2002): The 100 Best and Cheapest Asian Restaurants in New York City Cheap Chow Now (2001): The Top 100 Inexpensive Restaurants in New York City

To choose these restaurants I barnstormed the boroughs for five months by car, subway, bus, ferry, and foot, chasing down fresh tips and rechecking old favorites. I combed ethnic newspapers and electronic bulletin boards for new places, and interrogated friends, acquaintances, and even strangers on the street for closely kept dining secrets. The result is a ranked order of my 100 favorite Latin places in town, where you can often get a humongous meal—with leftovers—for $10 or less. With the economy spiraling downward, we need great inexpensive places more than ever.

The list is intended to be controversial—if you don't like it, write your own! In deciding what to include, I've made some difficult calls. First off, I've considered Portuguese-speaking places in addition to Spanish, since their languages and foodways overlap by about 80 percent. (Besides, I love Brazilian food.) The Philippine appreciation of pork roast and menudo was justification enough for that archipelago's inclusion, even though Spanish has not been officially spoken there since the Spanish-American War. I guess it goes to show: While official culture is fleeting, great food lasts forever.

View the top 100 Latin Restaurants!