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With New Yorkers paying two times more on rent than they should, it's a no-brainer to start seeking steals—at sample sales and, yes, good grub. We've eaten a lot of budget bites to find New York's best cheap eats and even scoured the city for free food at bars, but these wallet-friendly snacks could very well be the best deals in town—everything's under five bucks.
Fried pork dumplings at Prosperity Dumpling ($1 for four)
This Chinatown dumpling shop offers an amazing deal you likely won't find anywhere else on pan-fried, pork-and-chive-filled dumplings.
Tacos at Empellon al PastorPhotograph: Paul Wagtouicz
Tacos at Empellon al Pastor ($4)
Choose from fillings like tripe, al pastor pork, steak and chicken, and a trio of salsas—an avocado-enriched verde, mild guajillo chile roja or the super-spiced árbol—for your house-made tortillas at this quick-serve taqueria-bar.
The “Original” at Papaya King ($5)
Get two franks crowned with kraut, onions or relish alongside a 16-ounce sipper.
Octopus hush puppies at Bar SardinePhotograph: Paul Wagtouicz
Octopus hush puppies at Bar Sardine ($5)
The golden gems at this Chez Sardine redux were born from on-hand ingredients and flash of genius: Drawing on his tenure at Fedora, Mehdi Brunet-Benkritly tweaked his existing hush-puppy recipe with velvety polenta, tender chopped octopus and creamy cheddar.
Kugel double down at Scharf & ZoyerPhotograph: Jessica Lin
Kugel double down at Scharf & Zoyer (at Smorgasburg, $5)
Inspired by the potato pavé from Thomas Keller’s Ad Hoc at Home, self-taught cook Noah Arenstein has created a kugel double down: griddled slices of the Jewish egg-noodle casserole, slathered with sweet or savory spreads.
Bagels at Baz Bagel and RestaurantPhotograph: Paul Wagtouicz
Bagel with nova and chive spread at Baz Bagel ($5)
This house-made round is completely old-school: hand-rolled, kettle-boiled and baked in a rotating oven. The only spread worthy of it is the salty nova and chive spread, which gets whipped in-house twice daily.
Borek at Bedford Baking Studio
Borek at Bedford Baking Studio ($4.50)
These Turkish phyllo pastries are traditionally stuffed with feta, marinated potatoes or ground beef. At this tiny coffee shop, however, you can find combos like potato, dill and almond or hummus with black beans and roasted peppers.
Arepa at Arepa Lady
Arepa at Arepa Lady ($4)
The arepa is a beautiful thing: ground corn dough griddled into a thin cake and served with butter and a large helping of queso blanco. We dig the arepa de choclo, made with sweet white corn, providing a nice complement to the cheese’s salty tang.