Budget Eating in Midtown Manhattan

A fun place with good food and a varied menu is Vynl, which should appeal to your teens. There are actually four locations, although I've only eaten at the one in Hell's Kitchen. I've been there several times with my kids, as they really like it. Everything I've had there was good, and it's very affordable. The decor is all about vinyl records and pop music, with little dioramas of various artists and bands made with dolls - it's kind of funky. Each restroom has a different theme, featuring various singers (Cher, Elvis, etc.). You can find out more and check out the menu here:

http://www.vynl-nyc.com/

Is there some reason to stay in midtown to eat?

You're much better off exploring other areas of the city - esp residential ones like the upper west side, the Village and the east village for good food at bargain prices. (Many people in these areas eat out/order in a lot - so there are tons of casual neighborhood places - many with sidewalk seating you rarely find in midtown. Just look for places that are busy (and check the menus outside).

I would abandon the idea of steak in that budget range - any thing is NYC less than $30 will probably not be enjoyable.

But there are lots of Mexican and Italian - never mind tons of so many other ethnicities at bargain prices - Chinese, Indian, Thai etc - which don;t have to be spicy at all if that's an issue.

In general, midtown either has tourist traps (reasonable prices but mediocre food) or high end stuff targeted at expense accounts. None of the places you mentioned are great... but they aren't terrible.
For bargains in midtown, try the many places on 9th avenue in the low 50's and mid-high 40's. Uncle Nicks is a good Greek seafood place in midtown- variety of whole grilled fish & things like that.
You can get excellent stuff for $30 in this city if you're willing to eat outside midtown.
A good Spanish option for a family like yours is Sevilla in the West village.
Try Artisanal for French... it'll barely fit into your budget, but it will be memorable.
For Italian try Barbuto in the West Village. You can get some steak there too.
A good steakhouse in your price range is difficult.

If you like Spanish, I would try Tia Pol, El Cid, Xunta, or Bar Carerra. They serve tapas and everyone can sample what is offered in Spain.

Trecolori has a following but there are scores of better places.

I would avoid Mexican in Ny it is not what is done best.

There are places like Veselka which serve Eastern Europen blintzes and pierogies. 2nd Ave deli or Katz's which are throwbacks to the best of the Jewish delis. Dim Sum in Chinatown.

Turkish Kitchen
Pylos-Greek

well you get the idea.

Every neighborhood in NYC is visited by office workers or other workers who provide a variety of services--delivery men, mail carriers, cleaning people, construction workers, etc.

Fruit carts, bakeries, pizza parlors, ethnic restaurants, and a variety of other eating opportunities are available to them and to visitors.

OK regulars, don't faint, but even I say that unless you're tied to midtown by theatre times or other reasons, get out a bit and explore.

On the other hand there are some much better choices in the same neighborhood if you don't want to leave. Inexpensive "neighborhood" type ethnic restaurants are about as good on 9th Avenue in Hell's Kitchen as they are likely to be almost anywhere in Manhattan.

My opinion of Pigalle is that it is a glorified hotel coffee shop -- a step or so above Denny's. French? Not really, unless you call French toast authentic cuisine. In the same general area there is the basement like Tout Au Bien on 51st between 8th and 9th that is really good and no more money. Great onion soup, Boef Bourguignon and all the rest. Authentic, atmospheric, and great. I really like Artisinal, but I do understand budgets and Artisinal probably won't fit yours. For about half the price or less you can feast at Tout au Bien.

Trecolori? Mediocre and average. But for similar prices -- actually, I think less -- Roberto Passon on 9th and 51st! Much better.

Forget Mexican or Spanish, I agree.

Something different, yet not too exotic and still really reasonable? Dervish Turkish on W. 47th Street, or the excellent and abundant Indian lunch buffet (about $16) at Utsav that is in a pretty room upstairs from 46th between 6th and 7th. If you're a novice to Indian, don't worry, things are labeled and one of the guys will tell you what's what. It's all really delicious.

But do head down to Katz's Deli. It is soooo worth the trip, and I tend to feel sorry for those who think that Stage or Carnegie Deli is the "real deal".

And the above mentioned Vynl is a great suggestion. Everything I've eaten there is sooo good, and the prices are very reasonable. Basic American fare for the most part, but beats the usual pubs and chains by a mile.

Here is an idea for good and not pricey Mexican not too far away; this is the real thing:

http://www.tulcingorestaurant.com/menu.html

Another good bet is Daisy Mae's which is a casual barbecue place run by a guy who worked at Guy Savoy in Paris and at Daniel and Le Cirque in NYC (all top places)


http://www.daisymaysbbq.com/

Sorry to say I would veto each of the places you have listed above..if you must stay in midtown you need to go very far west or better yet, try some of the places suggested above that are out of the area..

Funny, ekscrunchy, but Daisy Mae didn't do a lot for us, except for the side dishes, particularly the beans and the corn with cheese! I'd much rather head up to Harlem to Dinosaur! And although it's not so "gritty" (which I like), I think the BBQ at Blue Smoke (particularly the chicken) is pretty tops -- liked both their pulled pork and chicken a lot better than Daisy Mae's.

But thanks for that Mexican link (although I can't get menu, etc. to open for me). It's just a couple blocks from our June apartment. Will try.

It's surprisingly easy to eat well and on a budget in NYC. But the key is generally to get out of the tourist/businessy stretches of Midtown, where almost everything is really overpriced. In Midtown, you can simply go to 9th Avenue.

