>>>Orchard Market & Cafe

8815 Orchard Tree Lane -- Towson -- 410-339-7700

Entrees $5.95-$17.95 -- orchardmarketandcafe.com

Tucked in a strip mall off Joppa Road, the Orchard Market is hard to locate, but rewarding when you do - this is a "find." (Gardiners Furniture is your turn.)

This is a family-run restaurant that encourages customers to bring their own wine. The cuisine and artwork are Persian, reflecting the tastes of the land that now is part of Iran and Afghanistan. The appetizers are fresh and appealing. The sauteed jumbo shrimp with mango and onions is sweet and unique. The eggplant and artichokes with feta cheese brings out the best notes of the vegetables. Classic Persian entrees such as orange-poached duck and lamb with pomegranate sauce and plums are stewed and sugary.

Kataifi, an almond-and-walnut pastry, looks like shredded wheat, but tastes sweeter. A house-made apple cake with cherries and cream is a delight. Even more pleasing was the bill - $61 for dinner for two, enjoyed with a bottle of customer-carried dry rose. (RK)

>>>Pesce Grande

2019 West St. -- Annapolis -- 410-224-0205

Entrees $9-$32 -- pescegrandeitaliangrille.com

Pesce Grande neatly straddles the divide between sports bar and elegant Italian restaurant. Yes, there are televisions aplenty, pizza and calzones on the menu and even a beer poster or two, but Pesce Grande also offers sophisticated seafood, veal and pasta dishes, and a wine list that complements them.

The restaurant's attentive service, tomato-red walls, elegant lighting and whimsical framed prints make this a good-enough-for-special-occasions kind of place.

While many dishes cross the $20 line, bargains abound. One nice touch: Nearly every dish is offered in a less-expensive "piccolo" size.

You also can save money at lunch by opting for the $11.95 buffet, which includes complex, flavorful renditions of rigatoni, stuffed shells and eggplant parmesan, as well as cheese and pepperoni pizza and a salad bar. At dinner, a $59 taster's menu feeds two people with a table-groaning assortment that includes tender fried calamari, rockfish, salad, rigatoni, steak and cannolis. (KN)

>>>Sammy's Trattoria

1200 N. Charles St. -- Mount Vernon -- 410-837-9999

Entrees $14.99-$29.99 -- sammystrattoria.com

You can think of Sammy's as Little Italy North. Owner Sam Curreri and a number of his staff came from Chiapparelli's, where he worked as general manager. You'll get that same warm, homey feeling and lots of good southern Italian food at his restaurant, plus a sunny, stylish decor that lures an attractive bar crowd.

The great deal here is the family-style dinner for $35 a person. You put yourself in the chef's hands and get four or more courses, which could include summer tomatoes with mozzarella and basil, or a deliciously garlicky shrimp; large portions of homemade lasagna with tender noodles and a robust Bolognese sauce; veal or chicken francese (I'd go with the chicken; the veal could have been pounded more); salad and desserts from, yes, Little Italy, like cannoli and tiramisu.

Dinner will hold no surprises at Sammy's, but it will be decent and filling, the service will be attentive, and you are almost guaranteed to have a good time. (EL)

>>>Samos

600 S. Oldham St. -- Greektown -- 410-675-5292

Entrees $14.50-$22.50 -- samosrestaurant.com

It's Greek in Greektown, it's BYOB, and it takes cash only - all of which help make Samos a bargain. What really seals the deal, though, is that owner Nick Georgalas is right there behind the stove, turning out some of the best Greek food in Baltimore.

If you just order one of the platters, you will have more than enough food, what with the Greek salad, pita, vegetables and roast potatoes or rice that comes with the tender little lamb chops, savory lemon chicken, shrimp Plaka and other entrees. But why stop there? Go for Samos' version of a prix fixe and get various small dishes like excellent dolmades, spanakopita and tzatziki as well. Not to mention the homemade rice pudding or baklava for dessert.

Expect to wait in line at Samos if it's anywhere close to dinner hour (no reservations are taken), and look forward to the time when the new dining room upstairs is completed. (EL)

>>>Smedly's

600 S. Wolfe St. -- Fells Point -- 410-563-7545

Entrees $2-$7 -- smedlys.com

Smedly's serves a changing roster of inexpensive (think $6 and under) fresh-made soups, muffins, cheesecakes and cheery but small entrees, all made by Cordon Bleu-trained Helena Williams, who lives in an apartment upstairs with her husband, Bob, a retired marketing professor who runs the coffee shop with her.

Portions at Smedly's are small, but each little item is lovingly prepared and often just a bit unusual. The day's offerings, written in a rainbow of chalk colors, might include a white chili, made with ground turkey and chili, cannellini beans and a bechamel sauce, or a plate of sliced pears with cubes of several flavorful cheeses. Drinks include the renowned illy brand of coffee and espresso, organic tea and insanely rich sipping chocolate. Board games, newspapers and wireless Internet service encourage lingering, and customers can scrawl their own message on a chalkboard that lines one wall of the narrow space. (KN)

>>>SoBo Cafe

6 W. Cross St. -- Federal Hill -- 410-752-1518

Entrees $13-$21

After 10 years, SoBo Cafe isn't quite the incredible bargain it was when it first opened, but it still dishes up large quantities of good food for relatively small change. A small but decent wine list is another plus.

This is nouvelle comfort food. Chicken marinated in red wine and pepper, for instance, nestles in chevre cream over pasta.

