576471 Mon Dec 01 13:57:48 -0800 2008 34 18 Manhattan 0 4212517 Anyone offering any great specials in these trying economic times? Lunch or dinner... Mon Dec 01 13:57:48 -0800 2008 244832 StephInNYC 1 4212570 Everyone. Everywhere. Though most of the best deals are being offered during lunch. Jean George, Gotham Bar & Grill, Milos, Oceana, Perry Street , Tabla and Grayz are all offering prix fixe lunch for $35 or less. Mon Dec 01 14:17:13 -0800 2008 4212517 138819 Julz124 2 4212673 Fleur de Sel also has a prix fixe under 35. Convivo's isn't bad either from my memory. Mon Dec 01 14:59:03 -0800 2008 4212570 213669 silencespeak 3 4217235 Fleur de Sel offers two lunch prix-fixes: 3 courses @ $29 and 5 courses @ $46. Convivio's 4-course prix-fixe is $49 at lunch and $59 at dinner. Allegretti, the new French Provencal restaurant, has a 3-course lunch prix-fixe for $28. I believe they will also be offering an early 3-course dinner prix-fixe for $35 (served until 6:30 p.m.). Wed Dec 03 08:51:32 -0800 2008 4212673 13867 RGR 1 4212750 The $35 prix-fixe dinner at Compass is one of the best deals around. Mon Dec 01 15:26:03 -0800 2008 4212517 126803 rrems 1 4212805 Rack & Soul on 109th between Bway and Amst has a Recession Special thru Inauguration Day - $15 for lunch, $20 for dinner gets you entree, 2 sides, biscuits, beverage, dessert and tax. Also, they have downsized and are no longer on Bway but are around the corner. Mon Dec 01 15:46:10 -0800 2008 4212517 244867 opera88 1 4213198 whew, aren't those are 'recession' specials priced for financier's who got out on a golden parachute? ;) right now, i feel recessed enough to call upon favorites like noche mexicana, ivo & lulu, the $5 chicken rice plates from halal carts, the ikea cafeteria (not in manhattan, but the bus is free :), any of those hot dog places with the word "papaya" in the name, ruben's empanadas, caracas arepa bar, the soft tofu and zongzi ("chinese tamales") vendors near the grand/chrystie st. subway stop. Mon Dec 01 18:43:23 -0800 2008 4212517 64215 cimui 2 4214911 Could you elaborate on the zongzi? Sounds awesome. Thanks. Tue Dec 02 11:48:04 -0800 2008 4213198 28969 D...DF 3 4215442 they sell zongzi everyhwere (in chinatown) with all different fillings. most dimsum places have them as well as most chinese supermarkets. a lot of snacky type restaurants have them too like shanghai café i think. Tue Dec 02 14:25:59 -0800 2008 4214911 152700 Renguin 4 4215531 yes, thanks for answering, renguin. D...DF, you can't throw a pebble in Chinatown without hitting a zongzi (or zonghzi) vendor. general background: zongzi are made out of glutinous rice, usually formed into triangular or rectangular shapes, generally filled, wrapped and steamed in bamboo leaves, which impart a really nice fragrance, much as corn husks do in the most common tyle of tamale. there's a picture and more information on the wiki entry for zongzi: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zongzi the best ones, IMO, are full of fatty pork belly. like lard in corn tamales, the pork fat melts into the rice for a supremely well flavored, tender, and fragrant dish. they're generally $2 or less, depending on your bargaining abilities. (i generally don't like to bargain down too much.) other fillings include mixtures of boiled peanuts and vegetables. btw, profuse apologies for crap editing in my previous post. take out the "are" in the first sentence and the apostrophe in financier's. too much re-writing on the fly, without enough proofreading. glad it was still somewhat comprehensible. Tue Dec 02 14:59:03 -0800 2008 4215442 64215 cimui 5 4215669 Renguin and cimui, thanks for following up. I've eaten hundreds of Zaongzi, just never knew the name (did a lot of pointing instead). Tue Dec 02 15:48:13 -0800 2008 4215531 28969 D...DF 6 4215726 very cool. i love ppl who eat things when they have no idea what they are. definitely a chowhound after my own heart! Tue Dec 02 16:09:41 -0800 2008 4215669 64215 cimui 2 4215436 i actually don't find caracas arepa bar to be in the same league as the others you've mentioned. I easily spend at least 20-25 dollars there, and that's still keeping