10 of the best low-budget meals in New York City that are worth the journey

I spent a lot of time dining out this year. I went to at least 70 restaurants for this outlet, and that doesn’t include all the places I tried just because I love eating out in New York City.

The restaurants that excited me most this year are the ones that have been around for a while. They’ve got some history. They’re the OGs, the ones that have made New York City one of the most exciting places in the world to eat.

Don’t get me wrong – I love a buzzy new spot. But I don’t love fighting against bots for a reservation, or spending $100 on a weeknight dinner.

Below are the places that left me remembering what I ate — months after I visited — and left me wanting to return. You easily eat for under $50 a person at all of these places, and for much less than that at many.

Goody’s in Rockaway Beach

Hands down one of my most memorable meals was from Goody’s in Rockaway Beach. Easily accessible via the A train and located on Amstel Boulevard by Beach 70th Street, Goody’s has some of the best barbecue I’ve had in the city.

Open since 1989, they’ve got a variety of platters to choose from. Ribs. Jerk chicken. Curry goat with macaroni and cheese, collard greens and rice. And then there’s the fried chicken, which is some of the best around.

Abuqir in Queens

Ahmed Ibrahim moved to the United States from Alexandria, Egypt in 1993 and to Queens in 1996 and opened Abuqir in the Little Egypt neighborhood in 2015. It specializes in seafood. Walk in and toward the back and you’ll find everything on display: fresh fish, shrimp and squid stare up at you from the ice.

Pick what you want and how you’d like it cooked, then take a seat and wait. The aish baladi (an Egyptian flatbread similar to pita) is baked fresh in-house and was the perfect vehicle to scoop up eggplant dip with garlic and vinegar.

Wahizza in Washington Heights

The day after the election (hungover), I hopped on the back of my friend Miguel Trinidad’s Vespa and up to Washington Heights to eat Dominican food. We went to Wahizza, located in a food hall on Broadway between 183rd and 184th Streets. Wahizza has a few locations in New York and New Jersey and specializes in pizza.

Maybe it was the weather, maybe it was fuel for my hangover. Maybe I just needed some comfort food? This pizza was among the best I’ve had all year. We ordered the rabo, or oxtail (rabo means “tail” in Spanish). It came with four kinds of cheese: mozzarella, parmesan, goat cheese and ricotta, as well as basil, some veggies and hot honey. The crust was crisp, the cheese was gooey, the oxtail perfectly tender.

886 in the East Village

Eight eight six is a relatively new restaurant compared to others on this list, considering it opened in July 2018, but it feels exciting every time that I go. Chef and owner Eric Sze is constantly fiddling and tweaking dishes, improving them in his own way. When I most recently visited for a Taiwanese food crawl, I was finally able to try his sourdough scallion pancake — a recipe I had watched him perfect on his Instagram page.

The scallion pancake is fluffy, thicker than most scallion pancakes you might find, and coated in a layer of sesame seeds, which add a nuttiness to the dough. The popcorn chicken is double fried, so it’s super crisp on the outside, while the chicken itself is super juicy. Everything on the menu is delicious, and the restaurant itself is just so fun. As soon as you enter, the friendly staff and atmosphere make you want to order one of everything from the menu, as well as a large format drink for the table — and you should.

Le Baobab Gouygui in Harlem

I haven’t eaten much Senegalese food, but after trying Le Baobab Gouygui on 116th in Harlem, I haven’t stopped thinking about going back. It’s relatively small — it only seats about 20 people — and was incredibly busy when I visited. The lamb mafé, a thick stew made from groundnuts or peanuts, warmed my soul. The lamb was tender and the dish was perfectly spiced.

Khao Kang in Queens

Located on the corner of Woodside and 77th Avenues in Elmhurst, Queens, Khao Kang is a rice curry shop, known in Thai as raan khao kaeng. Opened around 10 years ago, it’s a family-run spot.

I went to Khao Kang as part of a Thai food tour of Elmhurst with a pretty big group of people and everything I tried was absolutely perfect: red curry chicken, garlic black pepper pork, and southern jungle curry were a few of the dishes that still standout in my memory. The longan juice and chrysanthemum tea were refreshing and the glass jelly milk with sago (jellies and tapioca swimming in a bowl of coconut cream) was the perfect dessert.

Shanta’s Bakery and Restaurant in Little Guyana

One of the cuisines I tried for the first time that I haven’t stopped talking about since doing so is Guyanese. My last stop the day I explored Little Guyana was Shanta’s Bakery and Restaurant on Liberty Avenue between 107th and 108th Streets. We got the chicken curry and roti and ohhh emm geee was it a delight. The chicken was tender and the curry was creamy, thick, and slightly spicy. The roti was flaky and I couldn’t stop dipping it in the curry sauce.

Stamatis in Astoria

Stamatis is a Greek restaurant that’s been a fixture in the neighborhood since the 1970s. Murals of dolphins jumping out of the ocean greet you as you sit at tables in the back.

I’ve had many a grape leaf in my life, but something about these dolmas just hit me differently. Most stuffed grape leaves taste a bit like refrigerator, if I’m being honest, but these tasted like they’d been made fresh. Definitely get the antipasto platter as well; it comes with an assortment of five dips and is the perfect start to your meal. A bottle of wine wouldn’t hurt, either.

The lard plate at Karczma in Greenpoint

My friends are probably sick of hearing me talk about the lard plate at Karczma but I’ll never stop. Located on Greenpoint Avenue between Manhattan Avenue and Franklin Street, Karczma feels like a portal into Poland. Wooden beams line the walls and ceilings and you nestle into big wooden booths.

The food is all very classic, homestyle, Polish, but the lard plate was a definite highlight for me. It comes with sticky rye bread and pickles. Wash it all down with a vodka martini and you’ll thank me later.

Punjabi Dhaba in Richmond Hill, Queens

An unforgettable experience for me was at Punjabi Dhaba between 120th Street and Lefferts Boulevard. It was here that I tried bread pakoras for the first time in my Richmond Hill tour. Bread pakoras are a popular breakfast and street food made of mashed potatoes, herbs and spices sandwiched between two pieces of bread, which then gets battered and fried. It was sprinkled with chaat masala. The blend they use at Punjabi Dhaba was salty and funky. In writing this, I am wishing I had some in my cupboard to add to various dishes at home.