Otafuku (Japanese Food Stand) – East Village (St Marks)

Otafuku 236 E. 9th St, between 2nd Ave and Stuyvesant St (212) 353-8503 Pricing: Cheap Venue: Take Out Cuisine: Japanese Snack Food Favorite Dish(es): Okonomiyaki ($6), Takoyaki ($5) This is real Japanese street food. This tiny food stand on the original Japantown (9th St), nestled between the Cloister Cafe’s outdoor areas, serves two drunkfood faves. [...]

Tehuitzingo – Mexican (Deli / Tacos), Hell’s Kitchen

Tehuitzingo Mexican Deli 695 10th Ave (btw 47th & 48th Sts) (212) 397-5956 Pricing: Cheap Venue: Take Out / Sit Down Cuisine: Mexican Favorite Dish(es): Bisteck (beef) Taco $2.50 Everyone north of the border knows that the best, most authentic Mexican food is found in the cheapest, most unassuming of places, be it from a [...]

Van Leeuwen Ice Cream Truck

Van Leeuwen Ice Cream Truck Parked near 22nd & 6th, 15th & 5th, other various spots Pricing: Not Cheap Venue: Take Out (truck) Cuisine: American, Ice Cream, Dessert, Coffee Favorite Dish(es): Ginger $6 This is one ice cream truck that doesn’t need a jingle. Labeling themselves as purveyors of artisan hand-crafted ice cream, the Van [...]

Artichoke Basilles Pizza & Brewery – Pizza, East Village

Artichoke Basilles Pizza & Brewery 328 E 14th St (212) 228-2004 Pricing: Cheap Venue: Take-Out Cuisine: American, Italian (Pizza) Favorite Dish(es): Margarita Slice ($3.50) Artichoke Pizza is a fairly recent newcomer to the NY gourmet pizza scene.  They offer two signature pizzas that you won’t find anywhere else – Artichoke (of course) and, of all [...]

Bouchon Bakery – Dessert, Midtown West (Columbus Circle)

Bouchon Bakery 10 Columbus Circle (inside the mall, 3rd flr) (212) 823-9364 Pricing: Not Cheap Venue: Take Out Cuisine: French Bakery, Dessert, Coffee Favorite Dish(es): Blueberry Macaron ($2.95), Bacon Chive Scone, Red Velvet Cupcake Fancy bakeries are pretty commonplace in NYC, but this one on the top floor of the uberposh “mall” at Columbus Circle [...]

Viet-Nam Banh Mi So – Vietnamese (Sandwich Shop), Little Italy (Chinatown)

Viet-Nam Banh Mi So 369 Broome Street (between Elizabeth St & Mott St) (212) 219-8341 Located on the fringes of Chinatown on the Little Italy side, this is a tiny deli specializing in Banh Mi, an extraordinary Vietnamese sandwich quickly rising in popularity across the city, with good reason. It takes classic elements of Vietnamese [...]

Shanghai Gourmet – Chinese, Chinatown

100 Mott Street, between Canal and Hester Sts (212) 966-3988‎ Pricing: Cheap Venue: Sit Down Cuisine: Chinese Favorite Dish(es): Crab and Pork Soup Dumplings ($8.95), Spicy Beef Stew Noodle Soup ($8.95) This is a pretty cheap and clean place on the Soho side of Canal that has pretty much everything Chinatown has to offer, from [...]

Bayan Cafe – Filipino, Midtown East

Bayan Cafe 212 E 45th St, between 2nd and 3rd Aves (212) 450-8260 Pricing: Cheap Venue: Sit Down / Take Out Cuisine: Filipino Favorite Dish(es): Chicken Adobo ($11.95), Lumpia Shanghai ($8.95) For our first introduction to Filipino cuisine, Bayan Cafe definitely made a good impression. It’s more of a take-out spot than a real restaurant, [...]

Shake Shack – Burgers, Upper West Side

Shake Shack 366 Columbus Ave at 77th St Pricing: Cheap Venue: Sit Down / Take Out Cuisine: Burger Joint Favorite Dish(es): Strawberry Milkshake ($5.25), French Fries ($2.75) People have been waiting for the opening of the new uptown Shake Shack for, well… as long as they typically wait in line at the original location in [...]

Vanessa’s Dumplings – Chinese, Lower East Side

118 Eldridge St, between Broome and Grand Sts (212) 625-8008 Pricing: Cheap Venue: Sit Down or Take Out Cuisine: Chinese Favorite Dish(es): Sesame pancake sandwich w/ Roast Pork ($2.99), Chives and Pork Dumplings Boiled (8 pcs $3.49) It’s one huge room- packed w/ people standing in a semi-line waiting to order. Others crowded around the cooking [...]

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