Eating in NYC on the cheap..
 

Hi,<BR><BR>Going to NYC for the first time (from the UK) on a limited budget, will be staying midtown.<BR><BR>Would be grateful for best areas for authentic NYC eateries/best value<BR><BR>Cheers<BR><BR>Rod

Topping this for Rod . <BR>There might be a Cheap Eats in NYC book. <BR>Look online at Barnes and Noble .com and see if you can find one.<BR>NYC has thousands of restaurants and diners!!

Rod, 9th Avenue from about West 42nd Street to West 50th Street has many inexpensive (but very good) ethnic restaurants to choose from.

NY is outstanding for eating very cheap. several hundred ethnic restaurants all cheap all good. check out new yorker magazine, it reviews alot of restaurants including cheap ones. ask around when you get here you'll find no shortage of great food.

Just this week Rod New York City magazine just put out an issue on where to eat in NYC. There are all different categories but I am sure they included cheap eats.<BR><BR>Two favorites of mine are <BR><BR>&quot;Spice&quot; serving in several locations. They are an American vesion of Thai very affordable, $11. last night was enough for Volcano Chicken YUM a marinated and flaming chicken set a top of steamed veggies, portions are large HUGE by British standards and tasty. I have never taken anyone here that did not love it. Get a zagats for locations and other ideas.<BR><BR><BR>I also like Saigon Grill on 88 and second a small hike from the met. We are better known for our European food here in NYC but I have to say much of our Asian food is a step up of what is available to you in Britain.<BR><BR>ENJOY.

see you wanted mid-town. INHO and I have lived here for 20 years the best and most interesting restaurants are down town and up town in residential communities. Don't let a subway or $5 dollar cab ride deter you from experiencing them. I rarely eat mid-town. There are certainly spots there but pricier than what I see up/down town (upper east side/upperwest side/ east/west village, chinatown.

Rod, eating on the cheap in NYC is a breeze. Here's some ways to stretch your food funds:<BR>1. Have breakfast in your room if not provided by the hotel. Even if no fridge is in the room, you can purchase muffins, bagels, etc the evening before and grab coffee or tea nearby. If not provided by the hotel, consider buying or bringing a cheap coffee/tea maker for your room.<BR>2. There are loads of corner markets that have self-service take-away with everything from fresh fruit to prepared entrees and veggies that you can use for a dinner in your room or a nice picnic (weather permitting). Also, don't forget the great food carts - the hot dogs, falafel et al are luscious!<BR>3. Do indulge yourself at least a few times. Some places to do that without busting the budget:<BR>Cibo (pronounced Chee-bo)at 767 2d Ave (41st St and 2d Ave) - great prix fixe dinner for under $30 in a very nice white tablecloth atmosphere with excellent service; online at www.cibonyc.com<BR>Hourglass Tavern at 373 W 46th in the theatre district - incredibly low prix fixe prices (some under US$15!) in a funky cool environment. The place is mentioned in John Grisham's novel &quot;The Firm&quot;. The gimmick is that each table has an hourglass hung on the wall, when the sand runs out you are supposed to be through and clear the way for the next set of diners. This is in line with folks who are in a pre-theatre rush, but no one is ever really thrown out of the place! <BR>Restaurant Florent - 69 Gansevoort St (btwn Greenwich amd Washington, 2 blocks south of 14th St) online at www.restaurantflorent.com serves some of the best mussels I've ever eaten.<BR>La Nacional, 239 West 14th Street (off 7th Avenue) is often recommended for great Spanish food such as tapas and paella; haven't been there myself yet. <BR>I find Little Italy overrated, with prices inflated and food no better than elsewhere in town. Do check out the Italian pastries there, however!<BR>You might also check out what locals recommend at www.chowhound.com<BR>And don't limit yourself to midtown; get a metro pass ($4 for all day or a multi-day pass) and explore!

Greenwich Village has a ton of small reasonably priced treasures.

ROD DON&quot;T MISS YOUR CHANCE AT FRESHLY MADE BAGLES BY BUYING THE NIGHT BEFORE.

We always eat &quot;cheap&quot; when traveling. My teens and I just came back from NYC, it was our 3rd trip this year. We always find inexpensive options. One you might want to try is Little Italy for lunch. If you walk down Mulberry St. at lunch most of the restaurants have their lunch menus posted and we saw many for $7.50 which included a choice of entree, salad and bread. We enjoyed a nice italian lunch there that day.

For advice on New York restaurants, try www.chowhound.com. There are folks in New York who eat out every night of the week and come home to talk about it on line.

My sister and I enjoyed our dinner at Island Burgers and Shakes I believe on 9th between W.51st and 52nd. Nice staff, great selection and under $11. Had a great Saturday breakfast at VNYL in the same vicinity. Wonderful food for lunch in lower Manhattan at Zigalini's, 66 Pearl St.

Check out Chinatown - wonderful little places - reasonable. Also, go to chowhound.com. Scroll down and hit CHOWHOUND. Then scroll down to the map of the USA and you'll get all the help you need from NYC Hounds!

