The UnFancy Food Show

For those of ya'll who have neither the time nor discipline to make your way over to the Javits Center and enjoy one of the coolest events ever, there is an alternative form of food enlightenment available on the same weekend.

The UnFancy Food Show was created in 2007 as an alternative for people who are more interested in local, artisanal products than the majority of those available at the Fancy Food Show. While the selection is certainly dwarfed by the FFS, there will be some fantastic products available for sampling and the suggested admission is only $5.

A misleading poster as no actual alcohol or Olympian meat will be served

Some of my favorite food producers will be on hand including Wheelhouse Pickles (try the beets) and Salvatore (dreamy ricotta).

Some of the foods you'll be able to sample

If given the choice, I'd attend the Fancy Foods Show over this small gathering 1000 times out of 1000, but this is a nice alternative if you're looking for something fun to do on June 29th.

The Fancy Food Show - June 29 through July 1, 2008

Of all the posts that I have made on this blog, I hope that this one will have the most actual influence on my readers. I implore you to read on, and follow my simple advice to markedly improve your life the last weekend of June 2008.

The Gateway to Gluttony

For three days every year, the Jacob Javits Center on Manhattan's west side hosts the New York Fancy Food Show (FFS). The FFS is a forum for food manufacturers and distributors to show off their products to the grocers, caterers, restauranteurs, wholesalers and other potential buyers of large quantities of these items.

In addition to handing out order sheets and discussing the foods and beverages with their clientele, almost every purveyor offers samples of their products. This is where your eyes should perk up.

Imagine if you went into a Costco and they were offering samples of every single food and drink that they offer. Picture that this dream warehouse is about 250 times the size of a typical Costco food section. Finally, imagine that in addition to everything you normally find at Costco, there were thousands of exotic products like Jalapeno Lemonade, Pinot Noir Ice Cream, Wagyu Beef, and much, much, much more.

Not quite dessert wine, but....

How much more? Try over 2,300 different vendors showing off over 180,000 different items.

So what does this have to do with you, dear reader?

You are allowed to attend this sampling of food heaven.

If you register before June 27th, for a mere $35, you will have access to this wonderland of deliciousness. That's three days of access to a culinary cornucopia; truly the very best the world has to offer.

Whether you're looking for the world's hottest hot sauce, tantalizing Texan T-Bones, outstanding Italian olive oils, France's finest foie gras, or just about anything else you could possibly imagine, you can sample it freely at the Fancy Food Show.

I've had the genuine privilege of attending the FFS the past two years and each time it has been an eye-opening, thrilling experience. The purveyors, for the most part, are genuinely excited to have you sample their products and are happy to discuss them with their visitors. There are also opportunities to meet various culinary luminaries. Past exhibitors hawking their own products have included Emeril Lagasse, Rick Bayless, Paul Prudhomme, David Burke, and many more, if you're into that kind of thing.

For the last time, I'm not Dom DeLuise!

If you can make it for even one of the days, I suggest in the strongest possible terms that you sign up now, and thank me later. It will be the best $35 you spend this year.

Note: If you are in the San Francisco area, there will be a west coast version of the show January 18th - 20th, 2009.

Lunch Deals At Manhattan's Best Restaurants

Though I'm sad to report that some of my 10 favorite deals have ended or changed (related articles have been updated), I am reassured by the fact that many great lunch deals still exist. Here is a good sampling of lunch deals at some of New York's finest:

By STEVE CUOZZO, New York Post

June 11, 2008 --

ANTHOS, 36 W. 52nd St.; 212-582-6900. Its three-course, $28 lunch option is remarkable at a Michelin-starred place whose chef, Michael Psilakis, pioneered forward-Greek cooking and made this month's Food & Wine cover as one of the best new chefs in America.

BENOIT, 60 W. 55th St.; 646-943-7373. Alain Ducasse's new bistro isn't very expensive, but a daily $28, three-course menu (mounted on each table) is cheaper still, offering three courses in each category.

BLUE WATER GRILL, 31 Union Square West; 212-675-9500. One of the few places where a $24.07, three-course lunch is worth the trouble.

