South Florida is a food lover's paradise. We know, because we've spent the past several weeks eating our way across Broward and Palm Beach counties in search of the cheapest eats, best chains, sweetest birthday deals and foods that simply make life worth living. In the process, we even found our new favorite lunch lady and visited a few coffee shops not named Starbucks. (Our jobs are tough, aren't they?) We've compiled these finds in our third annual Food and Restaurant Issue. We hope you brought your appetite.

• Cheap eats
These 20 restaurants will fill your stomach without emptying your wallet.

• The best coffee shops not named Starbucks
Sick of navigating a litany of ventes and grandes just to get a cup of coffee? Check out these five alternatives.

• 10 things we can't live without.
Sure, you could survive on Sloppy Joes and tuna fish sandwiches, but knowing there are foods like the following out there, what would be the point?

• Take these chains
Chain restaurants try to be everything to everybody, but some are better for healthy meals, others for families and a few for romance. Here's the lowdown on 11 favorites.

• Lunch lady of the year

• Worth a trip
Got a hankerin' for a filet mignon burrito or deep-fried marsh critters? Gas up for a gustatory road trip.

• Birthday bonanza
A birthday is a time to celebrate, scarf down some freebies and maybe get humiliated in the process.