Real Cheap Eats
Cheap eats means different things to different people. Some might call a shared $25 pizza cheap while others would consider a $20+ pie outrageous, no matter the pedigree. (I know, because a semi-old-timer Carroll Gardens resident told me she couldn’t believe neighborhood restaurants were charging $25 when she can get a pizza for $12.) But it’s pretty fair to say that less than $10 per dish constitutes cheap.
The $10 rule was applied to the new Real Cheap Eats, an online guide spearheaded by James Boo of The Eaten Path and created by a group of NYC-based food bloggers (including myself) to promote truly affordable dishes, many in less publicized locales. Yes, there is food beyond Manhattan and the northwestern corner of Brooklyn (and room for more to be added to the guide in the future).
Which reminds me that I need to spend more time exploring Staten Island. I pass through the underdog borough on my way to New Jersey at least once a month. There’s Italian, obviously, but they also have German and Sri Lankan restaurants, as well as a growing Mexican community.