Astoria:
Cost: $2.00Take the N Train out to Astoria Boulevard and head one block south to the Titian, an entirely Greek grocery store. Visit the Greek Music Superstore next door (largest one outside of Athens!) for discount CD's and Records. Cheap Visual Thrill: Walk one block up Astoria Boulevard to the point in Manhattan where the Chrysler Building is lined up flush against the Empire State Building. Head on up to Ditmars Boulevard and hit the smoking souvlaki stand for a wad of skewered meat, seasoned with lemon and pepper, and a hunk of french bread for $2.
Ba Xuyjen
6011 Seventh Avenue; Brooklyn
Cost: $3.95One of the things I missed most about moving from Seattle to New York City was the Vietnamese sandwiches I picked up for lunch at Uwajimaya every day. Made with pate, some sort of mystery meat, cucumbers, pickled vegetables (including carrots and jicama) & cilantro and served on crusty french bread, these sandwiches were fresh, crisp and uniquely tasty. Fortunately, the Village Voice ran a review of Ba Xuyjen, a place in Broolkyn that specializes in these tasty sandwiches. A sandwich and a small Vietnamese coffee (hot & sweet, with condensed milk) at this tiny, hole-in-the-wall shop was ridiculously cheap and tasty. Worth the trek out to Brooklyn.
Bennie's Burritos
93 Avenue A
cost: $4.95Tex-mex burritos & tasty margaritas. Warm and comforting.
Botanical Gardens:
The Bronx
Cost: $3.50Head up to the Bronx Zoo and pay a visit to the cheaper Botanical Gardens. Marvel at the Rose Garden; examine the koi in the lily pond and try to hide the snide snickers at the heavily asphalted "nature walk" - after all, for New Yorkers, this is nature.
The Brooklyn Bridge:
Behind City Hall
Cost: $0.00Head down to City Hall and start looking for the path that leads you up above traffic and over the Brooklyn Bridge. During your walk to Brooklyn Heights, you'll see the Statue of Liberty, the South Street Seaport below, and Manhattan Bridge. New Yorkers love bridges - it's the whole island thing.
Bryant Park:
42nd Street b/w 5th & 6th
Cost: $0.00Head behind the New York Public Library and hang out in Bryant Park for a break from the asphalt and concrete. You won't starve, as there's plenty of cappuchino and foccacia stands. During the summer, the Park shows Monday movies at dusk for free. I love a city that entertains the masses.
Central Park Food:
Cost: $1.25Central Park is great. Abandon your food inhibitions and pony up $1.25 for a hot dog or knish at one of the many scattered stands throughout the park. I'd recommend the hot dog "with everything" (i.e. catsup, mustard, a tomato/onion relish and sauerkraut) - it's so good, it's almost alcoholic. Word to the wise: hit the vendors after noon - they're still warming up the relish in the morning.
The Children's Zoo
Central Park
Cost: $3.50In a great bargain deal, for $3.50 (Adult prices), you gain admission to both the Main Zoo and the Petting Zoo. Splurge an extra $0.25 and you can get a handful of alfalfa pellets to feed to the animals. Interesting trivia fact: The Central Park Zoo is featured in Bret Easton Ellis' novel "American Psycho", where our hero offs a kid in the penguin section. Song to sing while visiting: Simon & Garfunkel's "At the Zoo"...
Coney Island:
Cost: $1.50 Food, $0.25 IncidentalsHit the subway and head on down to Coney Island. Frolick on the beach and feel great about your body after viewing hordes of people that should never, ever wear bikinis or Speedos. Added bonus: the Atlantic Ocean kicks up mica flecks in the seaweed, creating a gorgeous green/silver surf. Head down the boardwalk (as in "Under the Boardwalk") to Brighton Beach or wander around the rides and pretend that you're a member of The Warriors, having just made it back to Coney Island without getting stabbed by the Manhattan gangs. Flavored ice on the beach will run you around $1.50 - I had a mint chocolate chip one that rivalled ice cream. Precautionary measure: Be sure to set aside an extra $0.25 if you need to visit the restrooms.
Egyptian Art:
Cost: $0.00Sure, the Temple of Dendur inside the Metropolitan Museum of Art is great, but who has the $10.00 admission these days? Head around to the back of the museum and meditate in the shadow of Cleopatra's Needle with the incongruous crab supports at the base.
Flushing Meadows-Corona Park:
Cost: $4.00 RT TransportationTake the 7 train out to Flushing, Queens, where you can wander around the park and view Shea Stadium and the World's Fair Unisphere, where people still breakdance. Breakdancing! It's worth the trip & Flushing has a bunch of funky Asian places to explore (one noodle shop was advertising pig intestines, for the truly macho).
Grand Central Terminal:
42nd Street
Cost: $0.00Best to come during rush hour for the full effect (new definition of bravery: swimming upstream the current of people during the Christmas Season at Grand Central. He who hesitates is lost). Be sure to check out the constellations above and the funky lights as you consider commuting to Connecticut. Added bonus: Free bathrooms!