CHANTERELLE, 2 Harrison St.; 212-966-6960. Chef/owner David Waltuck offers a three-course lunch for $42, with three choices in each category at this TriBeCa classic (where lunch entrees run to $32 if ordered separately). The dishes vary from day to day, but include items from the $95 prix-fixe dinner menu, such as striped bass with wild mushroom broth.

CHINATOWN BRASSERIE, 380 Lafayette St.; 212-533-7000. At this colorful and trendy setting near Astor Place, the prix-fixe lunch is cheaper than in the real Chinatown, offering a choice of four dim sum dumplings plus an entrée for $12.

ELEVEN MADISON PARK, 11 Madison Ave.; 212-889-0905. Daily "market menu" lets you sample brilliant chef Daniel Humm's work for just $38 for two courses - yesterday, it was beet veloute and lamb belly.

GOTHAM BAR & GRILL, 12 E. 12th St.; 212-620-4020. Alfred Portale's perennial favorite can be raucous at night. It's more civilized at lunch, when entrees run to $28. But the three-course special is just $31, including such favorites as miso-marinated black cod with bok choy, shiitake mushrooms, sticky rice and soy lemongrass ginger sauce.

LE BERNARDIN, 155 W. 51st St.; 212-554-1515. It's hard to believe you can lunch for just $40 a head in a place with three Michelin stars, four New York Times stars, and the Zagat Survey's highest food ranking. The current City Harvest option buys you fluke, sauteed cod with broccoli rabe, chorizo and garlic cream, and chocolate peanut dessert, plus the house's signature salmon spread and cookies.

LE CIRQUE, 151 E. 58th St.; 212-644-0202. Who knew you could eat at the Maccioni family's legendary celebrity hangout for $28? That's the price of a great two-course menu in the spiffily redesigned café section, where choices include grilled dourade and monkfish.

LA GRENOUILLE, 3 E. 52nd St.; 212-752-1495. At the city's prettiest traditional French restaurant, the three-course lunch is a mere $55, compared to $95 at dinner. And you can spend even less - the a la carte option lets you order single courses such as grain-fed roast chicken ($29).

MICHAEL JORDAN'S STEAKHOUSE, Grand Central Terminal mezzanine; 212-655-2300. You can spend $40 for a single cut of meat here - or $24 for a three-course lunch that offers petit filet mignon and pan-seared wild striped bass among entrées, as well as a great view of the terminal floor.

MILOS, 125 W. 55th St.; 212-245-7400. At night, the city's priciest Greek place can easily set you back more than $100 a head, thanks to its fish-by-the-pound policy. But the $39, three-course lunchtime "business" menu is a steal and includes one of the joint's signature whole fishes simply grilled. A three-course option for just $24.07 is too limited.

OCEANA, 55 E. 54th St.; 212-759-5941. The luxurious seafood temple's three-course, $48 lunch has long been one of the city's best bargains, offering nearly as many choices as the $78 dinner menu. But a new, three-course option for $33 is simply shocking.

OSTERIA DEL CIRCO, 120 W. 55th St.; 212-265-3636. I blink every time I have the three-course, $28 lunch, which offers four generously sized choices of appetizer and entrée.

Good Eating at the Ball Park

For some unknown reason, going to baseball games makes me ravenous.  

The Baseball Food Pyramid

Evidently, I'm not the only one.  Here's a fun map of the best and worst foods available at each major league ball park.  Enjoy.

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2008/06/08/travel/20080608_BALLPARK_GRAPHIC.html

Big Apple BBQ Preview

My favorite weekend of the year, the Big Apple BBQ Block Party, is upon us.

With over a dozen different BBQ joints offering their wares this year, navigating the meaty landscape may require a guide.

I hereby humbly offer myself, if you choose to read on.

Our format will be as follows: I am dismissing all of the New York City restaurants in attendance. They are all too easy to try at any other time (including this very weekend after the festival hours end) to warrant consideration. That leaves us with the following contenders.

