My Ten Favorite Deals in Manhattan (Part 1 of 5)

To the naked eye, Manhattan is an expensive place.

To the Gucci sunglass shaded eye, not so much, perhaps.

Finding a great deal in Manhattan is a wonderful but strange phenomena. You immediately want to tell everyone who will listen, but with the way word of mouth spreads in this town, one is justifiably worried that it will become too popular (i.e. Shake Shack, Sake Bar Hagi) and you’ll only be able to go at odd times.

The following are ten of my favorite deals in the city that I don’t believe are in danger of disappearing due to disclosure (not that anyone reads this anyway). I’d love to hear in the comments about any of the readers’ (yes, I know it’s just you reading Mom and Dad) favorite deals. As always, these aren’t ranked, or in any particular order.

1) Dumpling House – 4 for a $1 Dumplings, 50 cent Sesame Pancake



Deals don’t get much cheaper than 4 piping hot crispy, juicy, delicious pork and chive pan fried dumplings for $1, tax included. There are plenty of dollar dumpling depots in the Chinatown area, but this is the best one I’ve found. It isn’t clean, isn’t efficient and isn’t comfortable, but that hasn’t stopped me from coming back again and again to this hole in the wall. The 50 cent sesame pancake is good enough to rival the dumplings, crispy on the edges, with a fluffy interior; full of wonderful sesame flavor and a joy to shred apart with your teeth. For a buck more you can make it into a phenomenal sandwich with sliced roast beef, cilantro, carrot and watercress. No matter what you order from the brief menu, you’re going to walk away having had a great meal for couch change.















Insider’s Tip: Dumpling House now has a deli counter style ticket system. Grab a ticket when you get there and be ready to order as soon as you’re called.




2) Pompano Taqueria – $2.75 Tacos


In the bowels of the Crystal Pavilion office building on 50th and 3rd Avenue, lies my favorite lunch spot in Midtown. 

For $2.75 you can get a scrumptious soft taco filled with luscious combinations like sautéed kingfish and napa cabbage, grilled steak with peppers onions and manchego cheese and grilled shrimp with black bean puree. Buy two and they toss in a free bag of homemade tortilla chips, so good that they would make a Tostidos fan renounce their past chip transgressions.

Several sumptuous salsas of varying degrees of heat complement both the tacos and chips very nicely, as do the fresh diced onion, jalapeño and pico de gallo.

 It ain’t easy finding cheap, quality food in Midtown. This place fits the bill.

Insider’s Tip: Call ahead with your order and walk to the front of the line when you show up. Otherwise you could be in for a wait.