And what do these guys serve that has, made them so popular they now have more carts and storefronts around NYC? Halal is the set of standards that meat must be produced to meet Islamic religious laws. The Halal Guys' signature dish that locals and tourists wait in line for is the Chicken Platter.

First, they start with Halal chicken marinated for 12 hours in their magical seasoning of fragrant spices. Next, they grill it to perfection, chop it up and serve it over yellow rice with hot sauce and their special white sauce. And just like you, we love great food at great prices.

The Halal Guys also has carts on the Upper West Side and Union Square. You may too, from the movie "You've Got Mail". Come for the best Roasted Pork Bun in Chinatown. Stay for the Pineapple Pork Bun. The baked buns are a bit smaller than the size of a fist, with a firm, yet lightly flakey shell.

Inside is a tangy roast pork filling. If you are going late in the afternoon, you may want to call ahead as they may sell out of them as devotees snatch up 5 boxes at a time!

This tiny no-frills diner-style restaurant has been serving old-world comfort food since It's one of the best restaurants in the East Village given the amazing food and equally amazing prices.

Other terrific dishes on the menu are sweet cheese blintzes, boiled pierogies, borscht, and crispy potato pancakes. Be sure to check the menu if you crave something in particular.

Each day of the week has its own specials and soups. This hidden gem hole-in-the-wall in Chinatown is little more than a counter where you order. Stick with their specialty. They are served on a paper plate with a fork, and you can use soy sauce or hot sauce found at the counter.

Once you get your order, you will have to take them outside of the shop to eat, but it won't take you more than 5 minutes to finish them all -- they are just that good! Ess-a-Bagel has been making huge, delicious bagels in Midtown Manhattan since Lightly crunchy on the outside, and fluffy on the inside, their bagels can be eaten plain, but add one of the 20 cream cheese flavors for a filling sandwich.

Want a more substantial breakfast? Ess-A-Bagel is great, but there is some competition! Find out who they are from our post, 15 Best Bagels in New York City. We asked the more than , members of our NYC Travel Tips Facebook Group what their favorite cheap eats are.

Here are just a handful of replies, but many more members have loved the cheap eats listed in this post. A group member visiting NYC asked for recommendations of the best bagels and Ess-a-Bagel was pretty popular.

Halal Guys received many votes. Here one group member gives you some tips on what you can expect. Choose a Destination I want them all PLUS general travel tips. Amsterdam Berlin Boston Charleston Chicago Dubai Lisbon London Los Angeles Miami Nashville New York City New Orleans Paris Philadelphia Prague Rome San Francisco Washington DC.

Learn More Accept X. Cheap Eats in NYC How to Eat in New York on a Budget. Walking Tours. Bus Tours. Things To Do.

Private Tours. Updated: February 10, By Stephen Pickhardt. Join our free FTBF Travel Community! As a thank you, you'll receive our FREE City Guide Choose a Destination About The Author.

He has personally led thousands of group tours in the US and Europe, and is an expert in trip planning and sightseeing, with a focus on budget travelers. Stephen has been published and featured in dozens of publications including The Wall Street Journal, BBC, Yahoo, Washington.

org, and more. They tend to be located near big parks like Central Park or Union Square, Midtown, or the big squares in the financial district.

Their cheap, quick eats are what we have for breakfast and lunch though many are around during the evening too. Sure, New York City has tons of delicious and expensive restaurants, but go to the supermarket, grab either a premade meal or ingredients to make your own, and head to one of the parks and eat outside.

Or back to your Airbnb to make your meal. Most supermarkets also have areas where you can eat inside too. My favorite grocery stores in the city are:. Monday through Friday at lunch you get to choose a preset meal from thousands of restaurants.

Think of it like a lunch menu at your fingertips. I love Manhattan. The other boroughs are like half the price of Manhattan. Looking for cheap eats? My suggested apps are:. The NYC bagel is as famous as the NYC slice.

We take our bagels seriously here just ask all the ex-NYers living in LA if they can find a good bagel there! This gives you a chance to sample the best restaurants in town at a fraction of the regular price.

Want some specific restaurants? Here are some of my favorite cheap restaurants to eat at when you visit:. Get the In-Depth Budget Guide to New York City! It cuts out the fluff found in other guides and gets straight to the practical information you need to travel in the city that never sleeps.

Click here to learn more and get your copy today. Book Your Flight Use Skyscanner to find a cheap flight. They are my two favorite search engines because they search websites and airlines around the globe so you always know no stone is left unturned.