I will approach this from the standpoint that every BBQ lover has their own personal meat preference. This guide intends to steer you towards those pit masters who create versions of their meats that I believe to be the most outstanding relative to the average example. Without further adieu, here is the list:

If you can only eat one plate of BBQ…

Get a pulled pork sandwich from Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q, from Decatur, Alabama. Pit master Chris Lilly’s pork is chock full of nuanced smoky flavor and signature spices, while remaining moist and tender.

Bite into one of these sandwiches with your eyes closed and concentrate on letting flavors swirl around your mouth. You’ll understand why everyone is lining up.

If you can only eat two plates of BBQ…

Get a pulled pork sandwich from Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q and…

a plate of brisket and sausage from The Salt Lick, of Driftwood, Texas. Michael Rodriguez and crew are no longer the winners of the “longest distance traveled” award, but they are still the beef bbq kings. I’ll be the first to admit that their product is superior on their home turf (I’ve had the fortune of visiting the Driftwood local), but they are still turning out pink smoke laden beef and juicy, spicy sausage that bests the competition when they hit the big apple. Be sure to ask for a bit of the “moist” end of the brisket. You won’t be disappointed.

If you can only eat three plates of BBQ…

Get a pulled pork sandwich from Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q and a plate of brisket and sausage from The Salt Lick and…

a whole hog sandwich from Mitchell’s BBQ, of Wilson, North Carolina. For those unfamiliar to whole hog cooking, it involves slicing an entire pig right down the middle, seasoning the insides with spices and marinades and then smoking the whole thing on a huge grill. Whether your barbecue block party cravings lead you to sampling some of Ed Mitchell’s fine fare or not, you should definitely visit his area to check out the preparation process. Just like the enormous cauldron of Brunswick stew from the Proclamation Stew Crew, this is a spectacle not to be missed.

The meat, fortunately, more than makes up for the effort it takes to prepare it. Juicier than the traditional pulled pork sandwich, Mitchell’s whole hog is replete with a vinegar based sauce that gives it a kick not found in some of the other sandwiches on offering. The meat is rich and incredibly flavorful, though it lacks a bit of the complexity from smoke penetration found in the best pork shoulder creations.

If you can only eat four plates of BBQ…

Get a pulled pork sandwich from Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q and a plate of brisket and sausage from The Salt Lick, a whole hog sandwich from Mitchell’s BBQ and…

a plate of ribs from the17th Street Bar & Grill of Murphysboro, Illinois. Two years ago, I proclaimed these ribs to be the best thing I ate the whole weekend. Last year, the portion I received lacked the tenderness and balanced flavors of the prior festival's. These are traditional Memphis style baby back ribs which are dry rubbed to let the succulent meat shine.

Lovers of bbq baked beans should make it a particular point to stop by the 17th Street stand as their version (which is included with 2-3 ribs in their plate) is quite simply the finest I've ever tasted.

If you're going to get more than 4 plates, you probably know more about the festival than, me, so I'm not going to bother...

Good Things I've Made Recently (Kimchi Edition)

It’s been said that necessity is the mother of invention.

Nowhere is that statement truer than in the kitchen. How else could you explain the fact that humans eat (and even love) strange animal parts such as tripe, sweetbreads, foie gras, rocky mountain oysters and the like? Or that they’ve consumed horrible smelling fruit like durian?

I suppose that some of these culinary oddities might have been first consumed on a dare, but most likely these foods were first eaten by humans in order to survive. Figuring out how to make them taste great was simply a natural progression.

While I certainly am not in the dire straits of our ancestors, sometimes I find myself hungry, with little time to prepare a meal, and with a host of ingredients that don’t add up to the parts of any typical recipes.

It is at these times that I often have the most fun experimenting and creating new dishes that range from just plain awful (cornmeal and smoked salmon pancakes) to tasty/interesting (grilled scallop and jalapeno sandwiches on polenta rounds) to favorites that I add to my repertoire (see below).

The following are a couple of examples of the “hits” that I’ve come up with in the past few weeks.

Korean Rice Cakes with Kimchi, Bacon and Ramps

Whenever I find myself in Koreatown, I inevitably hit up the Korean grocery store on 32nd between 5th and 6th Avenues. It is filled with strange and interesting products that us round-eyes aren’t familiar with.

