Cheap Eats in NYC

DISCLAIMER! This blog is about cheap eats in NYC….and just because I make a suggestion, doesn’t make traffic any less to get there! So get it out of your head that you’ll be at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and you’ll just pop over for 99¢ pizza real quick before having to make a UN tour….it ain’t happenin’! I’m here to burst your bubble before I even fill it.

I love NY. Sounds like it should be a t-shirt or something….wait a tick…IT IS! THAT, however, is an entirely different blog, so wait for it. I’m here to say I love NY, and I’m here to confirm that it’s not cheap to eat there…as a tourist. I say as a tourist, because locals will counter me of course. “Well, there’s that one place downtown that every other Thursday between 2pm and 3pm on odd days….” Yes, well, we’re on a tour, we’re limited on TIME, and location, so, where do we eat cheap!? UGH! This topic merits a book.

Please understand I’ll use the word “CHEAP” here…that does mean “less expensive”…but you don’t want to hear that….you wanna hear “CHEAP”! Admit it.

For starters….let’s not turn our noses up at 99 ¢ pizza! You pass the place when you are headed to the Lincoln Tunnel after your day in NY (since it’s A LOT cheaper to stay in New Jersey!) Anyway, it’s there…right on 9th Ave….just behind Port Authority (that place where all the buses are!?). There is also a rumor that they expanding to a NEW location next to Grand Central Terminal, on 43rd Street between 3rd Ave and Lexington. Pizza. 99¢. Enough said.

HOWEVER, who cares if you aren’t near there right? So let’s move along…to Gray’s Papaya! Serving dogs since 1973! Delicious dogs too…I’ve tried them…I like them. If you don’t like hot dogs…well, then splurge and get the papaya fruit drink for which the establishment is named! Easily you can walk out of there with 2 hot dogs and a drink for under $5. BARGAIN! Where? Well, there is one in the West Village on 6th Ave between 8th & 9th Streets….but the other is up on the Upper West Side at 72nd and Amsterdam. VERY ideal location for lunch before walking over to Central Park and more importantly Strawberry Fields!

MEALS ON WHEELS! Lunch trucks are generally less expensive…OR? STREET MEATS as another tour guide friend calls them. My favorite “street meats” are on 6th Avenue and 50th walking towards 7th Ave. They are always lined up there…and generally yummy! A perfect option if given time at Rockefeller Center! Sure…there are places to eat under Rock Center, but they aren’t “cheap”. I suggest under Rock Center if the certain groups shouldn’t be allowed to wander….you know who you are. ☺ (on 48th Street between 5th Ave & 6th Ave there are also some cheap eats, like pizza, Variety Café, etc. Granted, I am SMITTEN with Wu Liang Ye’s and it’s not cheap eats, but it’s pretty authentic Szechuan goodness!)

I get that this is the tip of the iceberg for eating cheap in NYC…but I’m here to say…IT CAN BE DONE!! Eat your breakfast-it’s generally included at the hotel. Get a bottle of water and keep filling it! Or carry around one of those bottles. Don’t waste your money on drinks! Keep in mind too….free refills doesn’t necessarily apply to New York…so ask for free tap water…FREE! Skip drinks, skip the fries, and save dessert for dinner! (Or have a “Baked by Melissa” mini AWESOME cupcake for just a $1 www.bakedbymelissa.com) Also? As a general rule? Chains are forbidden! FORBIDDEN! Do you have a starbucks at home? How about a McDonalds?! Great. BRANCH OUT! Tour NYC like you mean it!

For you researchers out there…vs. us “stumblers”? Try this link http://realcheapeats.com/nyc/manhattan/ Remember my disclaimer from the beginning. Break out a map! And? Keep us posted on awesome cheap eats!!