$40 a day? Try $12.50 in NYC!

I suck and am sorry I have not posted in a long time....

Something I love about NYC is that you can find alternatives to crazy expensive food. I think that I could eat for under $15 dollars a day. None of this Rachael Ray $40 a day crap! Let's face it who really has the money for that?

Breakfast

I am not an expert on cities but I do know that NYers love their coffee in the morning. I don't partake in this ritual but if I did I don't think I could afford to have a steaming $4.00 cup of joe everyday from Starsucks! An excellent alternative is coffee or tea or even flavored coffee from the guys in the silver carts! I am in love with one of these carts. On 23rd street, there is a man in his cart who LOVES his job. He is cheery everyday, asks about you, smiles (are you going to get that at Starfucks, I think not) and remembers your order even if you aren't a regular. Everyone in my office loves him and when he went on vacation we all cried about missing him. I actually feel bad about not knowing his name. So anyway back to the cart. Not only does he have a dollar cup of coffee and tea, he has a large collection of pastries and bagels and juices and sodas!

Now I do not go to the cart for breakfast everyday because I usually bring my breakfast (and lunch) but on those rare days that I forget I just stop at the cart and get a croissant and apple juice. For $2. What a deal! The croissant is huge and he remembers what I get! This makes me feel that I am in a small town when in fact I am on the street in NYC! He also sometimes gets Ruby Red juice which I love as a treat. He then remembers that tidbit about me and offers it to me! Talk about excellent service, that is hard to find!

So there was my $2 breakfast. On to lunch.

Lunch

Since I usually bring lunch, which costs close nothing but when I forget I head down the block to a deli that has everything. It has a hot table and cold table and sandwiches, soups and sushi. All of these items can add up to a normal $10 NYC lunch. I found a daily special that is $4.50, yes you read that right, less than $5.00! There are 5 pre made sandwiches on hero bread that you choose from. They are not just plain sandwiches. They have nice ingredients such as alfalfa sprouts or Brie cheese. Not only do you get a nice sized sandwich but you also get a plastic clamshell filled with salad. In the salad are lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes and red peppers tossed in an Italian dressing! Yummy and filling for less than $5.00.

Now dinner is a bit harder to find something cheap unless it is a slice of pizza. But what I am talking about is lots of good food for cheap :)

Dinner

So dinner is from Teriyaki Boy. It is fast food like Japanese cuisine. You can get chicken teriyaki over rice with a salad with yummy ginger dressing, and a California roll. It is a TON of food and the price is just $5.99! What a deal. I never am able to finish all of the food. It is freshly made and put into a bento box to go home.

So there you have it! NYCbean's guide to eating cheap, yet real yummy food! Comment with your ideas and places you know where you can score a deal.