I happened to be on that block a few weeks ago and thought I’d stop by to pick up some kimchi for cooking with and just enjoying out of the jar. As it was by far the best deal, I ended up purchasing a three pound tub of the spicy pickled cabbage (which I’m still working though). I also snagged a bag of what is quickly becoming my favorite pasta substitute, Korean rice cakes.

The next day I had a softball game in the early afternoon and needed a hearty meal to sate myself before the game. With only an hour to cook and eat, I gazed into my nearly barren refrigerator. My eyes locked on to those delicious and fun to eat rice cakes. To that I decided to add a little protein, in the form of some Niman Ranch bacon I had left over from a Bucatini Alla’ Amantriciana I had made on Friday night.


To cut through a bit of the bacon’s fattiness, I decided (taking a page out of David Chang’s book) to throw in a bit of the aforementioned kimchi, which would also serve to flavor the rice cakes. Finally, I added in some fresh ramps, both the leaves and the firm bottoms, as my roommates were clamoring for me to get them out of the house (it seems they were causing a bit of a stench…)

I boiled about ¾ of a pound of the rice cakes while I fried three strips of bacon in a cast iron skillet. Normally, I cook bacon in an oven, but this time I wanted to catch the drippings to sauté the ramps and kimchi in.

When the bacon was properly crispy, I threw a ½ cup of Kimchi and its juices as well as 3 minced ramps into the bacon drippings. After four minutes, I tossed in the rice cakes and the bacon, which I had diced, and let the whole thing cook together for another two minutes.








What resulted was a fantastic mixture of textures, complex flavors and general yumminess. It was so good, in fact, that I made it for dinner that night as well. While I won’t be able to find ramps the rest of the year (they are highly seasonal), fresh garlic should be a fine stand-in. This dish is definitely going on the all-star list.

Jerk Mahi-Mahi Lettuce Wraps with Fresh Basil, Mint, Kimchi and Bean Sprouts

The second high quality dish I threw together over Memorial Day weekend. I had purchased some mahi mahi with the intention of making fish tacos for my roommates and I. It turned out, unfortunately, that they all had dates planned for that evening. Lazy as it sounds, I didn't feel like hitting up the grocery store to buy tortillas, jalapenos, and the like for a solo venture.

I decided to make do with what I had on hand and see what resulted.



I first rubbed the mahi mahi with jerk seasoning and sauteed it in a cast iron skillet over medium heat, for about four minutes per side. I then sliced the fish into portions small enough to fit into the lettuce wraps that I was going to use as a vessel to transport them from plate to mouth.

In addition to the jerk rubbed fish, I added bean sprouts, kimchi, fresh mint and fresh basil to the bibb lettuce leaves before consuming. The bean sprouts and kimchi added a nice crunch to the dish, while the herbs both tempered the spiciness of the jerk and kimchi and provided their own clean flavors that rounded out the dish.

The whole meal took about 15 minutes to prepare and turned out quite well. Next time I find myself with mahi mahi, I'm not so sure my first instinct will be fish tacos...

Fun With Miracle Fruit

Last night, I ripped into a ripe lemon. It tasted of delicious lemonade.


I tore into a tart lime. It tasted of Rose's Sweetened Lime Juice.


I scarfed down a fist full of goat cheese. It tasted like cheesecake.

I chugged a shot of Frank's Red Hot Sauce. It tasted like spicy fruit glaze.




Why was I eating these foods? And, more importantly, why did I perceive their taste differently? The answer is miracle fruit.



Inspired by a New York Times article (I was actually invited to the party discussed in the article, but could not attend), my roommate and I ordered miracle fruit tablets through e-bay.



We gathered a group of six adventurous palates and their possessors and let the tablets dissolve on our tongues. Ironically, the tablets tasted a bit sour themselves. After five to six minutes of rolling the tablet over my tongue, it had completely dissolved. The idea is that the protein in the fruit, called miraculin, will bind with the taste buds and act as a sweetness inducer when it comes in contact with acids.




We had set up a spread of foods that looked like some bizzaro buffet of things someone found around their house. The reality was that all of these items were selected for their acidity, bitterness or sourness that normally is tempered by a sweetener (e.g. sugar, honey, the Maillard reaction).