Book Your Accommodation You can book your hostel with Hostelworld as they have the biggest inventory and best deals. If you want to stay somewhere other than a hostel, use Booking. com as they consistently return the cheapest rates for guesthouses and cheap hotels.

My favorite places to stay are:. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are:. Looking for the Best Companies to Save Money With? Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel.

The addition of pickled radishes, fried shallots, sesame oil and dried shrimp make the whole bowl sing. Consider this Williamsburg staple your no-frills, no-fail best bet for a toasty falafel sandwich, stuffed with a bounty of pickled veggies that would be good enough to order on their own.

What began as a modest cart now has a brick-and-mortar shop still specializing in arepas and other Colombian bites in Jackson Heights.

This casual lunch counter in the Bronx focuses on all things pork, with recipes of Puerto Rican and Dominican provenance. Cuchifritos are the fan-favorite, the standout morcilla aka blood sausage in particular. The green plantains with beef are tops at this Puerto Rican favorite that turned its beloved street fair appearances into a well-regarded, permanent location.

The curried herring is a canary-hued treat that's only available on the 10am-4pm menu. Established in , Taqueria Milear is a family-run restaurant that serves up authentic Mexican fare, from tacos to quesadillas and tortas to tostadas.

There's a super cute backstory, too — owners Marisol and Artemio actually met at a food stand in Mexico where Marisol was making many of the wonderful dishes they now serve in-store. We really like eating around the city, and we're guessing you do, too.

So lucky for all of us, we've packed all our favorite restaurants under one roof at the Time Out Market New York. The DUMBO location has fluffy pancakes from the venerable Clinton Street Baking Co. Chow down over two floors with views of the East River, Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan skyline. About us.

Contact us. No thanks Awesome, you're subscribed! Déjà vu! We already have this email. Try another? Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email WhatsApp. Discover the best of the city, first. Enter email address Déjà vu! Best cheap eats in NYC. Restaurants Diners East Village price 1 of 4.

Read more. Restaurants Sandwich shops Sheepshead Bay price 1 of 4. Read review. Restaurants East Harlem price 1 of 4. Restaurants Boerum Hill. Restaurants Delis East Village price 1 of 4. Restaurants Vegetarian Downtown Brooklyn. Restaurants Flushing price 1 of 4. Restaurants Vietnamese Little Italy price 1 of 4.

Restaurants Pizza Greenpoint price 1 of 4. Restaurants Bedford-Stuyvesant price 1 of 4. Restaurants Chinese Flushing. Restaurants Chinese Chinatown. Restaurants Mediterranean Williamsburg price 1 of 4. Restaurants Street food Jackson Heights price 1 of 4.

Restaurants Caribbean Flatbush price 1 of 4. Restaurants The Bronx. The code will issued via direct message on Instagram and can be used for curbside takeout or delivery from February 19th through March 8th! Some crust types, toppings, sauces, and premium items may come with an additional charge.

Within 24 hours of ordering, check your Rewards account under the My Deals and Rewards tab to claim your offer. Note that you must claim your offer within 7 days and use it within 30 or it will expire.

If your offer expires before you use it, you can still earn another. Through February 20th, The Cheesecake Factory is running a promotion that rewards guests with every online purchase of eGift cards!

Note that this offer is valid on eGift cards purchased online. The dining credit received from this promotion may be used beginning February 21st, , and it expires at the end of the business day on March 31st, No promo code is required — simply order through the offer in the app!

That means you can get your daily coffee fix for a lot less for a whole month with this Rewards Member exclusive offer! Note this offer excludes Nitro Cold Brew, Cold Brew, and Espresso coffee beverages. Limit 1 per reward member per day.

These nachos are topped with refried beans, nacho cheese sauce, seasoned beef, sour cream, and diced tomatoes. Sound good? All you need to do is sign up and your reward will be posted to your account within 24 hours!

Note that prices may vary in AK and HI. This offer is valid through February 16th and can only be redeemed on orders placed online. Your offer will be valid for two weeks. Note that offers must be redeemed in the app or through the website for pickup orders, and redeemed in-store through the app for dine-in orders at participating locations.

They are not valid for delivery and can vary by account. To score the deal, place your order online or through the app and use promo code 99CRAZY at checkout. Keep in mind that there is a limit of 5 Take Homes per entrée when dining restaurant, and a limit of 1 per entrée with To Go online orders.

Remember, Take Home entrées do not include soup, salad, or breadsticks. You can pick from three yummy options, including Fettuccine Alfredo, Five Cheese Ziti al Forno, and Spaghetti with Meat Sauce.

