Roxy's Cafe San Francisco, San Francisco

As the foodie culture has exploded in popularity in recent years, it’s become quite fashionable to shell out big bucks to experience tasting menus from talented chefs. However, at the husband and wife restaurant Roxy’s Cafe, chef Manny Torres Gimenez lets people enjoy a 10-course meal for as low as $75, which is practically unheard of in the world of upscale cuisine. “My concept is to do fine dining for ordinary people,” he told Serious Eats.

The seasons and the farmers’ markets influence his tasting menu, which weaves Asian, Mediterranean, and Latin American flavors together. Its 10 courses, which start off light and refreshing before moving to slightly heavier fare, seem to tell a culinary narrative about the type of food Gimenez is passionate about cooking.

The San Francisco Chronicle actually described Gimenez as “one of the new breed of chefs who cook from the heart and aren't deterred by inadequate kitchens and inferior dining amenities.” So though the interior of Roxy’s might have rickety dining tables and what the Chronicle calls “garish” red paint, it’s not the decor that keeps people coming back. It’s an avocado that holds seasoned ahi sashimi within its green walls, pork belly braised for 48 hours, and cheese arepas with housemade guanabana ice cream. And it’s the chef who wants the ordinary diner to feel like they can afford to eat 10 courses without selling their prized collection of waygu-beef cows.