So what did they taste like?



The citrus fruits and hot sauce were the best of the bunch.


Grapefruit, a favorite of mine already, was especially delicious as its natural juices lost their astringency and simply refreshed with sweetness.



The hot sauce was a new experience entirely. It tasted as if someone had combined apple, mango and a dash of habanero, blended it with sugar and turned it into a syrup. Slightly piquant and wholly delicious.



The jalapeno actually lost its heat when eaten "on the pill" and the radish simply tasted like firm canned water chestnuts (a texture that I love, but somewhat bland). The gorgonzola cheese was made more mild by the pill and the brie tasted a bit sweeter, which did it well (as brie is often paired with fruit).

100% unsweetened chocolate was horrible, just as it is sans-miracle fruit. 70% was better, but didn't taste that different from a good 40-50% bar.

The schonzberries tasted like schonzberries.

The effect of the tablets wore off after about 15 minutes.

With the torrid pace we were eating at, that was probably a good thing.


There are no bad side effects to speak of, other that the fact that a few shots of hot sauce mixed with shots of apple cider vinegar (tasted like apple juice), oatmeal stout (chocolate milk) and all that citrus juice mixed in an empty stomach might not be the most savory combination.



In the end, it was a really fun experiment, that cost each patron about $5 a head for the pill and the food. Next time, we're going to try out the real berries.


Adventure to be continued....

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

9) Shun Lee Palace - $24.07 for three courses

I have been a huge fan of Chinese food since my first trip to the Great Wall Restaurant for my very first birthday party. I was placed in my high chair and given a bowl of rice to eat, as my palate wasn’t yet ready for the likes of moo goo gai pan.

I must have not appreciated the beauty of white rice yet (i.e. it’s great when you want to eat 2000 of something) so I decided I’d test out its value as a projectile. I proceeded to toss the rice every which way but into my mouth and soon there was a small mess in our general vicinity.

After throwing my stash of grains all over the restaurant from my assassin’s perch, the waiter, not-so-kindly, came over to our table and asked my family to leave immediately and never come back.

We heeded their warnings, but have sampled many other Chinese restaurants since. After hundreds of meals, in easily over 100 Chinese restaurants from Hawaii to Prague, without question, the best several Chinese meals of my life have been at Shun Lee Palace on 55th Street between Lexington and 3rd Avenues.

Shun Lee has a mixture of familiar Chinese-American staples (Sweet and Sour Pork, Orange Beef, Lemon Chicken) as well as several dishes not found anywhere else I’ve visited (Szechuan Style Alligator, Slippery Chicken, Sweetbreads with Black Mushrooms, Ants Climb On Tree). The significant difference between Shun Lee and everywhere else I’ve tried has been the ingredient quality (impeccable) and skill of the kitchen in letting those fantastic meats and vegetables shine.

As can be expected, Shun Lee is a pricey restaurant where one could easily spend $50-70 a person for a three course dinner. Luckily, those in the know can go for lunch, where a delicious and filling 3 course lunch will only run you $24.07.

I highly recommend starting off with the Chicken Soong, a lettuce leaf filled with diced, stir-fried chicken and vegetables in a fantastic sweet and savory sauce. This dish is so good in fact, that I now make my own version at home at least once a month. It’s quite tasty, but I still haven’t matched the perfect mixture of crunchy vegetables and balanced sauce that Shun Lee manages to create.

While you really can’t go wrong with any of the entrée choices, the Peking Prawns are particularly memorable for their ability to frame the succulent crustaceans in a slightly spicy and savory sauce that manages to work as a foil to their sweetness without overpowering it.

For those who love lamb, the Hunan Lamb is one of my favorite preparations I’ve had for this flavorful meat. Very tender and juicy slices of roasted lamb are slathered in a piquant, flavorful sauce that works very well with the natural flavor of the meat. Other good choices I’ve had include the Mo-Shu Pork with Chinese Crepes (just plain fun to eat) and the Heavenly Fish Fillet (while not divine, pretty damn good).

Dessert is your choice of either fresh pineapple (refreshing and light) or ice cream (go for the pistachio).

