There is an institution, a sort of difficult to predict but recognizable business, that foodies love. A worldwide institution, albeit not always easy to find: the mythical “Perfect Cheap Food.” We don’t mean fast food or a specific type of food such as tapas or appetizers. Perfect Cheap Foods comes from a particular restaurant that locals will line up out the door to eat at, like devoted worshippers. The taste of the food and the price make you certain it’s just some kind of magic trick, a mirage that will disappear when you leave.

An favorite example is Tito’s Tacos in Los Angeles. They serve a very limited menu of maybe six items such as tacos and burritos, allow no alterations or special requests and tastily stuff two people’s bellies for $12 dollars. If you ever find yourself in LA, go.

The funny thing is, this Perfect Cheap Food isn’t just in your city, or mine, it’s literally everywhere — you just have to know were to look. In Peru, we went to Juanito’s Bodega where they served four sandwiches, with no lettuce or tomato, just spicy aji peppers and meat or cheese. Cheap, even by Peruvian standards, these sandwiches were the kind that make you smile and notice how nice a day it is.

Here we are in Spain — it’s beautiful! The architecture, the people, the culture and even the weather have been amazing. But the prices are hard to swallow: a load of laundry can cost $20.

Ah, but we have some advice, a local secret of Madrid: El Tigre!

The beauty of El Tigre is that you can only order beer, only by little glasses. But each little glass comes with a heaping plate of food: Patatas Bravas (fried potato wedges with spicy sauce), Tortillas (frittatas), Tostas con Presunto (ham sandwiches), Lomo (pork loin) and chorizo, all for $2.40 — for the beer. San Miguel is an ok brew, but the food is great. How can such Perfect Cheap Food exist?

In fact the only real problem is you can’t eat more than 3 beers’ worth of food.