The home of the Whopper always has meal deals available, and they change often; navigate to the " Offers " section of the BK app to see what's good.

For more great restaurant guides and deals, please sign up for our free newsletters. Square burger patties? You bet. But Wendy's is better known for its spicy chicken sandwiches and nuggets now, not to mention a cult following for chili and Frostys.

Though the 11 herbs and spices in the seasoning are still a mystery , it's no secret that KFC is one of the go-to fast-food restaurants for fried chicken. Related: Fast-Food Deals to Feed the Whole Family. Related: Best Cheap Pizza: Deals and Price Comparison.

The things that make Papa Johns' pizza so good are the extras you get in the box: creamy garlic sauce for dipping the crust, and tangy pepperoncini peppers. Popeyes created a phenomenon when it released its chicken sandwich, but the restaurant's classic fried chicken pieces are still the star of the show see how we like to pair them with Popeyes sauces.

Related: From Cajun Fries to Buttermilk Biscuits: 6 Popeyes Side Dishes, Ranked. Detroit's Little Caesars is well known nationwide for selling inexpensive pizza that's always hot and ready to be picked up. Panera has made a name for itself with fresh breads and bakery items, sandwiches, coffee shop beverages, and great soups.

Related: Secret Menu Items at Your Favorite Family Restaurants. Probably America's favorite Italian chain , Olive Garden has been dishing up pastas, salads, and those famous breadsticks for decades. Tex-Mex is king at this casual sit-down chain with a chili pepper in its logo.

Chips and salsa, queso dip, and barbecue ribs are favorite menu items. Dairy Queen isn't just for soft serve and Blizzards, especially in rural areas where there's a DQ in practically every town.

Found mostly in the western United States, Del Taco is another reliable bet for cheap, fast Mexican eats. Almost everyone has celebrated a special event at Red Lobster, a seafood chain that's as good for families as it is for date night.

Which one of these two names you'll see on the sign depends on which part of the country you're in, but whether it's known as Hardee's or Carl's Jr. BJ's gets its Brewhouse moniker from the microbreweries at some locations, but every location of this casual sit-down chain has a menu of pizza and homestyle favorites.

Found mainly in the Southwest, El Pollo Loco is the place to indulge in Mexican favorites based around savory grilled chicken, including grilled chicken breasts. Dating all the way back to , Bob Evans serves up hearty comfort food in the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic in a country living-themed atmosphere.

Cooking up sliders since , White Castle is often credited as the first fast-food burger chain. Now it can be found in 13 states, mostly in the Midwest.

Named after the football huddle, Huddle House is a hour family restaurant that was founded in the s and is concentrated in the Southeast. While this may have once been a Korean seafood market, it now has Dominican flourishes.

In addition to selling the freshest fish, it has a seafood prep counter and pleasant eating-in area. The fried fish sandwiches — pick porgy or flounder — are great and cheap, but why not consider the shrimp pastelitos, stuffed clams, or crab cakes?

Yes there are noodles galore, including laksa noodles and peanut satay noodles, but look to fritters, dumplings, and buns for smaller bites. The roti john sandwich is a unique delight, a hero of ground beef omelet with spicy ketchup and caramelized onions. This branch of a Grand Concourse restaurant is a bit grander, with a dining room a few steps up from the steam table where a dozen or so Ghanaian dishes are displayed.

Get sauces of fish, mutton, or chicken — or pick a mixed meat sauce that contains all of them — then choose a starch ball like white yam fufu to go with it.

Harlem has rarely seen a Jamaican steam-table restaurant with such a broad selection of island dishes. The restaurant is one of three locations. For a larger meal than the falafel sandwich, pick the falafel platter, which contains a dozen elements, including the spicy green relish zhoug.

Multiple forms of hummus and the eggplant-and-egg concoction sabich also available at this vegan spot that offers a cauliflower shawarma. There are still plenty of budget-friendly pasta mills around, a fad that peaked late in the last century and lingered thereafter.

These places encouraged you to pick a pasta and match it with a sauce. In a similar but simpler vein, Bigoi Venezia takes a single pasta — freshly made Venetian bigoi, tube-shaped spaghetti — and offers a choice of a dozen or so treatments, some particular to Venice, some not. Turkey sauce or peas, ham, and cream are two top contenders.

Step up the the gleaming steam table and load up your square ceramic plate with any combo of the two dozen dishes displayed. Pay special attention to the ones called chicken roast smothered in onions , beef kala bhuna a very dark curry , and the daily assortment of bhortas mustard-oil-laced vegetable purees.