Every time I’ve gone to Shun Lee I’ve walked away feeling very full and happy and feeling like I really got a great value for my dining dollar.

Insider’s Tip: There is a second location on West 65th Street and Broadway, but this location does not have the lunch deal. They do, however, serve a mean Dim Sum that the east side branch does not offer.



10) Gray's Papaya Recession Special ($3.50 for Two Dogs and A Papaya Drink)


Whether or not we are in a recession is a matter of constant public debate.



One fact that can't be disputed is that Gray's Papaya's recession special is one of the great deals in New York City.


Though the hot dog may have a humble pedigree, Gray's and a few others in the five boroughs (Nathans, Papaya King, et. al.) take this simple sausage to a new level.







By using high quality meat, seasoned perfectly and cooked correctly, these hot dog palaces churn out frankfuters so delicious that people don't laugh when Papaya King proclaims their weiner to be "tastier than filet mignon."






Gray's Papaya cooks their franks on a foil covered griddle. This allows for the dog to have maximum contact with the heating element, giving the weenie its signature flavor and snappy crunch that could never be achieved by boiling a frankfurter würstel.











In addition to two delicious dogs, your recession special comes with the truly refreshing eponymous 14 oz. papaya drink; a match made in dog heaven.

Like a beer and a burger or red wine and steak, the sweet, milky papaya beverage is a perfect foil to the spice of the hot dog. You'll wonder why you've never had this drink at a cook-out before.

Best of all, sampling two of New York's finest edible canines and one of it's signature drinks will only set you back $3.50. Recession or not, that's a special deal.



Insider’s Tip: There are three Grey's Papaya locations (539 Eighth Avenue at 37th Street, 402 Sixth Avenue at 8th Street, and 2090 Broadway at 72nd Street) and each is open 24 hours a day. That means you could be eating there right now. What are you waiting for?

Gluttony Weekend

My little brother (who at 6”6, 250 lbs is actually not so little) was in town this weekend. Being a food lover runs in the family, so I tried to show him both a good time and a few of the vittles that make New York City justifiably famous.

In trying to feed him a little of everything he "needed" to try in his 48 hours in the city, we ate everything in our path, which isn’t surprising since we set our path based on where the good food was. Here’s an exhaustive list of everything consumed this weekend. 

Please don’t try this at home.

Shake Shack
Shack Stack – Cheeseburger and Deep Fried Cheese and Onion Stuffed Portobello Mushroom on Potato Roll

Cheeseburger

Resto
Spiced Lamb Ribs Yogurt, Pickled Tomato

Lamb Belly Snap & English Peas, Tendrils, Leaves, Goat Cheese

Gruyere Cheeseburger, French Fries, Greens

Green Hornet - aviation, citrus, wild ramp leaves

Luzzo

Coal Oven Pepperoni Pizza

Radegast Beer Hall
1 Erdinger Hefe-Weizen
1 Weihenstephaner Dunkel Weisse

Vento
Oven roasted beets, fresh robiola drizzle, chive & walnut crumble

Truffled cornmeal fries, gorgonzola sauce

Seafood Salad - shrimp, scallop, calamari, farro, cucumber, tomato, garlic-oregano dressing

Pizza - spicy sausage, roasted peppers

Fettucini Carbonara - crispy bacon, caramelized onion, pecorino

Glass of Nero D'avola cusumano, sicilia 2005

Grilled veal skirt steak, crispy bliss potato,pickled vegetable salad

Pistachio Crunch Gelato

Tailor

"Solids" - Cuba Libre, Ramon Gin Fizz, White Russian

Agua Verde - Tequila, Tomatillo, Habanero, Cilantro

Artichoke

Margherita Slice

Artichoke Slice

Sarge’s
American Cheese Omelet, French Fries, Pickles, Cole Slaw

Steven Tannenbaum’s Apartment
1 Hamburger
1 Hot Dog
Way too many Ranch Doritos

Nice (New) Green Bo
Steamed Tiny Buns (with Pork)
Fried Pork Dumplings
Scallion Pancake
Hot & Sour Soup
Sesame Chicken
Hot & Spicy Shredded Beef
Eggplant with garlic sauce

My Ten Favorite Deals in Manhattan (Part 4 of 5)

7) $28 Prix Fixe Lunch at Jean Georges

One of the great features of New York's dining scene is that a lot of difficulties that arise in sampling the city's best places simply go away when you choose to eat lunch rather than dinner at these places. Table availability, service and most importantly price tend to improve if you are willing to eat earlier in the day.

