I couldn't fit all the information on cheap eats in NYC that I would like to pass to you in a comment box. So here is a link to ten of the cheapest yet some of the best happy hours in NYC. Read all the reviews, try a few places out, and you be the Judge. Cheers to you!
https://usahappyhour.com/top_10_list/cheapest-happy-hours-nyc/
This is probably my favorite thing about living here. Your list is awesome - but what truly soothes my heart is knowing there are literally thousands of these places still dishing out the delicious food love. They come and go - and sometimes you're not 100% sure of what you are eating (due to language and cultural differences) but if you have an adveturous soul and you're willing to hop a train to some unknown barrio and seek out places not found on Yelp, you'll most likely be rewarded. Most recently I went (back) to Mangal Kebab in Sunnyside, Queens. It was my 3rd or 4th time there and Iw as coming back for their outstanding yogurt soup - served with a hunk of fresh lemon and shards of super fresh pida in true Turkish style. They were out of the amazing soup but I did discover their equally excellent salads, lentil soup and Turkish pop stars blaring happily away on the TV. As my dear friend says, "you don't need cable!" Or a plane ticket. Just a sense of adventure and a Metro Card.
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It's a bit odd how the NYT is at the forefront at publishing articles on climate change and environmental degradation.
Yet their food writers constantly highlight carnivore diets and neglect vegetarian options. Factory farming is a huge contributor to both CC and ED.
Has some kind of moral obligation been breached when an owner who says "Don't tell anyone" sees her name in print, no matter how praiseworthy her cooking? Anthony Bourdain once said, revealingly, "I kill the things I love." I have an admittedly comical vision of gourmands coming to blows over the table at Warung Selasa.
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Thanks! Some brilliant places listed.
One of the many reasons I love coming to the City. Grew up in the suburbs, weekends took the train to Grand Central from Mamaroneck. The whole day was mine. There a combination Chinese - Puerto Rican place on 9th near 57th. Discovered absolutely sublime Arroz con Pollo there. Another was a tiny Korean restaurant in the 80's near 2nd Ave. a tiny hole in the wall but awesome food and dirt cheap. There are just too many places like this across the 5 boroughs. You could easily make it your life's work to find, review and catalog them. You know, that doesn't sound like a bad job at all...
But don't tell anyone...
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Living in this city and being able to taste all these cuisines is a privilege. Thanks to the variety, our picky kids eventually find dishes they like within each culture and make it their favorite. Our most recent find was hole in the wall Malaysian restaurant in East Elmhurst. We came hungry on a dreary rainy afternoon the spending hours at the NY Hall of Science and were greeted with warm tea and heaping platters of delicious and spicy food that quickly restored our souls.
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@ Irina New York
I agree with you that New York is a great mixing pot of ethnic cuisines. However, I think that after "spending hours at the NY Hall of Science" you and your children would have liked as much Burger King, which I hold above McDonald.
I made a point of keeping my kids out of BK or McD's. Worked well and the search for awesome little places like the ones listed here never failed to be a treat. Every place I go on business, I search out the place that is unique to where I am. Why waste my money in BK, McD's, Tim Hortons, Sonic or all those other places. They're most consistent I'll grant you, but very, very boring. In St. Louis, absolutely the middle of the "Heartland" and found, of all things, a real Filipino restaurant; food was outstanding in all respects. As I found in St. Louis, it's not just NYC that does this, though NYC does have a huge variety, It is there for the finding (and savoring) in a lot of places. For this Google is your friend. BK and McD's, nah, not even in a pinch, even with my kids when they were little.
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"hole in the wall Malaysian restaurant in East Elmhurst" - are you taking the name of this hole in the wall to the grave?