My favorite are bolones which you can get for $1. It’s more of a breakfast food usually with black coffee. They are softball sized balls corn or plantain and whatever else: cheese, egg, shrimp, veggies. They are really fun, definitely dodgeball material.
Also, almuerzo is a big thing in Ecuador. Usually you pay around $2.50 for a soup (with popcorn to put on top). In the city you could get pork or chicken but on the coast most of the soups are seafood. Then you get a main dish (beans or meat) which comes with rice, salad, plantains, and juice. Ecuadorians go home from school to have lunch (often with their families) and take a 1-2 hour siesta before returning to school/ work. I think I really like this system compared to the 25 minutes US students get to wolf down their corn dogs and chocolate milk. Which, I’m pretty sure was the same price for me ($2.50 US)?