As a tourist, pricing is always going to lead the narrative when visiting New York – it’s one of the costliest cities in the world. For many of us it’s the tipping culture that irks the most – it’s the flip side to a really vibrant eating and drinking scene. Tip screens seem to pop up everywhere (even after standing in line to buy just a cup of coffee), to 'guilt tip' you into adding anything from 20% to 25% to your bill. It can mean there’s little escape from the $100+ per person spend without doing some research. Get the balance right between the many fabulous, inexpensive places the city has to offer and the occasional bucket list expense, and it is possible to eat well without an epic credit card bill. Here are my current top picks, from several trips to New York over the past year.
Nothing says America more than a burger. And George Motz’s Hamburger America on Macdougal Street, SoHo serves some of the best. It’s a traditional luncheonette-style counter diner with just two burgers on the regular menu – $7.25 (or add $1.25 for a gluten free bun). The ‘classic smash’ is just that - quality ground beef flattened on the griddle, the bun toasted and served with or without cheese. Motz’s signature ‘fried onion’ is an Oklahoma-style fried onion burger – hauntingly moreish beef and caramelised onion, served with no condiments or dressings, just a slice of American cheese and pickle. As both burgers are small, you might want to order one of each.
The New York Times recently asked ‘have we hit peak handroll?’. The cone-shaped rolls of seafood and warm sushi rice wrapped in crispy nori (aka temaki), have been winning points with New Yorkers since KazuNori (W 28th Street), opened a decade ago, sparking a huge trend. It’s still one of the best. Join the queue, (you can’t book), squeeze into a counter seat, choose from sets of three ($19), to six rolls ($35), or order as you please à la carte (about $7 each). Each roll is passed over the counter freshly made, one at a time – eat them quickly, so the nori stays super crispy. Bonus point: it’s one of the few restaurants I’ve come across in Manhattan where service is included.
Although I’ve known about Los Mariscos for some years, its location in crowded, touristy Chelsea Market has always put me off. I was only cajoled into going this year. What can I say? The seafood taquería’s reputation for serving the best fish tacos in town is utterly deserved. To find, I recommend avoiding Chelsea Market altogether and enter Los Mariscos directly from 15th Street. Queue to place your order - two tacos per person (battered fish, $4.75, fried shrimp, $4.95). While waiting for them to be made, pick up margaritas or a beer with tomato and clam juice. The system is fast and efficient, it’s bagging one of the few tables that’s probably the hardest part – a bit of a free for all but worth it.
Ogdongsik, on E 30th Street, has become my go-to for a light, casual first-night meal when the five-hour difference is at its most disorientating. An unassuming (and bookable) 13-seater Korean counter spot, it’s all about dweji gomtang - a soothing, long simmered, savoury pork broth with rice and thin slices of pork (($19), which comes with kimchi and gochuji (a salty, sour, spicy paste). The only other menu item, delicate dumplings filled with pork, tofu and glass noodles ($13), are likewise spot on. You’ll be in and out quite quickly so, if you want to extend the evening, note the unmarked door at the back leads to cool, dimly lit cocktail bar.
Korean cuisine is hugely popular in New York - there’s even a Koreatown (K-Town), a lively, two-block area in the low-30s between Fifth and Sixth Avenues, mostly famous for fried chicken, all-you-can-eat barbecues and late-night karaoke. For excellent, traditional Korean cooking, I recommend the more quietly located Cho Dang Gol (on W35th Street), a no reservation, easy-on-the-pocket tofu-speciality restaurant, popular with a young Asian crowd. Go for grilled tofu ssam platter ($19.99), the seafood and scallion pancake, and slow-cooked pork belly with homemade kimchi (both $18.99).
In other restaurants orbiting K-Town, Korean cuisine has been reimagined, benefitting from a fresh new look by forward thinking Korean chefs with global backgrounds. At chef Junghyun Park’s delightfully casual Atoboy, his four-course prix-fixe is, at $75, an affordable introduction to what is essentially a high-end trend – especially as service is (unusually, like KazuNori) included in the price. Reserve a table if you are feeling particularly celebratory. Ours was a birthday and we loved dishes such as sweet shrimp with white kimchi, beurre blanc and peas, and cod with gochujang curry. Note that at Park’s fancier Atomix nearby, the tasting menu is $450 per person.
Flushing in Queens is home to New York City's largest East Asian community. The commercial heart of the area is the intersection of Main Street and Roosevelt Avenue (the subway stop at Flushing–Main Street drops you right in the middle). Extending for several blocks in all directions, it’s an Asian shopping mecca, a vibrant mix of restaurants, butchers, fish mongers, bakeries, greengrocers, karaoke bars, bubble tea outlets and more. The New World Mall on Roosevelt Avenue is easy to spot, a modern three-story shopping centre featuring a massive Asian supermarket and an extraordinary food court with over 32 food vendors – notably Thai, Vietnamese, Chinese, Korean and Japanese – take your pick. We have always eaten cheaply and well there. Take cash and tips are not expected.
