I don’t know what my favorite cheap thing to eat in New York is, but I know what my cheapest favorite food is . . . and cheapest by some margin. The $1.50 doubles at A&A Bake and Doubles on Nostrand Avenue in Brooklyn. For that buck and a half you get curried chickpeas (channa), between two pieces of chickpea flour bread (barra), seasoned with tamarind sauce and chili sauce. It is not pretty food, but it is absolutely delicious.
But that is sort of cheating, because it’s vegetarian. You used to be able to get a great plate of char siu or roast duck at New York Noodletown or Big Wong for $3.00, and I remember when you could get a plate of curried beef brisket at what was then a much smaller Malaysia Restaurant for $2.75, but those days are long over – both still good but no longer giving it away (and in the case of “New” Malaysia Rest in much fancier digs). My best bargain now in Chinatown is the $5.50 Pork Chop on Rice at Hua Ji on Allen Street, which is really well done, and vastly better than any of the other pork chop places.
The best value meat meal that comes to my mind today, is a near tie between two dishes in Astoria, Queens. Probably my favorite would be the Sheftalia at BZ Grill on Astoria Blvd., which are homemade Cypriot pork sausages wrapped in caul fat and crisped on the grill, which I believe are $6.00 with pita and tzatziki. There is no better sausage in this country in my opinion.
Other than Times Square, I think Chelsea Market is about the most unpleasant place on the island of Manhattan, but Dizengoff is the easily the best hummus in Manhattan in my opinion. The pita is also excellent, but I think much of the other stuff can be so-so. Olympic Pita on Coney Island Avenue and Avenue J in Brooklyn has hummus that is as good as Dizengoff, but with even better bread (laffa cooked in a tandoor) and excellent falafel, schawarma and kebabs as well, and despite being kosher is a better value than Dizengoff (and around the corner from DiFara for a possible double-play).
Is that related to the Olympic Pita that used to be on 38th st and broadway…? I read they moved up to 46th recently. I actually went to that 38th st location a number of times but it’s been a few years, i do recall a good falafel but not sure i ever ordered just the hummus.
Unfortunately Coney Island is a fairly epic subway ride away for me…
Yes, it was related when it first opened but they quickly went their separate ways. I never thought that the Manhattan one was as good as the Brooklyn one, and not sure what the situation is with the Manhattan restaurant or whether it is still there.
The subway is a hassle, particularly since the system seems to work so poorly lately and is constantly rerouted on weekends, but there is a lot to eat in the neighborhood, so the burden of the trip could be divided among several tastes of different things. There is an F stop on Avenue J which is a short walk away, which puts you near DiFara, several good bakeries, and The Orchard, which is likely the highest quality fruit store in New York. There are also several decent Pakistani places to the north along Coney Island Avenue, and one can continue on the F until the Russian/Ukrainian/Turkish/Caucasian restaurants on Coney Island Avenue to the south.
The F train is McDonald Ave (the equivalent of E.1st St) while the B train runs down E.16th St all the way to Brighton Beach & Coney Island. Coney Island Ave is the equivalent of E. 11th; DiFara is on Ave J and the corner of E. 15th St.
Well if we’re trying to reheat an ancient thread here’s a few for you under $ 10:
Mei Li Wah bakery in Chinatown for an assortment of buns. You can get like 10 different kinds and it’s still under $ 10. Been around forever and there is a reason why.
Halal Kitchen on 4th Avenue in Brooklyn close to Barclay’s. Not because it’s halal, but because it’s good. Lots of choices here, but I really like their fried chicken. I think 4 fried wings and fried rice with an egg is about $ 8.00.
Unfortunately Prosperity Dumpling on Eldridge had to close due to the kerfuffle with the rats, but Vanessa’s just down the street is almost as good and you can actually sit down.
Los Mariscos in Chelsea Market has very good fish tacos for $3.50. You can also help yourself to free chips and two kinds of salsa. As a bonus, it’s in a very out-of-the-way part of the market and directly accessible from the street, so you don’t have to contend with the hordes.
I met a friend for lunch in Hanover Square, where there are about twenty food trucks spread across four or so blocks, serving everything from falafel and tacos to Thai food and sushi made with black rice (which I tried - the fish is not so good). Most dishes are <$10, and I paid $5.99 for an enormous plate of daal with pulao rice and salad from Biryani House, a 2015 Vendy award finalist. There’s a terrace overlooking the Hudson nearby with plenty of tables and benches, so you can eat like a human.
Cheeky Sandwiches at 35 Orchard Street has great fried oyster sandwiches. They also have other sandwiches, but the oysters are so good, that I couldn’t bring myself to try anything else. Fu Zhou Cuisine, a couple of doors up from Vanessa’s, has terrific boiled dumplings and cold peanut noodles. I myself don’t like Vanessa’s dumplings, but their Peking Duck pancakes are pretty good.
I went to Cafe Kashkar at 1141 Brighton Beach Ave a few weeks ago with some friends. We pigged out and still had to pay only something like $23/person including a generous tip, and it was fabulous! Everything we had was fabulous! Great mantis (dumplings), lamb kebabs and fish kebabs. It was the first time I had had a chance to go there, and I can’t wait to go back!
I know I’m late to this party, but I’m just reading the thread for the first time: I was gonna chime in with Shu Jiao Fu Zhou. $4.00 gets you a filling meal of seven boiled dumplings and a plate of hot peanut butter noodles.
Oops, sorry: I forgot to put the “also” between the “was” and the “gonna.” The full name is on the menu board inside, it stuck with me because I silently repeated it over and over when I first ate there.
Since I’ve been there twice, I think it’s worth mentioning Kebab Empire, 934 8th Ave in Hell’s Kitchen. If you happen to be in that neighborhood and aren’t going for yakitori at Yakitori Totto but would like some tasty meat, go to Kebab Empire, a Uyghur kebab house that plays Kazakh music videos on their TVs as Cafe Kashkar does. You can see a menu here: https://www.grubhub.com/restaurant/kebab-empire-934-8th-ave-new-york/635309
I’ve had the lamb kebabs, lamb shank, chicken kebabs and cumin chicken. All are tasty and made with what tasted to me like good ingredients. They come with fresh salad, yogurt and are served on flatbread. The room is also spacious. It’s quite a good value for that neighborhood.
Thanks. I’m in NYC right now, but not close enough to drop in, and delivery, possible in previous times, is impossible now as they deal with lines around the block:
