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  1. Otafuku (236 E 9th St. bw 2nd & 3rd)
    In the middle of the East Village stands this wonderful little take-
    out only shack selling a super-limited menu of Takoyaki (fried octopus
    balls) and Okonomiyaki (Japanese pancakes). For my money, the choice is
    Combination A, a corn, scallion, and pickled ginger pancake with a
    healthy portion of Yakisoba with squid. $6!


  2. Taco Stand (northwest corner of 1st Avenue & 4th St.)
    Walking down 1st Ave., this stand is pretty easy to miss. But take
    notice! The Taco Stand is the perfect place for a delicious authentic
    Mexican snack. Homemade empanadas start at $1.00. Daily lunch
    specials like chicken stew or pork chops go for $6. My favorite by
    far is the dinner special of three chicken soft tacos with cilantro,
    lime, sour cream, guacamole, and radishes for a mere $5.00!


  3. Gray's Papaya (all over Manhattan)
    You should know what this is, but if you don't, wake up to classic NYC street food! You may have seen Papaya King's around, but do not be fooled, they are a pale imitation of Gray's. The Gray's Hot Dog has been featured in the NY Times and other countless articles and documentaries. On March 3, 2008, The New York Times reported that Gray's Papaya had endorsed Democratic candidate Barack Obama in his campaign for the 2008 U.S. Presidential Election. Founded in 1973, the lunch deal is about as good as it gets. 2 Gray's hot dogs and a fresh Papaya juice for just $3.50. If you've never paired your hot dog with some Papaya Juice, prepare to be blown away. But it doesn't stop there. Where else can you get a bagel and cream cheese for 75 cents? Or a sausage, egg, and cheese sandwich for $1.50. And it's open 24
    hours, 365 days a year. No excuses!


  4. The Kebab Garden (1st Avenue bw 7th & 8th)
    You've walked past this place a million times and never noticed. It's a buffet-style Middle Eastern restaurant with flaming fire pots dangling in the window. All the food is excellent, but it's not all cheap. The real score here is the red lentil soup. It's one of the best I've had, slightly different every day, and always $3.00. Again, this place is open 24 hours a day, so on your late night stumble to the L at 1st Ave. You can blow that last $3 and go to sleep fully satisfied.


  5. Golden Krust (all over Manhattan & Brooklyn)
    Golden Krust could be called the Taco Bell of Jamaican food, but that really doesn't do it any justice. The menu is basically broken into three parts: stews (with peas and rice and plantains), patties, and desserts. It's all amazing, but on a budget, there's two options. Patties start at $1.25 and come in a ton of varieties. My favorite is the Jerk Chicken. If you happen to stop in during lunch, you can grab a pile of delicious jerk chicken with rice and beans for just $5.95. This is fresh cooked food that's as good as it gets. 2 patties and $3.00 later you're out the door and feeling like a million bucks!


  6. The Neptune Diner (1st Ave bw 11th & 12th)
    As far as Polish restaurants go, there are definitely better. But this isn't a Best Of Top Ten, it's a Cheapest, so why drop $20 at Veselka when you can walk 2 blocks farther and enjoy amazing homemade White Borscht full of Kielbasa or maybe a breakfast of eggs, homefries, toast, and coffee, for $2.95, throw some bacon on that plate and your grand total jumps to a whopping $4.00! Plus they serve breakfast all day; you really can't lose.


  7. Nyonya (Grand St. bw Mott & Mulberry)
    It's easy to get confused in Chinatown. There are so many places, some look great, some look awful, but how do you know if you're going to get good food? Nyonya comes to the rescue for sure! The menu features about 5000 items, focusing on Malaysian and Indonesian dishes. It may look pricey at first, but stick to the fried noodle dishes, soups and appetizers and you'll be all set! Make sure to grab an order of the Roti Canai ("It's a Malaysian all time favorite, crispy style pancake & curry chicken dipping sauce!") and then move on to a fried noodle dish like the Mee Siam, the Indian Mee Goreng, or the Nyonya Seafood Rice Noodle. They're spicy and delicious and they're all only $5.95! Same with the noodle soups. As for decor, the restaurant feels like a bamboo treehouse - it's huge, clean, and nice. Nyonya is a gem!


  8. Nha Trang (Baxter St. bw Bayard & Walker)
    In terms of finding delicious cheap food that still has some nutritional qualities, Vietnamese is about as good as it gets.There are a lot of decent places in Chinatown, but to me Nha Trang is the best. The Pho Soups range from $4-$5. Vermicellis top out at $6. If you go, you need to start with a summer roll. They're $3 and you get two, so split it! If you're feeling rich, you can throw down a grand $10 for the Salt & Pepper Shrimp, my favorite meal at Nha Trang.



  9. The Shake Shack (Madison Square Park)
    OK, so this one's pretty straightforward. Get a delicious burger, portobello sandwich, sausage or brat with crinkle cut fries for between $5-$6. Sit outside in the park. It's open til 11 every night. Stay away during obvious lunch and dinner times, cuz the line is a mile long. If you're feeling rich, spring for a milkshake, they're amazing. Where else can you legally sit in a public park and drink a beer?




  10. Bánh Mě Saigon Bakery (Mott St. near Grand St.)
    We used to eat these Vietnamese Sandwiches all he time in Philly. For about $2, you'd get a hoagie with grilled tofu, marinated carrots, cilantro, and a bunch of other good stuff. They taste like nothing else, they're delicious. I was never able to find comparable ones in NYC til now. The first place we found was on 4th St bw Ave A and Ave B, but at $5 a pop, they felt a bit steep after Philly. Then a friend found, the Bánh Mě Saigon Bakery. Serving up Vietnamese pork
    sandwiches (and the vegetarian version) for $3-$4. These really are
    the best.


J Tripp (Favourite Sons) - Top Ten Spots To Eat Cheap In NYC

No matter what happens, every now and then things get to the point where your pockets are full of lint and your remaining balance of $18.02 isn't big enough to access from the ATM. It's at these times that you can thank god you live in NYC, 'cause delicious cheap food abounds! Below are my recommendations. There are tons; these are the ones I like.

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