Many famous restaurants have prix fixe lunch specials ranging from Subway to Joel Robuchon.

While all three of the city's three Michelin Star restaurants (each also received 4 New York Times Stars) have prix fixe lunch menus, their prices are vastly different.

Per Se - $275- 9 courses

Le Bernardin - $66 - 3 courses

Jean Georges - $28 - 2 courses, each additional course is $12

See where I'm going here?

Diners get to select from the same courses available to dinner patrons (who pay $98 for three courses) and construct their own perfect lunch.

You can sample some of the most highly regarded food in the world, for not much more than an entree at a very average midtown restaurant costs.

High end food doesn't always have to be high cost. This is a perfect example.

Insider's Tip: Another spectacular deal is available in Jean George's bar area, called Nougatine. A 3 course prix fixe meal is $24 and is both significantly easier to get reservations for and available on weekends (Jean Georges is closed for lunch on weekends).

8) Soup and Sandwich at the Bar at Gramercy Tavern ($14)

In keeping with this post's theme of sampling a bit of "the good life" for a reasonable price, this deal allows you to sample some of the Gramercy Tavern's three star food for a fraction of the price of a dinner there.

The restaurant has a beautiful, comfortable bar where patrons can sit with friends, chat up the bartender or relax with a good book while sampling some of the city's best food. When dining at said bar, the option exists to indulge in the daily Soup and Sandwich Special.

Both the soup and sandwich options change on a daily basis (usually one soup and two types of sandwiches are offered).

Some of the delicious soups I've sampled include Spring Pea with Mint and Creme Fraiche, Smoked Tomato Cream, and Roast Carrot.

Past sandwich choices I've enjoyed have included Rare Roast Beef on Grilled Focaccia, Roasted Rabbit Salad (basically a hare-brained version of the best chicken salad you can imagine) on Country French Bread (that had been soaked in olive oil and grilled) and a BBQ Pulled Pork sandwich.

Sitting at the bar in the warmly decorated Tavern area and enjoying perfectly prepared food made with top notch ingredients is one of the true pleasures I've experienced in the city.  I think you will find the experience is well worth the (relatively) meager cost.

Insider's Tip:  The menu changes daily and is not published anywhere.  Give the restaurant a call and ask the hostess what the day's options are.

My Ten Favorite Deals in Manhattan (Part 3 of 5)

5) The Secret Lunch Take-out Menu at Pamplona

Created as a "courtesy to the neighborhood" (though they don't exactly check ID's), this New York Times two star restaurant is serving up Sandwiches ($5.95), Salads (Price varies depending on ingredients) and Soups ($3.95) that are far better than your standard deli fare.

Sandwiches may include Roast Chicken and Avocado, Grilled Steak and Manchego Cheese and Roasted Vegetable with Guindilla Pepper Aioli (spicy mayo in layman's terms). All are served on crispy, flavorful grilled focaccia bread that gives the right frame for the wonderful ingredient picture painted inside.

Salads can be constructed using the various seasonal ingredients of your choosing. Traditional Spanish treats like manchego cheese and piquillo peppers replace the tired options from the ubiquitous deli multi-plexs of world cuisines that feed the automatons in business suits who populate midtown during the day.

Soups have included winter warmers like Chorizo and Chicken or fresh takes on classics like a Green Gazpacho with bits of Cabrales cheese and fresh vegetables, depending on the mood of the chef.

My favorite is the soup and half sandwich combination that lets you enjoy a couple of delicious treats for only $5.

Now if only I worked in the neighborhood...

Insider's Tip: The menu is not posted anywhere and changes daily, so simply ask the hostess for the Take-out Menu when you arrive.