Krispy Kreme Donuts:
Cost: $0.85Second to none when they're hot (and only to Spudnuts when they're not), these donuts will melt in your mouth (undoubtedly due to the high sugar content in the lard frosting). I was drinking an iced coffee with my chocolate glazed one, which created a heavenly sugar-chocolate-coffee sludge in my mouth.
Library Cards:
Cost: $0.00While Queens is simply awful about issuing theirs (I had to fill out a dated postcard, have them mail it to me, and bring it in before the two week period elapsed as proof of residence), the Manhattan libraries couldn't be nicer (my WA State drivers license with the NY address on the back sufficed).
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Little Italy:
Cost: $0.00Not as much fun as San Francisco's North Shore, but this place is a warm, comforting haven if the crowds in Chinatown stress you out. Sip an espresso, nibble on mini-pastries and soak up the atmosphere. Keep an eye out for the San Gennaro festival in the fall, with exterior food and fun (and booze). Fantastic ice creams & gelatos.
Madison Square Garden:
Penn Station at 34th Street
Cost: $0.00An entire underground world exists down here, including a K-Mart, the Manhattan Mall (13 relatively spartan floors of stores you'll see in every other mall in the world) and Amtrak trains. Fun to explore on rainy days when you don't want to go outside.
Mini-Castle Action
Central Park:
Cost: $0.00Skip over to the miniature castle (featured in "The Fisher King") in Central Park for some helpful ecology tips geared towards grade schoolers. Alas, there's no drawbridge or moat and the park officials frown at pouring hot tar down on the tourists from the turrets. Spoilsports.
Museum Gift Shops:
Cost $0.00I love museums and, if I had the money, I'd gladly give it to them. But if you're loathe to play the "donation only" card or are too cheap to pay the $10 admission, head on over to the attached (free) gift shops for a view of all the major works of art on display at the museum. Museums Gift Stores of note: Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Natural History and the Museum of Modern Art.
The New York Public Library:
Cost $0.00View some of the best free museum-worthy sights as you cool your heels and escape from 42nd Street. With marble staircases, chandeliers and oil paintings on the wall, you'll never miss the museums. Trust me. Last time I was there, they were having a Nabakov exhibit on butterflies and chess. Added bonus: free bathrooms!
Roosevelt Island Tram:
Cost: $2.00I have no idea why you'd want to go out to Roosevelt Island. Me, I was trying to walk from Queens to Manhattan (there's that problem with the East River) and ended up stranded on Roosevelt Island. There, for $2.00 I took a tram 100 feet in the air over the pesky East River, depositing me at 62nd and 2nd in Manhattan. Of course, for $1.50 I could have caught the subway a few blocks from my apartment and never had to deal with the tram in the first place. Life is perverse, isn't it?
Sex:
Lower Manhattan
Cost: $1.00While browsing the street fairs in TriBeCa, I had a guy offer himself (unsolicited) to me for a buck. With a bit of haggling, I'd wager that I could have cut that price in half.
The Staten Island Ferry:
Cost: $0.00Catch it at the tip of Battery Park, and pretend you're on a very slow, unwieldly Titanic as you cross over to Staten Island. The best view of the Statue of Liberty that money can't buy is off on the left side (the one with all the people). Look directly overhead when your out on the deck and you'll see the lifejackets nailed in place.
The Strand Bookstore:
Cost: variesYou must understand that I come from a land where used books were plentiful and cheap (as in "5 paperbacks for $1" cheap). So I'm understandably less impressed than most New Yorkers with the Strand - half cover price for a trade paperback is still too expensive. On the other hand, for New York, the prices are exemplary, the range is wide and you can often find (relative) bargains here. I'd recommend the Broadway store for people-watching, and the Annex near the South Street Seaport for the best bargains.
Strawberry Fields:
72nd Street and Central Park West
Cost: $0.00In the shadow of the infamous Dakota, you can wander through the Yoko Ono/John Lennon part of Central Park. This place always strikes a chord of melancholy with me. "Nothing is real, and nothing to get hung about."
Times Square at Night:
42nd Street and Broadway
Cost: $0.00Sure, you won't see dildoes in the windows anymore, but Times Square can still be fun. Visit at night to get the full billboard effect (reminiscent of Las Vegas or Blade Runner, take your pick). I love Times Square.
Video Stores:
Cost: $2.99Check out Entertainment Outlet (yup, that's its real name) over at 14th & 6th Ave for the best used videos and CDs in the city (with great Latin music blaring from the stereo). You might want to keep in mind that I have horrible taste in movies (leaning towards Voyage of the Rock Aliens and Duran Duran concert videos) and love digging through bins of crap. Beware the $0.99 movies.
Village Voice:
Cost: $0.00Pick it up Tuesday night/Wednesday morning. It's free. It lists advance screening previews of movies, and it carries Dan Savage's sex advice column sandwiched in the back. Gotta love it.
Walking:
Cost: $0.00New York is a great place for walking fast and furiously. In fact, the only time I've seen New Yorkers act rude is when people block their way while walking (O.K. It was actually me).
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