New York eats in dialects. Three days here run from a 1888 Lower East Side pickle counter to Flushing's basement food courts, Arthur Avenue's Italian butchers and a Manhattan bar that has poured since 1854 — every plate under $30.
Appetizing shop open since 1914, fourth-generation Russ family. Hand-sliced Gaspé Nova on a bialy with cream cheese, tomato and onion runs about $22. Open 8am weekdays, 7am weekends. Take a numbered ticket at the door — the queue moves fast.
The last kosher pickle shop on the Lower East Side, barrels of brine on the sidewalk. Sours, half-sours, pickled tomatoes, mango and okra from about $2 a piece. Closed Saturdays for Shabbat; open Sunday–Friday from 9am.
Chinatown's oldest dim sum room, trading on the bend of Doyers since 1920. Original egg roll, shrimp rice noodle rolls and pan-fried dumplings ordered by paper checklist, most plates $6-11. No carts, everything cooked to order.
Public market founded 1940 under Fiorello La Guardia, relocated in 2019 into a glass hall. Around 35 vendors: Ni Japanese deli, Nordic Preserves, Boubouki's spanakopita, Shopsin's diner counter. Open to 8pm most days, Sundays to 6pm.
Open since 1888, still curing pastrami for 30 days and slicing it by hand. The sandwich is about $28. Take the ticket handed to you at the door — lose it and there is a $50 charge. Cash and card lines both move; the cutters' counter is faster.
Domenico DeMarco's Brooklyn pizzeria, opened 1965, now run by his children. Whole pies around $32, squares slightly more, finished with scissored basil and a pour of olive oil. Take the Q train to Avenue J — 40 minutes from Manhattan.
Brooklyn's largest Chinatown, running roughly 42nd to 62nd Street along 8th Avenue. Cantonese roast duck hanging in windows, Fujianese noodle shops, bakeries selling pineapple buns under $2. Whole roast duck around $30, half about $17.
The Bronx's Little Italy, an indoor market built in 1940 to get pushcarts off the street. Mike's Deli builds mozzarella and prosciutto heroes around $15; Casa Della Mozzarella up the block pulls curd fresh each morning. Market closes 6pm.
Basement food court under a Queens mall, roughly 30 stalls covering Xi'an, Sichuan, Lanzhou hand-pulled noodles and Taiwanese shaved ice. Most dishes $6-13, cash useful. Opens 10am; the 7 train's last stop is a two-minute walk.
Under the elevated 7 train, Mexican, Ecuadorian and Colombian carts work the sidewalk from roughly 82nd to 103rd Street. Tacos $3-4, huaraches around $9, elotes $4. Busiest after dark, but the lunch carts near 90th Street are steady.
A 1920s apothecary restored as a working soda fountain. Egg creams — seltzer, milk, Fox's U-Bet chocolate syrup, no egg and no cream — about $6; sundaes built at the marble counter run $10-14. Open from noon most days.
Pouring since 1854 and serving exactly two things: light ale and dark, always two mugs at a time, around $7 the pair. Sawdust on the floor, wishbones over the bar from soldiers who never returned. Cash only, opens 11am.