EDIBLE: Loving three endless $11 lunches in Monterey and Pacific Grove.

All too often $11 can’t get you a beer at a baseball game, a ticket to the matinee or even a decent appetizer.

So this would be welcome trifold news from the Eleven Dollar Department: Three resounding lunch deals await, with three vastly different identities, at three locally owned spots.

They make keeping things filling and flavorful an affordable art form, and make the question, “So what’d you have for lunch?” a lot more fun to answer. (“Oh, you know, four salads and farfalle and garlic-baked chicken and kale pakora and chana masala and kheen.”)

Other good lunch salad bars to earmark both set up in Monterey, though they’re less unique: Crazy Horse in the Bay Park Hotel (649-4771) and Jacks Restaurantat Portola Hotel (649-2698), which offers a locals discount.

Workers Lunch At Il Vecchio • $10.85

The beauty of the concept is as self-evident and well-reasoned as the new solar panels owner Carl Alasko collaborated on with Torres Electric: Each weekday a fixed menu – that can be accessed online – delivers two signature Italian dishes and an “artisan” green salad that are served to eaters tableside. An important note: This ain’t any old Italian joint. il vecchio is a regular contender for our readers’ vote for Best Italian, and this area is flush with quality Italian places.

The goodies range from Monday’s rigatoni con ragu di carne (rigatoni with a rustic meat sauce) and farfalle con ricotta (butterfly pasta with ricotta cheese) to Wednesday’s pollo al vino (chicken thighs braised in white wine and herbs) and fettuccini con funghi (creamy fettuccine and mushrooms) to Friday’s garlic-rosemary-sage-brined baked chicken and penne arrabiata. Ordering to go is also an option.

They also do upscale salads for a decent $13.50 like the “mare” with sauteed shrimp, rock cod and calamari in a lemon vinaigrette.

Noon-1:30pm weekdays. 110 Central Ave., Pacific Grove, 324-4282, ilvecchiorestaurant.com

Monterey Cookhouse • $10.95-$12.95

The specter of doing an all-you-can-eat buffet at one of the meatiest spots in the area – where the smoker is always going and the pulled pork, brisket and ribs are superior – can be daunting.

But the focus shifts for this generous spread, though the results can induce a cubicle coma.

The salad rundown features four types of greens, other cold salads like a macaroni number and some herb-marinated tomatoes, and an avalanche of nearly 40 toppings like green peas, couscous, coleslaw, broccoli, chickpeas, carrots, hard-boiled eggs, fresh fruit and croutons roasted from Palermo Bakery bread.

The hot items come from two categories. The regular roster is robust already: bacon-wrapped meatloaf (though the tasty loaf was sauced on my visit, no bacon), seasonal fish (a flaky Vietnamese white fish called sway in a curried style for my lunch), garlic butter pasta, fried chicken, mashed potatoes, a daily Mexican dish (enchiladas this time), macaroni and cheese and steamed seasonal vegetables. Then there’s the rotating dishes, which can include lasagna, smoked chicken, barbecue ribs, tostadas, spaghetti, chicken fettuccine and pasta pomodoro. Plus there’s a soup, which was a pleasantly light tomato bisque, and housemade dessert (chocolate cake).

Every dish comes house-made except the fried chicken, but that’s above average because friends in the restaurant biz turned owner-operator Linda Cantrell and company onto a great source that preps it fresh (though she’s not telling who). Like my buddy said as we sat down to mounds of salad, “This could be an all-day affair.”

11:30am-2:30pm weekdays. 2149 Fremont St., Monterey, 642-9900, montereycookhouse.com

Namaste India Bistro • $10.95

Attention is important when eating out, even when it’s a buffet, and the team here demonstrates it can happen at the table and on the hot food line, where they keep the choices changing and the day’s offerings regularly refreshed.

Freshly cut fruit and basic mixed greens, flanked by slices of cucumber and red onion, present a starting point. Vegetable fritters in a chickpea batter or kale pakora provide texture (the featured greens and vegetables change), spiced lentil soup brings comfort and basmati rice furnishes a foundation for a selection of sauces. Different masalas and curries deepen the value and are often vegetarian; the chana masala with garbanzo beans slow-cooked with onions, tomatoes and Indian spices is one of my favorites. Multiple chicken choices – think butter chicken, chicken tikka masala, chicken curry or tandoori chicken – appear to be ever-present, as is dessert, a rice pudding with a little zing known as kheer. The naan proves earthy and satisfying thanks to a light char and a touch of crispiness.

Like the other spots, takeout is available, and includes warm naan. Another nice bonus: The buffet rolls out on weekends too, and includes a juice, soda or a glass of Champagne for a tidy $12.95.

It’s all enough for relentless foodie, restaurateur and Weekly contributor Shiho Fukushima to call it “one of the best deals in the area.”

11:30am-2:30pm daily. 538 Lighthouse Ave., Monterey, 641-0130.

~QUICKBITES ~

• Not all brunches are created equal. This one features sustainable food, wine and coffee from the wizards at Portola Hotel and Spa and Carmel Valley Coffee Roasting Company. It programs in lively ocean conservation information from experts like Monterey Bay Whale Watch’s Nancy Black and zero-waste outfit the Offset Project’s Kristin Cushman. And, oh yes, it’s all on a boat watching whales sipping mimosas. The tickets aren’t cheap ($125) but they are tax deductible and support the nonprofit Offset Project’s ongoing mission to reduce waste, 10am-2pm Sunday, June 26; get more at the Offset Project website.
• Jason Franey is leaving Restaurant 1833 (643-1833) to start his own thing and there’s a new exec chef waiting in the wings. More on the blog.
• The storied Sardine Factory (373-3775) still has one of the best happy hours around: 5-6:30pm and 9:30-10:30pm daily are $3 small bites, $6 starters, $4-$7 drinks and David Conley on the ivories starting at 7:30pm Tuesday-Saturday.
• “Favorite Fridays” tribute band concerts come free at Del Monte Center 6-8pm June 17 (Santana tribute) and June 24 (Chicago).
• An atypical and high-value winemaker’s dinner goes down at La Casa Del Sazón in partnership with Puma Road Winery Friday, June 17 ($60, 595-5823): six courses like steak fajitas and grilled Don Beto seafood mix with six wines like the SLH Pinot.
• Chef Yulanda Santos is doing another stylish pop-up at Carmel Belle with “Noooodle Battle!! Ramen vs. Pho!!” Tuesday, June 21, doors at 5pm (no reservations, cash only, 624-1600). A tender note: In memory of her younger brother, sales of “Arnold’s Japanese Beef Curry Bowl” will go to cancer research and Chelsea’s Light Foundation.
• Carmel Valley Art and Wine Celebration at Quail Lodge happens Saturday, June 18 ($30). More on p. 30 in the A&E Calendar.
• Andrea’s Fault plays Taste Morgan in the Crossroads 6-9pm Friday, June 17.
• Quote of the day at Oberon’s Tavern in Ashland, Oregon: “Not to get technical, but according to chemistry, alcohol is a solution.”