A Foodie Day in NYC for Less Than $20

New York City may not be the cheapest city in the world, but it is affordable if you know where to look. While you can blow your entire paycheck on decadent meals out, there are also plenty of cheap eats to be had. It was my first day off since returning to Gig World, and a foodie day was in store. My best friend sent me $20 on Venmo to treat myself to lunch.

Just how much can $20 get you in NYC? Well, quite a lot!

Joe’s Pizza: $3.25 for a cheese slice

Joe’s Pizza is a no-frills New York institution that has been serving up pies since 1975. The slices have thin crust, just enough sauce, and plenty of cheese. No bells and whistles, just simple delicious ingredients. It’s the perfect slice of New York style pizza. (Click HERE to learn about the history of New York style pizza!)

Maman: Nutty Chocolate Chip Cookie for $4

Maman is a French inspired bakery and café with 9 locations around New York City and 2 in Canada. It’s cookies frequent “Best cookies in NYC” lists. In fact, the cookies made the cut as one of Oprah’s favorite things in 2017. You get a cookie! You get a cookie! You get a cookie!

I took the first bite, and understood the hype. The nutty chocolate chip cookie is full of big chocolate chunks, macadamia nuts, walnuts, and almonds. It’s salty, sweet, gooey, crunchy, and everything you want in a cookie.

King Dumplings: $3.50 for 10 pork and chive pan fried dumplings.

If you want cheap food in New York City, head to Chinatown. I stumbled upon King Dumplings, and 10 dumplings for $3.50 was too cheap to pass up. The filling was flavorful and the dough wasn’t too chewy (although it did fall off of the filling). But for $.35 a dumpling, I can’t really  be mad.

Mochi Mochi Donuts: $2.75 for an Ube donut

I love mochi and I love doughnuts. But would mochi donuts live up to the hype?

This K-Town shop is disorganized to say the least. Mochi Mochi, Jongro Dogs, and a bubble tea shop share a small space, and figuring out what line to wait in was confusing. I shoved my way to the back of the store to the ordering kiosk. I paid for one donut,  told the woman what flavor I wanted, then received my Ube mochi donut in no time.

It was delightfully chewy with a subtle Ube flavor. The texture was like a bready mochi that was surprisingly satisfying. I will certainly be having more mochi donuts in the future!

Best Bagel and Coffee: 2 Bagels for $3.70

Best Bagel and Coffee lives up to the name. The hand rolled, kettle boiled bagels are soft and chewy with that perfect mouthfeel. I had already let my belt out a notch from my foodie day,  so I picked up an egg bagel and cinnamon raisin bagel to take home. Of course, I had to take a nibble of each such to be sure they were okay… Don’t worry, they were.

Wrapping Up My Foodie Day in NYC for Less than $20…

For less than $20, I had a day filled with my favorite things as well as something new.

My eats and treats were delicious, but the highlight was the journey. New York is a special place. Each neighborhood has its own unique personality and there’s always something to see. 20,000 steps took me down familiar blocks with fond memories. Despite a few shuttered store fronts and a few freshly opened ones, it was nice to see that not too much has changed. The city persevered, and it’s pulse has returned.