Korean restaurants can be rather expensive, and a dinner at one of 32nd Street's barbecues will run as high as $50 or more per person if you really want to satisfy yourself. But nearly all the bigger-ticket places in Koreatown offer amazing lunchtime specials, whereby a full meal of rice, miso soup, salad, pickles, main course plus -- the best part of the meal -- the pan chan, can cost less than $10. Now a similar spot has moved onto St. Marks, offering similar lunchtime specials.

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Welcome to 100 Dishes to Eat Now, the tasty countdown leading up to our "Best of 2012" issue. Tune in each day (weekends too!) for a new dish from the Fork in the Road team.

A few days ago, Fork in the Road detailed how Northern Chinese BBQ carts have been multiplying and extending their menus to include such unusual items as green beans and lamb kidneys. There's another tendency, too. Some carts are going brick-and-mortar, something we've seen in other street carts around the city, and one of the first to do so has recently appeared on Flushing's Roosevelt Avenue, a bao's throw from Macy's.

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It was only five years ago that rickety metal carts with a funny round chimney on top started appearing in the streets of Flushing, two at first, then a half-dozen, selling Silk Road brochettes of lamb or chicken for the almost unbelievable price of $1 apiece. Reports at the time suggested that the carts had been imported from Beijing, where these kebabs constitute an important street food.

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As I was walking past the 7-Eleven -- one has just gone in across from the Voice offices just south of Cooper Square -- the Italian sausage caught my eye and my hackles were raised. How dare they bomb into town, these reverse carpetbaggers, and try to sell us Italian sausages made somewhere else, when Italian sausages made here are the best in the world? Still, curious to try it, I swallowed my scruples and barged in the door.

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Despite the upscaling of restaurants in general, and common foodstuffs in particular, there is still hope for eating some great stuff, even if you aren't rich. We set ourselves the challenge of finding the best meals $5 or under, and this is what we came up with. Please tell us of similar places that you like. If we visit and do a piece - you'll get credit for it among the dancing electrons of Fork in the Road.

As the price of ramen has spiraled due to its hipness, it's hard to find a cheap bowl anymore, and what was once the least expensive foodstuff, beloved of college students, has become almost a special occasion dish. But there are a few holdouts...return with us now to the old days of ramen, pricewise.

Those who like their dogs topped with kraut and mustard will be shocked at the South American take on hot dogs. Take the perro Colombiano at La Casa de la Antojitos, a combination bakery and diner in Jackson Heights.

Somewhat mysteriously, a fleet of colorfully painted vans has appeared in the streets of Sunset Park, edging over into adjacent Brooklyn neighborhoods. In doing so, they have practically vanquished their rival, Mister Softee.