Then sit in the sunny dining room and eat with your fingers. The one featuring smoked milkfish is a favorite, also including garlic rice, fried eggs, eggplant, and a fresh salsa of onions and tomatoes.

This modest spot just south of the Queens County Farm Museum concentrates on Mumbai-style street snacks and is strictly vegetarian. One favorite is bun chole, a small round roll stuffed with chickpeas, potatoes, and onions sweetened with tamarind sauce, very much like Trinidadian doubles.

The menu also offers samosa chaats, vegetable curries, milk-based sweets, and snacks combining fried lentils, nuts, chips, and crunchy noodles. Little Jakarta is a small neighborhood centered at Whitney Avenue and Broadway in Elmhurst, with groceries and small cafes a modest number of both to be sure radiating from that corner.

It specializes in full-plate combinations that may contain rice, a coconut-laced composed salad, shrimp chips, and a satay or two, all halal. The fruition of a decade-long series of films, TV shows, podcasts, and professorships from hamburger scholar, George Motz, this new spot in Soho channels the lunch counters of the past.

Specimen regional burgers — currently in a smash burger vein — are offered, along with things like egg creams, french fries, icebox pies, and lemonade.

For hamburger deniers, there are PBJs and especially good and inexpensive egg salad sandwiches. This tiny cafe just south of Tompkins Square specializes in the street food of Bangkok with a limited menu of full meals that will make deciding what to eat easier.

The best dish on the menu is basil chicken, with ground poultry cooked down to a rich mixture served with rice, a poached egg, and boiled sweet potato.

Relax is a great place to relax, tucked away on a side street in the northeastern part of Greenpoint, and made to look like a cottage in a fairy tale.

Wash everything down with Polish beers. Little Myanmar is quite simply the best Burmese restaurant the city has yet to see. The interior is bare bones and not particularly comfortable — though your ability to see into the kitchen is an advantage and a pleasure.

The item menu covers the vast sweep of the national cuisine, from the salads called athokes try the tea-leaf version to noodle soups, stir fries, and curries. This halal Turkish restaurant is successor to the long-closed Bereket, a late night favorite of clubgoers.

Lots of salads, dips, and kebabs at bargain prices, but my preferred choice is a doner kebab in Turkish bread other breads include pitas and flatbread wraps. Three rotating cylinders of meat are available: lamb, chicken, and veal, each with its own attractions.

The Lower East Side is home to many Hong Kong-styles cafes serving the hybrid Chinese-English cuisine called cha chaan tengs. S Wan is a charming walk-down spot offering a full range of breakfasts designated by letters that might includes fried eggs, waffles smeared with peanut butter, Spam, toast with butter and honey, and pork chops, in addition to lots of noodle soups and stir fries.

Hearty working-class Chinese fare at favorable prices is the forte of this bare-bones shop conveniently located on Queens Boulevard in Forest Hills near the Kew Gardens subway station. Noodles, dumplings, and soups make up most of the menu, with Sichuan dumplings and dan dan noodles available in memorably good renditions.

This Jamaica Estates Afghan restaurant offers kebabs of chicken, beef, and lamb in various combinations — and little else. The lamb chops, in particular, are superb, often cut to order from the rib cage you can hear the saw thrumming in the kitchen , smeared with a reddish spice rub, and grilled to complete succulence.

A few doors down from a mosque, this chandeliered restaurant occupies a lively corner location that was previously a diner. This place upholds diner principals, filling out its menu with Afghan kebab platters as well as Bangladeshi and Indian dishes, plus pizza and excellent hamburgers.

The platter shown here features yogurt-marinated chicken and beef kofta with pulao rice, Afghan bread, and salad, with several sauces. Sure, there are dozens of great, old-fashioned, mainly Pueblan taquerias within the borders of Bushwick, but this place opened early in with a zingier demeanor, including a brightly painted minibus on its exterior.

The lure is a humongous rotating trompo of pineapple-marinated pork al pastor, sliced and deposited on a rustic corn tortilla.

Cactus, chicken, and carne asada fillings are also available. This small storefront in the wilds of Glendale specializes in Balkan bar food, an apparent branch of a place in Subotica, Serbia. Chicken thighs work best in this dish, dark meat especially, but nearly any chicken can work.

Skip the wine if you need to replace it with stock , but don't use cooking wine, or anything you wouldn't drink. Get the recipe for Slow Cooker Chicken Noodle Soup. This simple vegetable soup is surprisingly sustaining.

With beans and broccolini, tomato and quinoa, it'll make a belly-filling bowl that can power you through an afternoon, or quench a serious dinner hunger.