6) Four Course Dinner at Sonar Gaow, $7.95

Manhattan is full of "districts" where one can find dozens of stores selling the exact same items, all in one particular area.  There is a diamond district (47th St), a garment district (south of Times Square), lighting and restaurant supply districts (the Bowery), and not one but two Indian restaurant districts.

Lexington Avenue between 26th and 29th Streets contains no less than 25 Indian restaurants ranging from fast food to high end fine dining.  The land that these restaurants occupy has historically been called Murray Hill.  Today, everyone knows that stretch of real estate as Curry Hill.

A second Indian restaurant district exists on 6th Street between 1st and 2nd Avenues.  Affectionately known as Curry Row, this one block is home to approximately 14 Indian restaurants.  As there is incredible competition for your dining dollars, these restaurants all try to outdo one another with various perks including live music, ostentatious decor, BYOB policies and multi-course fixed price menus that are cheaper than single appetizers at many restaurants in the city.

My favorite deal of the many on Curry Row is at Sonar Gaow.

Sonar is a BYOB (with no corkage fees), has friendly, if not fast service and gives you the following for $7.95:

Mulligatawny soup

Choice of appetizer (I'm partial to the Meat Samosas)

Choice of entree (Chicken tandoori is a reliable choice)

Naan, Rice Pilaf, Dhal, Cabbage, Kasundi (onion Relish),  and various Chutneys

Mango Ice Cream

I've been no less than 10 times to this electric chili-pepper bedecked establishment and have always come away full and happy.  Bring a bottle of wine (or several), relax and know that you're getting the benefit of market capitalism in action, and it tastes delicious.

Insider's Tip:  This is a great location for birthday parties and the staff is happy to accommodate.  Just call a couple hours ahead of time and let them know your party's size so they can prepare for your arrival.

My Ten Favorite Deals in Manhattan (Part 2 of 5)

3) $1.75 Slices at Naples 45

To someone who knows nothing about Manhattan real estate, Naples 45 would be a baffling establishment.

If you sit in the dining room and consume their personal 10-inch pizza, it will cost you approximately $16.

If you buy the same pizza, but have it delivered, it will run you $7.50-$10.

If you purchase the pizza acreage equivalent of said pie (2 large slices) at their take out area, it will run you $5-$7.

Finally, we come to the deal.

Any one of their slices (I’m partial to the funghi, pepperoni or roasted vegetable) will only set you back $1.75 if you can hold out until 2 P.M. The deal also runs until 8 P.M. if you’re looking for an easy early dinner.

This is no average slice either.

The dough is properly thin, crisp and chewy. The San Marzano tomato sauce is slightly sweet and matches perfectly with the creamy fresh mozzarella and salty, meaty (even when they are veggie) toppings. The deal is somewhat well known, but in this case, that’s a good thing. This means fresh pizzas are coming out every few minutes ready to sate the cheapskates.

The real estate lesson here is that taking up space in Grand Central costs a lot of money. Great pizza doesn't have to.

Insider's tip: Due to its extremely thin crust, this pizza loses heat very quickly. If you like your pizza hot, I'd recommend eating at the bar set up for doing just that in the take out area.

4) Happy Hour at Sapa 

(WARNING - SAPA is set to close in June 2008)

There are lots of great happy hour deals around the city.

Unfortunately, most of them are at dive bars or less-than-hip places that need the deep discounts to get people in the door.

Sapa, a French-Asian restaurant on 24th Street and 6th Avenue, has beautiful people, attractive decor (from my favorite design firm AvroKo) and an interesting and delicious happy hour menu.

I've had everything on the menu and there's not a disappointment in the bunch. My favorite are the potato knishes which are fried in duck fat to give them a crispy, flavorful crust surrounding warm creamy mashed potatoes. Best of all, the various small plates will run you only $3-$4 a piece. Raw oysters are only $1 a pop, which isn't much more than the price you'd pay at a seafood market.

In addition to the fun and tasty treats on the happy hour menu, Sapa has drink specials including $3 beers, $4 wines and $5 martinis; very reasonable prices given the price of alcohol at most establishments of Sapa's ilk.

The happy hour menu is available from 5:30 to 7:30 every weeknight. Its a great way to start an evening on the town.