I'm a little guilty of not specifying dollar amounts--one person's inexpensive might be another's ?!?!?

With a little wiggle room, I'm thinking of dinner (all in, tax,tip, non-alcoholic bev) of $20 or less. Less for lunch.

BTW, Culver City is fine. The Cuban place there looks good, though I didn't think of LA for Cuban.

Really good suggestions folks, thanks all around

If you're into Brazilian, there is a small local chain called Pampas. They have a stand at the Farmers Market on Fairfax (by The Grove) and another in the Culver Center. The Culver Center is much less crowded, but not as LA historic. There food is sold by the pound, and I usually get a really good plate of food for less than $15.

cferrb: thank you! That's the name "Pampas".

The meats are so tasty, just remember that it's charge by the pound - meat, veggies, everything is added in.

See the reviews on the one located in the Farmers Market:
http://www.yelp.com/biz/pampas-grill-los-angeles

Santa Monica has great farmers' markets where local vendors have prepared food stands: http://www01.smgov.net/farmers_market/
It probably would only make sense if you are already in SM on those days. If you have to drive in and find parking, it might be too much work.

We love the Salvadoran Pupusas at our local farmer's market, but I'm not sure if there is a pupuseria at SM.

Here's a list of other farmers' markets in the the L.A. area:
www.farmernet.com/events/cfms They're usually great places to walk around and sample the local produce and prepared food.