Across the street from Roberto Passon is a great little Brazilian restaurant called Rice n Beans. It's tiny, but you can actually get a pretty good steak there for under $30. Or go to Old San Juan and order the small churrasco (skirt steak) with excellent rice and beans or pretty good fries and salad. You can split a pitcher of good sangria and still come in way under $30 per person.

If you want to have pretty decent deli food for 1/3 less than any of the other places (admittedly not as divine as Katz's), try Sarge's on 3rd Ave at about 37th. You can get a pastrami platter there with enough food for 2 plus leftovers for $16. Can you beat that?

Eat at neighborhood places, not big expensive midtown restaurants. A lot of New Yorkers would never spend more than $30 a night for dinner. The one thing I can say is that you can get a cheap breakfast sandwich at a local deli (even in Midtown) with coffee for $3 or perhaps $3.50. Lunch under $10 is really easy if you stick to sandwiches or salads.

Doug, funny you brought up Rice and Beans. We've entered there twice, but it was summer and they have no AC. We walked in, started pouring sweat and decided not to stay. Guess we need to go in the winter or they need to get some air in that place. I know several have recommended it. Maybe we'll have a cold snap in June and we can actually try it!

I've never counted the restaurants between about 42nd and 55th or so on 9th Avenue but there are a ton of them, and most are cheap and many are very good! I always smile when some people here say get away from midtown and try more neighborhood restaurants. I really don't know what they call all those Hell's Kitchen places on 9th. To me most are indeed great "neighborhood" style restaurants with bargain prices.

The Eatery (53 and 9th) is wonderful, and in your budget range. Enjoy

We are meeting our niece tomrrow at old standby La Bonne Soup. We have not there is literally twenty years.

We usually avoid eating midtown unless there is a reason or specific recommendation.
Otherwise you pay exponentially for an incremental increase in quality.
We have friends on 53rd and First and the neighborhood prices are those of an airport.

Thanks for ideas. Bookmarking

NeoPatrick: On your next trip give Daisy Mae another try and order the dry ribs. These are some of the best I have ever eaten. Of course, being from NYC, maybe that does not say too much but still..


And here is the other nearby Mexican place (there are two good ones close to one another):


http://www.nycnosh.com/?p=165

And, if all else fails, you can take a seat by the reflecting pool:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqBHA2gqzjI&feature=related

Yes, definitely venture over to 9th Avenue! I work in Times Square (horrors!) and that's where we go when we're looking for a reasonable lunch or after-work dinner.

There are several Italian restaurants we like that would fit your budget: Pietrasanta, Cara Mia, L'Allegria.

Once you've decided on your restaurants, you might consider joining Restaurant.com. I've just discovered this over the past few months- basically, it's a site where you can buy gift certificates at a discount (i.e. $25 certificate for $10). If any of the restaurants you're going to are listed, you can save a bit of money that way! It's free to join.

But pay careful attention to the restrictions, as sometimes there's a food minimum (which you should meet with 3 people easily) or other rules.

Tarheels, I have mixed feelings about those coupons from restaurant.com
I did a bunch of them last time in NYC. In some cases there was no problem. One place the guy wanted to argue saying they are only good for lunch and this was dinner (or other way around?). Clearly on the coupon it said it was for THAT meal. Finally he got the manager who agreed it was a new thing. More than once the waiter would roll eyes or whine. It seems they need to stop what they're doing and call in to get an immediate authorization for it. Often the phone lines are busy and it is a real pain for them. At one place our busy waitress gave it to the hostess to call and I watched her try and try to call for nearly 20 minutes before getting through and getting an authorization. I realize it's not MY problem, but more than once I was made to feel like a real pain in the rear for using them.

Hmm, that's interesting to know, NeoPatrick! We haven't yet had that experience, but we also haven't used them during very busy meal times (just the luck of the draw). Definitely something to keep in mind, though I will still continue to use them. We live in NYC, so it's a nice way for us to try new restaurants even on a limited budget.

Tarheels, interesting. I just did some looking at restaurant.com (by the way everyone, do not confuse with restaurants.com (note the s) which is different).

We had good experiences with the coupons at Erminia, Daniela Trattoria, and Kellari Taverna that I remember off hand and all still are on the program. There were others as well that I don't recall offhand.

The place they argued about lunch or dinner (we had coupons and did both there) was Pesce Pasta, which I see is no longer on the program.

A place they gave us a rather hard time at was Bistecca Fiorentina. We had gone another time forgetting to take the coupon and they were wonderful. When we presented the coupon the second time (putting it on the table at the beginning so I wouldn't forget it), they "turned" on us! They no longer are on the program I see.

And the place where our waitress rolled her eyes (but she did sort of apologize for doing so) and where we watched the hostess try for 20 minutes was Nero (a place in the Meatpacking District we love). I see they still are on the program.

I'll add to that the restaurants that I have used successfully: Pietrasanta, Fred's (UWS) and Havana Central (Columbia area).

Good to know at least one of your "problem" restaurants has been removed!

ohhh. too bad. I like Pietrasanta, but looks like they are no longer on the program.

Another good one on the program is AOC in the Village. I really like that place.

I've started calling ahead to make sure the restaurants will accept the restaurant.com certificates. I have used them without an issue at Fred's and Heartland Brewery (no longer on the program).

Just for the record, I didn't have any problem with a restaurant not accepting them. It's just that a couple times I was made to feel like a "second class citizen" for using them.