Eating Around NYC On a Budget: A $30 Sunnyside Food Crawl

There are 350 (give or take) neighborhoods in NYC, and each one has dozens of eats to be had. But can you fill up on a budget? We are headed to NYC’s various neighborhoods to see just how far $30 will go! On this installment, we are headed to Queens for a Sunnyside food crawl!

But first… a little history of Sunnyside.

Sunnyside is a neighborhood in Queens that’s tucked behind Long Island City. Today, it’s a diverse neighborhood with strong Latin American, Korean, Chinese, and Indian communities. But what’s now an urban jungle used to be farm land. In the early 1700s, the Bragaws family bought the land and began Sunnyside Hills Farms. More farmers followed suit, and the area became a rural hamlet peppered with dairy farms.

The area was incorporated into Long Island City in 1870, but the completion of the Queensboro Bridge in 1909 is what sparked the transformation of farm land into apartment buildings and houses. Through the 1900s, immigrants flocked to Sunnyside as Manhattan rent soared. (Get a more in-depth history HERE!) Today, it’s a residential community, but it’s still in New York. So you better believe there are some amazing eats to be had!

Fun Fact: Sunnyside Gardens was one of the country’s first planned garden communities, and today, it’s one of only 2 private gardens in NYC!

Let’s dive into a $30 Sunnyside food crawl!

Stop 1: The Sconery, $5

The Sconery opened in mid August 2025, and they are pumping out some stellar sweet and savory scones with options like lemon poppy and chorizo onion parm. We snagged a cheddar pepper to kick off our Sunnyside food crawl, and I already know I’ll be back.

The scone itself is buttery and moist settling nicely between “fluffy” and “dense”. There’s enough cheddar to add a cheesy flavor without overwhelming every bite, but it’s the coarse black pepper that takes this to a whole new flavor level.

Price: $5, which I think is great!

Stop 2: Souk Al Shater $9

Souk Al Shaker is a Lebanese spot serving up sandwiches, platters, various sweets, and Lebanese groceries. We went with a chicken shawarma wrap for $9 with “everything” on it.

“Everything” included a garlic sauce, loads of pickled veggies, and a spicy sauce that packed a punch without blowing out your tastebuds. The combination of sour, savory, spicy, and crunchy made for an exciting flavor journey that was a joy to go on. Not to mention, it was huge and totally loaded with chicken.

Price: $9, which I think is a total steal!

Stop 3: Bolivian Llama Party, $6.75

Bolivian Llama Party is one of the only Bolivian spots in NYC, and they are famous for their salteñas. Salteñas are a baked empanada filled with a heart stew. Think soup dumpling meets empanada. It was founded by brothers who first started selling food at street fairs as a way to fund their band. Their bold flavors were a total hit, culminating in securing a stall at Smorgusburg followed by opening up their own restaurant.

The dough is thick and ever so flakey with a subtle sweetness, and the filling is hearty with tender chunks of meat, an egg, and loads of veggies. Drizzle on some of the spicy green sauce and you’ve got a mind-blowing bite that’s hard to forget.

Price: $6.75,

Stop 4: Masa Madre, $6.50

The story of Masa Madre starts with Chef José Luis Flores. He arrived to NYC at the age of 18, and started at the bottom as a dishwasher at a restaurant in midtown. The restaurant opened a pastry department, and he jumped on the opportunity because he grew up loving baking. His grandmother was a trained baker as well as a housekeeper for wealthy families in Mexico City. She’d bring home leftover pastries at the end of the day, and Flores and his siblings loved eating all the treats. He worked tirelessly to perfect his craft, culminating in the opening of Masa Madre in 2024. (Read the full origin story HERE!)

Masa Madre serves up a huge range of pan dulce (sweet breads) inspired by the flavors of mexico. Two things that set this spot apart are the fact they use sourdough, and the fact that nearly everything is under $5. With $9 left in our budget, we got a a conchita (concha filled with cream) and piece of corn bread.

A concha is a fluffy slightly-sweet roll topped with a crunchy cookie top. It’s one of the most popular treats in Mexico, and you’ll see them at every single panaderia. They are designed to be dipped in coffee, milk, or hot chocolate, and I find them to be quite dry on their own. This one, however, was stuffed with a healthy slab of whipped cream to negate any dryness concerns. The corn bread was also delicious. It had a soft, moist texture and a subtle, sweet corn flavor. A massive slice was only $3, which makes me hold my head low with buyers regret over those $5 pieces of dry, mediocre cornbread I’ve had a New York bbq spots.

(Get the scoop on some Mexico City bakeries that we loved HERE!)

Price: The Conchita was $3.50 and the cornbread was $3. Great value!!!