Shades of the late 60s, when I budgeted like you're doing!

I would stick to the comida corrida, pretty well anywhere downtown. Try Fonda Mexicana on 20 de noviembre, west side, for about 40 pesos, full meal, including agua del día and postre. You should be able to find many, many restaurants like that, even costing less. Some of the downtown late night taco and tlayuda stands might also serve your purpose. Try Tlauydas on Libres, after about 10 pm, east side of Libres between Murguia and Morelos. My little taco place near the house (Col Reforma, on Las Rosas n. of Naranjas) has tiny tiny two-for-one tacos al pastor, and a plate of 15 costs about 40 - 50 pesos, giving you protein and carbs with a bit of veggie.

If you're drinkers, then in Col. Reforma you can go to the bar called El Faro, where shots of tequila and mezcal are large, and finger foods are tasty and cheap. It's hard to overspend there no matter how much you try. It's on Jasmínez a couple of blocks n. of Niños Heroes, east side, blue awning.

Two-for-one night at Domino's is Tuesday, and Thursday is a large for 99 pesos. I like Domino's better here than up north.

Ask wherever you are staying since the staff should have their own budget haunt closeby. Inside any of the weekly markets on market day you can get cheap meals as well, since that's where the vendors go to eat. The outside chicken and barbacoa stalls are generally cheap and safe as well, but of course follow the usual rules for eating on the street. (Email me at oaxacadream@hotmail.com and I can try to find my list of rules and guidelines for you).

El Tigre, en route to Hierve el Agua, will feed you really well reasonably, and mezcal is free since they also have a palenque. Closes early on Sundays. And the place on the left (Alice's) just outside of Hierve el Agua is good, safe and cheap).

Even in the more middle-of-the-road places, certain fill-you-up plates are cheap such as tlayudas, nachos, tamales, etc. Most downhome places will give you more tortillas and beans for free if you need them, and some will also give you more agua del día.

I think it's safe to say that as a general rule, the further you go out of the downtown core (zócalo), east, west, and south, the cheaper you'll find the food; and where you find crowds gathering at each, the food will be fresh and good.

Alvin Starkman - Casa Machaya Oaxaca Bed & Breakfast

I'd agree with all of those suggestions, even the ones we did not get to try! That's because overall I found food in Oaxaca to be very, very reasonable. The comida corrida is a really good idea, even the top end places are not more than 150 pesos for bread/totopos -nachos; soup, a hearty meal and a dessert, with drink. A few more ideas. At various bookstores around town you can find a guide called Viva Oaxaca - and also available to consult at the Lending Library. In it, you will find the locations of some of the better street food stands. There is one for example on Alcala, just north of Santo Domingo, that is packed around lunchtime and looked amazing. If you find yourself in the northeast part of town, colonia jalalatco, try El Biche Pobre. Home-cooked, very cheap, delicious. Another place we liked was the huge bakery - sorry, can't remember the name, just north of the zocalo - can easily ask, very popular. They have regular bread and various sweet breads, walnut was the best, and rolls too. A few of those breads and some fresh tomatoes and fruit from the market (or most variety stores have produce too) and you're set for a meal for less than 20 pesos. It's easy enough to eat well in Oaxaca for 100 - 150 pesos a day....

Oh yes - Panaderia Bamby. How could I have forgotten one of the monuments of world culture? At the NW corner of Garcia Vigil and Morelos, two blocks north of the Zocalo. Enter, grab a tray and a set of tongs and load your tray with whatever you like - wonderful pastries run about 30 cents (US) each and bread rolls are less, but all have prices posted next to them. I got excessively attached to Rollos de Chocolate. New things appear at different times of day. Proceed to the front counter with your trayful and be astounded that you now have enough for several breakfasts, probably for less than $5US. Some hotels have coffee makers you can use or hot water machines, but you can also bring one of those little coiled immersion heaters. If you can't find one at home, they're readily available in Oaxaca hardware stores.

thank you! Indeed, panderia bamby Should have won over Chichen Itza as a new wonder of the world....

Too bad we're too late to get Panaderia Bamby into the voting. I'm packing to go to Mexico tomorrow and came across the immersion heater I bought last year in Oaxaca; it's called, strangely enough 'calentador', in case you want to buy one in Oaxaca. I think I had to go through some negotiation to get clear that I wanted the coffee cup size, not the bath-water-heater size. It's from the ferreteria (or tlapaleria) on Bustamante, in the same block as the Tito's takeout window.

I hope you enjoy yorselves in lovely Oaxaca.

I believe the Bakery you are referring to in Bambi. Wonderful!!!

If you can afford to get to Oaxaca, and have a cheap place to stay, the cost of food is merely incidental. I partake of fresh fruit or juice for breakfast (one dollar), but you could add a roll (10 cents). Cheap comida corrida everywhere, or hit a market for tamales (30-40 cents apiece) or an empanada which comes in the form of a giant quesadilla, filled with bean paste, Oaxacan string cheese and maybe squash flowers ($1.25). You can be adventurous with beverages for cheap. Try tejate, tepache, micheladas, agua fresca (particularly jamaica), all for around a buck. Remember, particularly with street food, to look for clean equipment and hands. A crowd is always a good sign of frequent ingredient turnover and a good reputation. Keep your hands clean as well and drink a yogurt smoothie or a probiotic drink like Yakult every now and then to keep your stomach happy.

Have a great time!

We go to Huatulco each year. To get to Oaxaca we take the overnite bus which arrives about 6AM. We have cheap accomodation and are able to enjoy the ambiance of the area as SerenaMako suggests. We find the prices in Oaxaca lower to much lower than Huatulco, even at local run establishments.

Oaxaca is still a bargain offering wonderful value!