an eye on prices. Tue Dec 02 14:24:31 -0800 2008 4213198 152700 Renguin 3 4215547 oh, wow, I think my meals are usually to the tune of $6 to $8. i don't get the more expensive plates; one arepa is enough to fill me up or, if i'm very hungry, two empanadas. i also don't tend to go there for meals with friends, for some reason, in the same way we'd go to flor's kitchen (now deceased -- RIP!). there, the addition of sides and the inevitable pitcher of sangria jacked up prices by a lot. either way, hungry, recession-clobbered hounds should know that it's possible to eat at caracas for not too much $$. (but it's still cheaper to eat at home. i just can't make arepas nearly as well as they can!) Tue Dec 02 15:07:35 -0800 2008 4215436 64215 cimui 4 4215592 Well if people are in LES they could go to Dumpling House, and get fried dumplings and a wonton soup for $2.50 or so. Tue Dec 02 15:19:57 -0800 2008 4215547 243614 Wpark01 5 4215734 yes, great suggestion! it's shocking, but the dumplings are *still* 5 for $1 after all these years. even mamoun's upped their prices a bit in the past year. Tue Dec 02 16:11:49 -0800 2008 4215592 64215 cimui 6 4216968 "it's shocking, but the dumplings are *still* 5 for $1 after all these years. " No they're not. The prices went up to 4 for $1 in January of 2008 after they renovated. http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/468847 Wed Dec 03 07:10:42 -0800 2008 4215734 10162 Bob Martinez 7 4217057 ok, i'll think about rescinding my shock. but really, 4 dumplings / $1 is still not too shabby. Wed Dec 03 07:47:44 -0800 2008 4216968 64215 cimui 8 4217128 I haven't been back since they raised their prices. In part that was because of a number of recommendations to try out Prosperity Dumpling, also on Eldridge a couple of blocks south. They're still holding the line at 5 for $1. The ambiance is nicer at Vanessa's (the original Dumpling House.) There's now more seating and the surroundings are more polished in a fast food kind of way. (In this case that's a good thing.) Unfortunately the expanded seating has resulted in larger crowds so the net effect is a wash. Prosperity follows the old Dumpling House formula. There's rudimentary counter seating for 6 and it's marginally cleaner than the old DH. When it's full the place is pretty uncomfortable. For the life of me I can't distinguish between the dumplings at the 2 venues. They're standard issue but with the twin virtues of being fresh and dirt cheap. I've had equivalent dumplings all around the city but at 4 times the price. Wed Dec 03 08:10:33 -0800 2008 4217057 10162 Bob Martinez 9 4217278 goodness. it may be a 25% increase in price, but that translates into 25 cents. in absolute terms, it's not very much. i always had to fight the urge to give them more money than they were charging, anyway. i do quite enjoy being a cheapskate, but it actually embarrasses me to pay so little when i easily blow many, many times that amount on far less delicious meals -- say for a mediocre lunchtime salad in midtown. thanks for the great tips, though. it reminds me of how much i need and want to reacquaint myself with that area! Wed Dec 03 09:03:51 -0800 2008 4217128 64215 cimui 9 4221104 While we're on $1 dumpling places, I found ones I like more than Prosperity this past weekend. It's located on Mosco St (tiny little street between Mulberry and Mott way down South, just before both streets end). The sign only says "Fried Dumpling", so I don't know the name, but man were they good. They kept the fried dumplings on a warmer that crisps them as they sit. I felt that the pork inside was better than other $1 dumpling's I've had, and I believe they were 5 for $1, not 4 for $1. Here's a link to the Street View of the place: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=mosco+st+new+york&sll=40.746135,-73.975689&sspn=0.006308,0.010986&g=236+E+36th+St,+New+York,+NY+10016&ie=UTF8&ll=40.715501,-73.995817&spn=0.00958,0.022745&z=16&iwloc=addr&layer=c&cbll=40.714478,-73.999169&panoid=4MIyXH1df9SYBVsSNB9X3Q&cbp=12,302.01961150276867,,0,10.764167824839667 Thu Dec 04 14:57:00 -0800 2008 4217128 88180 heWho 10 4221223 very nice! this