For great pub food (plus a fun pub to boot) go to Walker's in Tribeca...it's on Varick Street at No. Moore and has a subway stop (the 1/9 Franklin Street stop) right outside the door. Also nearby, South's on Church Street near White Street has some good pub food. If you like an excellent burger, go to Old Town Bar on 18th east of Broadway.<BR><BR>And of course, the cheapest authenic NYC food is...pizza! You can't go wrong for about $1.50-$2 a slice. Go to a &quot;mom &amp; pop&quot; pizza place (not a flashy chain like Sbarro's) to get the best NY-style pizza.

Ray's Pizza, Zabar's, Chinatown foodcarts, deli across from Hilton just off of Avenue of the America's (it's where the employee's eat).

When visiting NYC, we eat at least one meal a day at our favorite midtown west deli, Cranberry Gourmet on West 45th Street between Sixth (also known as Avenue of the Americas)and Seventh Aves.

Try John's Pizza on 42nd I think? I know it was right next to the where the Producers in playing. My sister and I had a great pizza and salads for less than $25 together. In Greenwhich we had Burrittoville, it was fast, good and filling about $7 each.

For really cheap eats, go to any of the Dallas BBQ restaurants. You can get a chicken dinner for $6-8. It's a good meal at a cheap price(by NYC prices).<BR><BR>In midtown, there is one at 132 West 43<BR><BR>There are several more throughout the city.

Rod I think you are going to find our prices very cheap when comparing with British prices

Thanks for all the posts - I have to say I am looking forward to visiting the delis! oh, and everything else ;-)

Rod,<BR><BR>If you are going with your family and like Italian food try Carmine's. I believe it's on 44th Street at Times Square. Your hotel concierge will definitely know it. They have great food served family style and the price is right. Go early or late because it's always crowded and they don't take reservations. Enjoy!

The East Village is loaded with inexpensive restaurants, many have great prix fix deals for dinner. The time sq area is touristy and restaurants tend not to be such great value. You can get much better quality and variety of food at very reasonable prices in other neighborhoods.

Midtown: the Food Court downstairs in Grand Central Station is super, you could eat every meal there. <BR><BR>East Village:<BR> Veselka 9th St/2nd Avenue Ukrainian plus everything, a center of the neighborhood, 24 hours. Giant dinner with soup about $9. Soup alone a fine meal. Mushroom-barley is traditional.<BR><BR>Chinatown:<BR> Wong Kee 113 Mott St at Hester Street. Very bad-looking, has one of the highest Chinese food ratings in NY. Ask for the &quot;over rice&quot; menu before 4 pm. Many whole meals for under $4. (not a typo)<BR><BR>

My favorite place for a good, inexpensive breakfast in mid-town is Giorgio's Country Grille (9th Ave @ 53rd St). They serve fresh squeezed juices, wonderful French toast, oatmeal, eggs, etc. in a really friendly atmosphere. Pancakes or French toast cost about $5 and are served with real maple syrup (no extra charge). <BR><BR>I also second the recommendation for Vinyl on 9th Ave (up around 54th).

~<BR><BR>http://local.msn.com/special/cheapeats.asp<BR><BR>Above survey gathered info on cheap eats for all major cities in US.<BR>

There are places to eat that are reasonable every where...we were very surprised....all the chain restaurants plus many more. Breakfasts are particularly inexpensive.

rod<BR><BR>visit the grenwich village area(BLEEKER<BR>STREET@4th street).(take a subway downtown).You will find a lot of inexpensive restuarants.also you might<BR>want to take a food tour(www.foodsofny.com). i think it cost $35<BR>you visit a bunch of restaurants and get<BR>to eat samples.<BR><BR>tom

I agree...Midtown has less good stuff than uptown or down.<BR><BR>Generally cheap and good meals in NY:<BR><BR>pizza by the slice<BR>greek coffee shops for breakfast<BR>spanish or cuban/chinese restaurants<BR>hot dogs from a cart

Aack...forgot bagels.

very important:<BR><BR> Papaya King<BR> Gray's Papaya<BR><BR> more or less the same. You can have a lovely meal of 2 hot dogs plus a fruit drink for about $3. <BR><BR> This is a weird New York &quot;dining&quot; tradition, the hot dog/papaya drink stand. The hot dogs are really first rate. You eat standing up.<BR><BR> There's one pretty near Lincoln Center -- walk up Broadway,it's on the right in a few blocks. It's where I like to eat before shows (really -- I like a small fast cheap meal, and then more food afterward).

But... don't stress out if you don't make it to a hotdog/papaya stand. <BR><BR>I'll never forget as kid being dragged all over the city by my uncle to get to one of these stands (I guess they were not ALL over back in the day). He wouldn't stop talking about the damn hot dogs and drinks. When we finally got there, all I could say was &quot;What? They don't serve Coke?&quot; I was miserable till I had my soda. <BR><BR>Other than that, enjoy NYC!!!! I love the place. Going back for another time this March.

Gray's Papaya is on 72nd and Broadway/Columbus (where Broadway crosses Columbus). <BR><BR>It's right across the street from the 1/2/3 72nd st subway station.