cms11

my friends and i will be in nyc in april and have a birthday to celebrate on the trip. it is there first time to the city while i have been 7 times (from canada) but i have never really had to eat anywhere other than burger king and mcdonalds. we are students and have little money and probably wouldn't feel comforatble spending more than $20 each for a meal. we aren't looking for anything special just a normal place that isn't to fancy but not to crappy either. a chain type place would probably be better than a mom and pop type place and definity not something hip and trendy. something like a t.g.i friday's. midtown area would work out best.

thanks for any help
chris

Margie

Hi, NYC is a great city for offering a variety of dining. I would stay away from the chains, only because friends of mine went into TGIFridays near Rock Center thinking it would be reasonable, but trust me the prices on the menu were way different from what they were on the same menu back home! Anyway, you'll get lots of ideas on this forum, but here are a few to get you started: John's Pizzeria on West 44th Street (NOT your average piza shop), Forty-Four Southwest at 621 9th Ave, Lou's Cafe at 1301 6th Ave and 53rd (food is simple - pasta, quiche, sandwiches, salads, etc, but the best part is that they have outdoor seating) and for lunch try one of the Cosi Sandwich shops, the bread is wonderful! For somthing a little different, try Cafe St. Bart's at 50th & Park for bruch or lunch, they also have outdoor dining in the warmer weather. If you go on Fridays they have a free "Jazz at Noon" program. Dinners is a little more expensive with entrees priced from $14-26. There's more info at http://www.sageamericankitchen.com/cafe/cafe.html

Have you looked at menupages.com? The site lists restaurants by area and you can view a menu - great way to see if a place has food your group likes at a reasonable price!

There are also great restaurants in the 'neighborhoods" i.e. upper west side, the Village, etc. let us know if you will be in any of those areas for dinner and I'm sure you'll get lots of suggestions.

MFNYC

Don't eat at chains. They aren't any cheaper and the food is generally not all that good. There are some very inexpensive Brazilian places on 46th St between 5th & 6th avs.

The theater district/Times Sq area is very touristy, therefore the best dining deals are not to be found there. There are many inexpensive restaurants in the village area, particularly the E. VIllage. Many have pre-theater specials for around $15 (usually before 7pm). Also CHinese food in general tends to be fairly reasonable.

bardo

Chris,
There are tons of places along 9th & 10th ave. between 45th & 55th that are exeactly what you are looking for. This area is just a few minutes walk from times square. Generally speaking, times square restaurants are overpriced and geared toward tourist. You're much better off walking a few blocks west to 9th & 10th Ave. and eating with the locals.

MFNYC

Some local chains with decent food that just came to mind after I posted my previous comment, East which is Japanese food. Also Patsy's pizza, has good pizza, pasta and salads with very fresh ingredients (and they offer larger portions to share), and definitely < $20pp. There's a Thai restaurant chain called Spice, and a Vietamese chains called L'Annan. All of these are in various locations and probably somewhere around $15 for a meal and all have decent food. Look up addresses on Zagat.com or superpages.com.

Cher

I agree with above poster's recommedations to get away from Times Square for better options.

However, one place in the Times Square area I would recommend is Virgil's BBQ -casual with very reasonable prices ... food is good

Ryan

You'd be making a really big mistake going to a Friday's. The prices aren't that reasonable and for what you get, you really can do much better.

As mentioned, Virgil's could be a good option. Also, John's Pizza on West 44th and 8th would be a good choice for a group of college kids. Get a few pies, some of their salads, and maybe an appetizer or two, and you'll spend less than at a Friday's.

nytraveler

Please saty away from Fidays and the other chains - its the identical froze/microwaved food you can get at any mall but at a much higher price. New York has an incredible number of good, inexpensive and interesting restaurants ( see above and also look into the upper west side) so you don't need to eat that ghastly chain cardboard food.

Gekko

You'll find many many great restaurants with reasonably priced food in the East Village, particularly east of First Ave, and the Lower East Side. Take the #6 train to Astor Place and then walk east on St. Mark's Place. You'll enjoy the freak show and shops, as well as the dining & bar options.