Get the recipe for Vegetable Soup. Nothing beats mac and cheese for filling bellies! What makes this extra easy is that the macaroni cooks right in the sauce. So you don't have to boil it ahead of time! Get the recipe for Slow Cooker Mac and Cheese. Puff pastry makes this extra-yummy pot pie both simple and delicious!

Get the recipe for Chicken Pot Pie. Serve this staple-filled soup with good, crusty bread for a simple, effective, and delicious meal.

Get the recipe for Slow Cooker Potato Soup. Perhaps the only thing more warming and delicious than chicken soup on a cold day is chicken and dumplings. Get the recipe for Crock Pot Chicken and Dumplings. This fast stovetop recipe skips roasting, but is steeped in flavor. And with just a few ingredients mostly squash , it's easy on the wallet!

You can skip the brandy and use a little more cider to save some cost. Get the recipe for One-Pot Butternut Squash Soup. Some chicken cutlets and pantry staples — and plenty of Parmesan, of course — can quickly turn into this family favorite.

Get the recipe for Chicken Parmesan. The underrated tuna melt, that staple of diners and lunch plates everywhere, deserves to be making a big time comeback. You probably have most of the ingredients in your fridge right now. What are you waiting for? Get the recipe for Tuna Melt. If you're looking for a way to use ground beef in a spicy, simple dinner that'll make the whole family happy, then you've just found your recipe for tonight!

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Restaurants Delis East Village price 1 of 4. Restaurants Vegetarian Downtown Brooklyn. Restaurants Flushing price 1 of 4. Restaurants Vietnamese Little Italy price 1 of 4. Restaurants Pizza Greenpoint price 1 of 4.

Restaurants Bedford-Stuyvesant price 1 of 4. Restaurants Chinese Flushing. Restaurants Chinese Chinatown. Restaurants Mediterranean Williamsburg price 1 of 4. Restaurants Street food Jackson Heights price 1 of 4.

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Get us in your inbox Sign up to our newsletter for the latest and greatest from your city and beyond. Time Out. If you're looking for a downtown slice shop that your cousin from Connecticut will get excited about, the obvious answer is Scarr's. This little LES spot looks like it should be inside of a s bowling alley, and it tends to be filled with the sort of people who stand in long lines outside of clothing stores in Soho and Nolita.

The pizza is some of the best in the city, and there's always a crowd out front. Tucked into the side of Chelsea Market, this counter-service spot from the people behind Los Tacos No. The aguachile is also an essential order, and you can round things out with a Pacifico.

Bar Food. Upper East Side. The burger at J. Melon is classic and straightforward. The tavern-like room is filled with checkered tablecloths and random decor that looks like it was picked up at an estate sale several decades ago, and the kitchen is open until am most nights.

Eat at a little table in the barebones space, or take your food to the park a block away. It looks like a big, bright old-timey diner, and there's a good chance you've seen it on TV.

This is a popular place to film shows and movies. There's also a good chance you've eaten eggs here semi-drunk at 4am. Unfortunately, Veslelka is no longer open 24 hours, but you can still come by for breakfast, lunch, or dinner and eat some good borscht and pierogies.

If we had to choose a few restaurants to take a desert island, Khao Kang would be one of them. Options change daily, but they generally include things like braised five-spice pork belly, sweet moo tod, and jungle curry packed with fish and vegetables.

The southern sour curry is a favorite of ours, and the person behind the counter will probably tell you that it's spicy. Believe that person. Coming to New York for the first time ever is exciting and intimidating. Let us take some of the pressure off by suggesting where to eat.

Italian Pasta. This place is the ultimate utility player. American Bar Food. New York. What are you looking for? Perfect Fors. Subscribe Sign Up. let us help you make a decision. NYC Guide 14 Affordable Places To Impress An Out-Of-Towner All the best places where you can eat with a tourist without having to spend an upsetting amount of money.

Bryan Kim August 22, THE SPOTS photo credit: Hannah Albertine ratings guide. Save to a list Website Phone Directions. Bangladeshi Jackson Heights. Earn 3x points with your sapphire card.

photo credit: Emily Schindler ratings guide. Pizza Nolita. photo credit: Noah Devereaux. Lil Frankies. Italian East Village. photo credit: Alex Staniloff ratings guide. Barney Greengrass. American Upper West Side. ratings guide.

Katz's Deli. Sandwiches Lower East Side. Royal Seafood Restaurant. Chinese Chinatown. Corner Bistro. Burgers West Village. photo credit: Emily Schindler. Hou Yi Hot Pot. photo credit: David A Lee. Scarr's Pizza.