Cheap Eats in the New York City

So I know the name of the blog might be deceiving because I don't often write about things that are truly "frugal." The name of the blog means that I am frugal in every aspect of my life in order to make good food and eat at good restaurants. Get it? The frugal wait for it, foodie(s).

Anyways every now and again I do run across some truly great cheap eats in the city and with Spring Break and the current economic situation it seems like now is as good a time as any to share these.

So here are my top cheap eats (cheap meaning for one person you can get a meal for about $10-$12 or less):

• A Salt and Battery - I've written about this many times before and with good reason - it's delicious! Authentic fish and chips in the west village. I eat here at least once a month.


• Cherin Sushi - great for big groups and novice sushi lovers. BYOB helps make this place super cheap. Most all rolls are under $10.


• Caracas Arepas - traditional Venezuelan food, I once went twice in a day it's that good!


• Real Thai - Ok, I haven't talked about this one yet, but this is one of my favorite Thai places located on 59th street @ 1st avenue. You can get soup or salad with a delicious thai lunch entree for about $6.50. Great deal!


• Papaya Dog - I haven't written about this one either, but I can tell you from multiple experiences that this is one of the greatest hot dog places in the city. They offer the recession special (which ironically I think has gone up...) which is two hot dogs and a drink for about $4.50. Multiple locations throughout the city and perfect for a meal or snack!

All of these places are scattered throughout the city and cross over multiple genres. I like to give a little variety ya know? Either way they're all great and if you haven't been to them, then you should go!

Anyone else have any good cheap eats in the city?!

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Cherin Sushi

This is one of those great New York finds that I just keep coming back to. It has all the requirements for a great night. Great location? Yes. Affordable? Yes. Good? Yes. BYOB? Um, YES.

We stumbled upon this "find" in some sort of recession chain email that got sent around through my group of poor/unemployed friends, and we figured why not, I mean how bad can a BYOB be?

Located in the East Village on 6th and 2nd, Cherin is in the heart of cool bars and restaurants and the atmosphere can't be beat. When you walk in you'll notice that the restaurant is basically a narrow strip (probably 10 feet wide and about 50 feet deep - ok I made this up, but think of a very narrow rectangle). People are lined on the walls, and it looks like complete chaos. There are NYU students camping out at their tables, taking advantage of the BYOB factor.

We find the hostess and check-in. She lost our reservation the second time we went, but that was ok, we were still seated relatively quickly (I would say within 20 minutes). Once seated we gazed over the menu. Much to my surprise, I was taken aback and had a bit of sticker shock, but the good kind. I would say the most expensive roll at Cherin is

$10 and the majority fall under $5.

I ordered the beef dumplings, shrimp tempura, and spicy crunchy tuna. All three things I ordered were GREAT. I know what you're thinking - I went pretty basic, borderline amateur - but I figured if you can get the basics down, the more extensive rolls are probably just as good. Plus, I can order what I want so - HA!

Overall, the bill came out to about $15 a person, for about an 1 hour and 1/2 of dining -- unreal for New York or anywhere really. Service left something to be desired, but for those prices, I'll take what I can get.

I am actually thinking about going back again this week, that is how confident I feel that I can have the same experience again. Plus, I left my planner there, but even if I hadn't, I would probably still go back.

Cherin Sushi

306 E 6th St
New York, NY 10003
(212) 388-1348

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