Please, for the love of all things holy, stay far away from Times Square, midtown, and any chain restaurant. You can do sooooo much better in Manhattan.

One great option is in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, a very short subway ride from Manhattan (one stop, actually) -- Sea Thai Bistro on N. 6th Street. You won't believe how much food you get for very cheap prices. And it's incredibly delicious. And the atmosphere is very cool. You'll swear you're in an Austin Powers movie.

Citysearch has lists of cheap eats, and Shecky's is another resource.

Enjoy New York!

Leona

With the exception of a salad bar, I have never eaten dinner in NY (including John's Pizza & 44 SW) for less than $20 pp. In fact, we had dinner at 44 SW just the other night; average check was $40 pp. Yes, you can get a $13 entree, but where is the salad, beverage, tax & tip? Same for John's Pizza.

michelleNYC

If you stick to just a main dish and water you will do just fine in many, many places.

nytraveler

There are many many ethnic restaurants on the upper west side where you can have a perfectly pleasant - and delicious - dinner for around $20 per person, including beverage tax and tip. Many of the ethnic choices - chinese, indian, thai etc are the best bargains. I would suggest walking up broadway or amsterdam in the 70's/80' and just look at a bunch of menus/choices. Also, this is another great way to explore the city.

MFNYC

You have some great recommendations here so I hope you avoid the big chains. And you can eat a FULL dinner for < $20. I live here and have done it many times. There are places in the E. VIllage that have pre-theater prix fixes (usually before 7pm, appetizer, main and dessert, sometimes even a class of wine or coffee) for under $15.

When I was on a really tight budget I used to go to happy hours that had free Hor D'ourves (sometimes with a pretty substantial variety of offerings). I don't know if they still have them, but I've eaten pretty well for only the price of a drink.

Margie

cms11, please check out menupages.com for some of the restaurants mentioned here and you will see that you CAN eat for under $20 a person. For example, the highest priced entree at John's is $12.95, most are under $10, split a pie and you can really save. 44 Southwest has at least a dozen pasta dishes and entrees under $11. Both of these places were suggested to me when I was searching for reasonable places to eat and we were very satisfied. Virgil's has a lot in the $10 range along with platters going up to $22.

Of course, if one orders an appetizer, bottle of wine and a gooey desert any restaurant can be expensive. I don't think you'll have a problem staying within your budget!

TxTravelPro

Any specific recomendations for restaurants offering pre theater specials?

MFNYC

Some prix fixes that I can think of offhand are (these prices are as of 1 year ago):
cocina staginole (sp?) on Bleecker St near 7th ave - $12 until 6:30
Cucina di Pesce - 87 E. Fourth St. (bet. Bowery & 2nd Ave.) $9.95 (this one has better food than cocina)
Le Pere Pinard - 175 Ludlow St. (Houston St.), around $15 before 7pm

There are others, I just can't think of them off hand. Many are Italian & Asian places especially in the E. Village.

MFNYC

I just found this useful link (which has some of the info on this thread and more):
http://www.concierge.com/destination...CheapEats.xml/

blep

Some other links for NYC restaurants:
http://nyc.blogs.com/eats/, mrhipster.com, and uppereast.com

The following you may or may not want to look at. You can click on an area map of NYC, which will show a list of restaurants and how they did during their latest health dept. inspection. Unfortunately, one we ate in last week was cited for evidence of mice just last month! Yuck!

http://ibihost1.com/nycdoh/web/html/rii.pl

Margie

blep - interesting link! I think it's like a train wreck- you don't want to look but you can't help it! LOL! I checked out a few places we have eaten at lately and I am happy to report, "so far, so good".

JennaJ

Puglia's in Little Italy is where my friends and I go. You can probably eat for $20 if you do not drink. If you drink and eat all night it will not cost more than $50pp with tip! It is a VERY fun place where they have entertainment and you can stand on your chairs and sing!