Cheap Eats in NYC

Before we left for the Big Apple, we Googled for some cheap places to eat since we were trying to keep our spending to a minimum. Here are the ones that we tried and loved:

Mamoun's Falafel Restaurant:
119 MacDougal St (Bleecker & West 3rd)
Subway: A, C, E, F, V to West 4th
Neighborhood: Greenwich Village

This place is open from 11a-5a, so basically anytime you're there, they're open! I had never had a falafel before and I was not disappointed that I tried this one :) For under $10 we got 2 falafels and some baklava. There were only 2 tables and we were lucky to grab one of them as a couple was leaving but the food is worth standing for! There is usually a line out the door, but it moves pretty quickly since most everyone is there for the same thing...delicious falafel sandwiches.


Cafe Edison:
228 West 47th St.
Subway: N, Q, R, W, S, 7, 1, 2, 3 to times Square


Right near Times Square, this place is delightful! It has the feel of a diner, but one look to the ceiling reveals it's true past as the former ballroom of the Edison Hotel. Also known as the Polish Tea Room, this place is reasonably priced and serves a great hamburger and coke. You can get a burger and drink for around $10.




Gray's Papaya:
539 Eighth Ave. (37th St.)
Neighborhood: Garment District
Subway: A, C, E to 34th Street

402 Sixth Ave. (8th St.)
Neighborhood: Greenwich Village
Subway: A, C, E, F, V to West 4th

Delicious hot dogs and papaya drink for less than $5! It was really good and I'd love to go back next time I'm there!



Crocodile Lounge
Neighborhood: East Village
325 E 14th St (Between 1st and 2nd Ave)

This place had an extremely cool feel and the best part? For every drink that you buy, you get a free pizza! How great is that? The pizza was pretty good and the bartender was friendly. They have beers for $5-6 or you could try what I had: Absolut Pear with soda and a splash of cranberry for $7.

Flying to New York for the 4th!

Getting to NYC can be less expensive if you're willing to take public transportation!

Tickets directly into NYC from Orlando, FL were more than $300 but Ryan and I found pretty cheap tickets flying into White Plains, NY for $243. Instead of taking a cab to the train station ($25) we opted for the Airlink shuttle($2.25/person) which saved us $20.
We took the train ($7/person) to Grand Central Station overall saving at least $50-$100/each in travel.

The shuttle and train ride to Grand Central took about an hour in total, but it was worth the savings to us.

From Grand Central, we took the Subway ($2.25) to our hotel on 53rd and 7th. The next day, we realized we could save money by buying the one-day fun pass ($8). If you're going to be there for 4-7 days, I would recommend the 7-day fun pass (I think this was around $28).

We made the mistake of not getting the day fun pass on the first day and ended up walking until our ankles felt like they were going to grind into the ground! It was brutal. Thank God for the sauna and steam rooms in our hotel or else we may have never recovered :)
After the first day though, we mastered the subway system and saved ourselves a lot of unnecessary blisters!