Cheap Thrills New York: Great NYC Meals for Under $15 (Cheap Thrills series) [Paperback]

Nancy Marrelli (Author), Simon Dardick (Author)

Book Description

Series: Cheap Thrills series | Publication Date: January 1, 2001

New York is a unique city where you can eat out inexpensively without compromising taste or quality. The authors asked New Yorkers to tell them about their favorite low-cost restaurant. The ground rules were simple. The food had to be good and the prices had to be $15 or less before taxes, tip, or wine. It had to be a place they would want to go back to. The response was overwhelming! New Yorkers were eager to share their favorite haunts and discoveries.

Over 80 recommended restaurants reflecting the diversity of New York-including the boroughs: Chinese, Italian, Ethiopian, Cuban, Japanese, Cajun, Polish, West African, French, Middle-Eastern, American regional, Russian, Peruvian, Indian, Thai, Ukrainian, Mexican, and more. Plus seafood, vegetarian, kosher, deli, bistros, and cafés.

Editorial Reviews

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Sample Review:

El Deportivo 701 Ninth Ave. (at 48th St.) Subway: C, E to 50th St. Phone: [phone] Hours: 11 am-9pm Credit cards: V, MC; Alcohol: all Wheelchair access: yes Average main course: $6.45

El Deportivo is a Puerto Rican place for meat lovers in Hell’s Kitchen (Midtown/West Side), with a casual and more formal side, but the food is great in both!

The menu is bilingual so it’s easy to figure it all out even if your Spanish is elementary. Daily specials here are outstanding and are organized on the printed menu by day. Specials come with rice and beans, fries, or plantains. Forget the fries; get the traditional rice and beans and a side order of tostones, fried plantains, because you don’t really want to miss either. The rabo guisado, oxtail stew, (Monday) is a knockout! The other must-try here is the pernil asado, roast pork, and fortunately it is available every day. The churrasco is grilled skirt steak, and it is tasty, tender, and juicy. The bistec de pollo is flavorful thin chicken "steak" served with cooked onions. One of the house specialties is mofongo (green plantains) and they serve them with shrimp, lobster, chicken, fish, and crab. The homemade garlic sauce on the table is pungent and delicious, and it goes well with absolutely everything. What a treat to find this wonderful Puerto Rican restaurant in Midtown. It is a large corner place, popular with locals. There are two entrances and two separate dining areas. The bar side of the restaurant is more formal and there is comfortable seating; the other area is more casual. The menu is the same in both. El Deportivo is a real winner.

Product Details

• Paperback: 120 pages
• Publisher: Vehicule Press (January 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1550651366
• ISBN-13: 978-1550651362
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.3 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,515,199 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #85 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Travel > United States > States > New York

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't leave home without it!, July 29, 2003

By 

Nick Anderson "Anderson" (Wolfeboro, NH USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cheap Thrills New York: Great NYC Meals for Under $15 (Cheap Thrills series) (Paperback)

This is a restaurant guide for those of you looking for really good food with a wide variety of ethnic cuisine and without the ridiculously pompous nature of your typical five-star. If you go out to eat for the snooty service and to drop a bunch of money, don't buy this book. However, if your focus is on the quality and variety of the food you are eating, with fancy service as a secondary concern, this is the book for you. That is not to say the restaurants in this book lack decent service....Many have excellent service and swanky locals. Some may also have dismal decor and downright cranky staff (read hole-in-the-wall). But they all have great food in common. One of the great things about New York is experiencing the wide variety of flavors and cooking styles available in this melting pot. You won't find me in New York without this book close by.