Starters are minimal, but fresh salads and a slab of mac and cheese are standards on the menu, which changes daily. Folks looking for a filling meal for less than $25 with a glass of wine will probably head straight for entrees like the large and inexpensive Big As Yo' Face Eggplant Lasagna or, a step up, catfish stuffed with shrimp. There will be dessert only if the pastry chef feels like baking.

All in all, the benefits of a meal at SoBo Cafe outweigh the quirky disadvantages. Try to go at an off hour, though. When it's busy, the noise can be headache-inducing. (EL)

>>>Sushi Sono

10215 Wincopin Circle -- Columbia -- 410-997-6131

Entrees $12.95-$35.95 -- sushisonomd.com

This popular Japanese restaurant can get crowded, especially on weekends, but customers don't seem to mind. While they wait for a table, some take the time to stroll around the Columbia lakefront, visible through the restaurant's large windows. They probably know that once they are seated, their food will arrive quickly, and it will be worth the wait.

Sushi Sono serves teriyaki dishes, elegantly crisp tempuras and fresh, flavorful sushi and sashimi. But it is best known for its elaborate and beautifully presented rolls.

Offerings change daily, but one of the most popular is the Bridal Veil, stuffed with sumptuous lobster salad and wrapped in ultra-thin slices of raw tuna. The dragon roll, another favorite, combines the melt-in-your-mouth crunch of shrimp tempura with a topping of cool white lobster meat.

Round out the meal with a starter of delicate shumai (tiny steamed shrimp dumplings) and a bowl of creamy, mild red bean ice cream for dessert. (KN)

>>>Szechuan Restaurant

1125 S. Charles St. -- South Baltimore -- 410-752-8409

Entrees $7.95-$15.50

From the looks of it, not much has changed at Szechuan Restaurant in the past 10 or 15 years. Even the photos of former patrons on the wall look pretty dated. But the menu has an expansive list of Chinese-American favorites and more authentic fare - all made well.

The wine list has about a dozen options, and the sole Chinese beer offered is Tsingtao. For an appetizer, order the cold noodles, which come coated in a thick peanut sauce.

Entrees are fairly inexpensive and are served in sizable portions. Szechuan chicken had tender meat and thin vegetable strips coated in a spicy red-pepper sauce. Meat lovers should try the House Roast Duck, a half-duck cooked so the skin was brown and crisp. It's only $9.50.

Though the menu taped to the front windows of the restaurant might say otherwise, no dessert was offered when we went. (SS)

>>>Tapas Teatro

1711 N. Charles St. -- Station North Arts and Entertainment District -- 410-332-0110

Entrees $2.95-$15.95 -- tapasteatro.net

This bustling cafe nestled next to the Charles Theatre, where small plates of the mostly Mediterranean fare are served with clatter and speed, offers a lot of highly flavored food for not much money.

The cold tapas plate of serrano ham, manchego cheese, tomato and basil is solid, but many of the same ingredients shine when they appear as a bocadillo, or small sandwich. The roasted eggplant with peppers and mint is artful; the sweet peas in tomato sauce and sausage less so. Broiled medallions of moist sea bass are perfectly cooked, but nothing is better than the two grilled lamb chops, dressed with a barbecue sauce made with rhubarb.

There's a smart selection of Spanish and South American wines by the glass; the $17 pitcher of house-made sangria is a bargain, if a bit sweet. The flan and other desserts are not as fine as the savory fare. (RK)

>>>The Wine Market

921 E. Fort Ave. -- Locust Point -- 410-244-6166

Entrees $15-$24 -- the-wine-market.com

The Wine Market isn't cheap - but it's hard to think of a better fine-dining deal than this outpost of South Baltimore industrial chic. The food and wine look and taste more expensive than they are and come with attentive service.

The care starts with appetizers. A chilled pea soup garnished with morels and bacon was almost too pretty to eat. Entrees have a lot going on, but somehow it all works. Tender pan-seared sea scallops sat on a bed of risotto that contained not only sweet corn and wilted spinach, but pork confit. Strip steak might show up with gnocchi, fava beans, pancetta and mushrooms. Desserts included a wonderfully creamy panna cotta with blueberry-coriander syrup and a whimsical chocolate trio.

Wines, many of them available in the adjoining store, are attractively priced. Mondays are "neighborhood nights," with 20-percent- off entrees and 30 bottles of wine for about $15 each. And you don't even have to live in the neighborhood. (KS)

>>>Zella's Pizzeria

1145 Hollins St. -- West Baltimore -- 410-685-6999

Entrees $7-$11 -- zellaspizzeria.com

For less than $12, you can feast on an enormous meatball calzone or a 10-inch pizza topped with ingredients like caramelized onions, artichokes and prosciutto at this new casual restaurant across from Hollins Market.

The restaurant's blond wood accents, brightly painted walls and shiny-new stamped tin ceiling make the place particularly welcoming, as does the delicious smell of garlic that greets you at the door. Customers can choose their own pizza toppings or go for recommended combos like pesto chicken pizza, with chunks of grilled chicken, bits of savory sun-dried tomato, slivers of roasted red onion and red pepper, and even slices of olives and chunks of feta cheese.

Dough, sauces and salad dressings are made in house, and salads are topped with a warm wedge of fresh garlic-cheese bread. Sandwiches, chicken wings, ravioli and lasagna round out the tightly focused menu. You won't leave hungry, but you might want to leave room for a breath mint after your meal. (KN)