The best new cheap snacks in New York
If you’re looking for a quick bite, sample one of our picks for the city’s best new, fun snacks.
Tue Jun 19 2012
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The best cheap eats in New York
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The best new cheap snacks
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The new cheap-eats classics
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Food photos: The best cheap eats in New York
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Cheap eats poll
Cheap eats in NYC: The best budget dining in New York
The best cheap eats in NYC aren't limited to bigger plates: Small, affordable bites can be found at venues throughout the city, from artisanal snacks at flea markets and food fairs to elevated bar grub at nightlife spots. Check out our picks for the best cheap snacks in the city, including both sweet and savory noshes.
The Finger at Sticky’s Finger Joint
- Price band: 1/4
This month-old takeout shop serves an elevated version of the humble chicken finger, using sustainably sourced fowl and offering toppings such as candied citrus zest, and crushed pretzel and caramel sauce. But a strips emporium must be judged by the basics, and Sticky’s classic battered-and-fried breasts—“The Finger”—are par excellence. Order a small ($6.75) and you’ll be rewarded with three fat slabs of juicy buttermilk-marinated white meat covered with crispy-crunchy Southern-style breading that’s been showered with slivers of parsley and sea salt. There are more than a dozen sauces to choose from: We like “Sticky’s” (a creamy Alabama-style BBQ with a bit of heat) and “Cray” (jalapeño, cilantro, pineapple, saltines).
- 31 W 8th St, (between Fifth and Sixth Aves), 10011
Perfect Little Egg Sandwich at Dominique Ansel Bakery
- Price band: 1/4
Standard-bearing desserts are the primary reason to pop into former Daniel pastry chef Dominique Ansel’s Soho bakery. But if you’re there before noon, be sure to order this aptly named breakfast creation ($5), what might happen to the McMuffin if a four-star French chef took over McDonald’s. A thick square of fluffy steamed egg (laced with caramelized shallots and chives) is wedged inside a sweet brioche bun and topped with melted Gruyère.
- 189 Spring St, (between Sullivan and Thompson Sts)
Sandcastles from Black and Blanco
Steve Blanco and Heidi Karlsen like to promote their “sandie” shortbread cookies as feel-good delights, a wheat-free dessert made with extra-virgin coconut oil and 100 percent whole-grain rye sourced from New York State. But you won’t be mulling the health benefits while devouring their crumbly Moroccan-inspired Sandcastles cookies (box of seven $4.99–$5.99). Like shortbread with Fertile Crescent spicing, these crisp, buttery babies marry flavor and texture in one perfect bite. Inspired by Blanco’s mother’s ghoriba, the nutty confections she made in her native northern Africa, the treats come in three flavors: Vanilla is sprinkled with black sesame seeds; marzipan is flavored with almonds and topped with crushed nuts; and a maple-dusted variety is topped with crushed pumpkin seeds. • Available at Westerly Natural Market, 913 Eighth Ave at 54th St (212-586-5262, westerlynaturalmarket.com) • New Amsterdam Market, South St between Beekman St and Peck Slip (newamsterdammarket.org). Sun 11am–4pm.
Chinese hamburger with pork at Panda Dumpling House
The dumplings ($1–$2.50) at this new Chinatown takeout spot are stellar—they’re made-to-order and filled with everything from fried leeks to pork and bok choy. But for superb snacking, our money’s on the “burger” ($2.50), a dense, almost buttery bun (it’s practically a biscuit) that’s griddled, split side to side and stuffed with sweet chunks of slow-cooked pork belly that’s slathered with a tangy-sweet Asian barbecue sauce. Paper-thin slices of pickled cucumber top the creation, best enjoyed with a squirt of sriracha for extra kick. • (212-625-1115)
- 67A Eldridge St between Grand and Hester Sts
Mille-Feuille at Mille-Feuille
Owner Olivier Dessyn worked with famous pastry chef Pierre Hermé in Paris before coming to New York to bake true croissants at this unassuming spot in the shadow of NYU’s Bobst Library. The namesake dessert ($4.75)—pronounced “meel-foy,” it means “thousand layers”—is a neat three-layer rectangle of flaky puff pastry and crème patisserie (a luscious custard lightly flavored with vanilla bean, praline or raspberry), all of which shatters into shards of crunch and cream when you break it with your fork. To-go orders come in a little box marked MILLE FEUILLE TIME! that unfolds like the petals of a flower when you pop its top.
- 552 Laguardia Pl, (between Bleecker and 3rd Sts)
Pork sticky rolls from Northern Spy on the High Line
- Rated as: 4/5
- Critics choice
- Free
Recently, this East Village farm-to-table restaurant joined a slew of top-notch food vendors selling bites atop the wildly popular elevated park. Along with flaky buttermilk biscuits (paired with Edwards country ham or homemade seasonal jams), Northern Spy will be selling its pork-studded sticky roll ($3.75), a shopping-mall-meets-downtown-Manhattan creation that combines a soft pinwheel of yeast dough with hunks of slow-cooked, cinnamon-spiced pork sourced from Flying Pigs Farm. Before it’s served, the dish is heated and topped with a glaze fortified with maple and Dijon, plus parsnip icing. • (northernspyfoodco.com)
- On the High Line between W 15th and W 16th Sts at Tenth Ave
Ham-and-Gruyère muffin at Hungry Ghost
- Price band: 1/4
This pretty café is one of a handful of eateries now upping the culinary ante near the soon-to-open Barclays Center. Owner Murat Uyaroglu partnered with Pete Solomita, the baker from Sunset Park’s Little Buddy Biscuit Company, to turn out goodies that include a suite of savory breakfast muffins. The smoky Black Forest ham, thyme and Gruyère variety ($2.75) is eggy and rich, almost like a mini quiche. Perfectly sized to eat from one hand, it’s the ideal portable hangover killer.
- 253 Flatbush Ave, (at Sixth Ave)
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