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New York City
Eating & Drinking
You can eat exceptionally well in New York City and pay a fortune doing so, fortunately there are also plenty of cheap places where you can grab a bagel, pretzel, hot dog or a slice of pizza.
Many New Yorkers start the day with a bagel and coffee. You can head to any deli or find a bagel stand near Central Park. H&H Bagels (639 W 46th Street, New York, NY 10036; bus M50 & 2239 Broadway, New York, NY 10024; subway 79th Street (1); website www.handhbagel.com) are a New York institution and their two Manhattan stores sell fresh bagels around the clock. You could also head to Zabar’s (2245 Broadway, New York, NY 10024; subway 79th Street (1); website www.zabars.com) for a bagel and coffee and then stock up on picnic supplies at their legendary delicatessen.
Another delicatessen worth mentioning is Katz’s (205 E Houston Street, New York, NY 10002; subway 2nd Avenue-Lower East Side (F, V), Essex Street-Delancey Street (F, J, M, Z); website www.katzdeli.com). This famous deli attracts famous customers that come for its amazing sandwiches, but it is most famous for the fake orgasm scene from When Harry Met Sally.
Only a vegetarian would visit New York and not eat a hot dog and Gray’s Papaya is reputed to have the best hot dogs in the city. This local institution is famous for its hot dogs and fruit juice and has three locations (539 8th Avenue, New York, NY 10018; subway 34th Street-Penn Station (A, C, E); 402 6th Avenue, New York, NY 10011; subway Christopher Street-Sheridan Square (1); W 4th Street (A, B, C, D, E, F, V); PATH 9th Street & 2090 Broadway, New York, NY 10023; subway 72nd Street (1, 2, 3)) that are open 24 hours. A hot dog at Gray’s Papaya is $1.25 and their Recession Special (two hot dogs and a drink) is $3.50.
Even though Seinfield stopped running in 1998, many visitors to New York City make a pilgrimage to Tom’s Restaurant (2880 Broadway, New York, NY 10025; subway Cathedral Parkway-110th Street), which was the setting for Monk’s Café in the show. Unfortunately Soup Kitchen International – the inspiration for the Soup Nazi episode – on W 55th Street closed in late 2006 although the legend lives on in the spin-off Original Soup Man franchise (website www.originalsoupman.com) with seven Manhattan locations.
While New York has an abundance of virtually every type of shop, you would be hard pressed to find a decent supermarket in Manhattan. Supermarkets in “the city” are generally small and not much bigger than a large convenience store and you need to venture out to Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island or New Jersey for a decent supermarket – or you could stay in Manhattan and live on bagels and hot dogs.