deserves its own thread! would you do us the honor? Thu Dec 04 15:37:14 -0800 2008 4221104 64215 cimui 10 4232733 Bingo. Mosco St. is the best. No tables, a "bar" along the back wall with 5 or 6 stools. Usually we stand on the street and scarf them down in 2 minutes, really fun in winter when you're freezing and they're blisteringly hot. I'm not a fan of styrofoam and plastic forks but I make the exception here. You can also take them home uncooked. Still 5 for a buck last I saw which I think was a few weekends ago. Tue Dec 09 11:03:42 -0800 2008 4221104 139577 jbwalker 10 4245517 Mosco street is a little haven of unusual food delight. I just went there for the Thai grocery store yesterday and was tempted by the same dumpling place. I'm sorry now that I didn't pop in. Sun Dec 14 07:00:46 -0800 2008 4221104 10273 redbecca 10 4246976 As I understand, it's in fact called "Fried Dumpling," or at least that's the English name of the little chain. Sun Dec 14 19:58:55 -0800 2008 4221104 17058 Pan 5 4217737 The lower parts of the Lower East Side are full of cheap treats like the siu mei takeaway on Chrystie that offers sells generous portions of rice with the finest char siu I've tasted for only $2.50. There's at least a pound of meat per order. Or the vast selection of banh mi under $4 throughout the area. Pho can provide a sustaining meal for most of the day for only $5. But none of these are new deals for the current economic climate. They're just the meals the rest of us have been eating while saving ourselves a few bucks in the old economy! Wed Dec 03 11:19:50 -0800 2008 4215592 68363 JungMann 6 4217821 oops, you're right. the Rack & Soup recession special that opera 88 id's is probably the only one that really counts. it's just that i'm starting to forget that there was a time when we weren't in a recession. (that gray's papaya special has been around a long time!) Wed Dec 03 11:47:35 -0800 2008 4217737 64215 cimui 7 4230699 Oddly enough, I had dumplings from there while on Jury duty in early November. Found them to be pretty good. For me, my favorite Dumpling are at the moment still Dumpling House. Prosperity was also good, but I preferred the stuff at Dumpling house due to the expanded menu. Mon Dec 08 16:31:36 -0800 2008 4217821 243614 Wpark01 8 4231971 i have to confess that one of the reasons why i like jury duty (really and truly i do!) is because of all the great lunch options in that part of town. if every court house in the country had a dumpling house or great pho place next to it, i'm convinced that jury duty would be something that everyone looked forward to. =) Tue Dec 09 07:21:14 -0800 2008 4230699 64215 cimui 9 4247593 Cimui, not only do i like jury duty because it's near Chinatown, I also rate my jobs largely by how good the neighborhood is for lunch. Anyhow, am I alone in liking those Chinatown lunches of rice with 1-3 toppings that cost about $4.50? It's been awhile, but the one I liked was beef with pickled vegetables. Mon Dec 15 07:11:22 -0800 2008 4231971 42864 rteplow 1 4219093 Vietnamese places in chinatown. $5.95 for a noodle bowl with everything, throw some sriracha (or i like the chili paste) and most of the time i end up eating a late dinner because i'm not hungry when i get home. Wed Dec 03 19:48:22 -0800 2008 4212517 167087 ctdubbin 1 4232011 Le Gigot has a three course dinner prix fixe for $45 and had a nice selection of options. They also have a lunch one for quite a bit less, but I don't remember how much it is. Tue Dec 09 07:38:33 -0800 2008 4212517 10985 MMRuth 2 4232065 weird. just started a similar post in the outer boroughs section. don't forget grey's hot dogs. they even have a recession deal of their own... Tue Dec 09 07:56:08 -0800 2008 4232011 48024 oystersallday 1 4246920 I like Buddha BBeeQ, a Korean BBQ, in the UES. You can ge a hearty meal for around $10. Sun Dec 14 19:34:27 -0800 2008 4212517 62257 Little Cupcake 1 4247718 I think this one at Momofuku noodle is pretty good...and of course there is always Gray's Papaya... http://eater.com/archives/2008/12/momofuku_noodle_bar_launches_45_prix_fixe.php Mon Dec 15 08:05:13 -0800 2008 4212517 10479 Cpalms