Dirt Cheap Eats in Manhattan

Midtown Manhattan is infamous for the high cost of a meal. We are constantly reminded of this when each McDonald's commercial ends with, or states in fine print: Prices higher in Manhattan.

But thankfully there are a couple of hidden gems where you can put food in your stomach for cheap. I'm not talking Subway's $5 footlong cheap, I'm talking $1 cheap. So here are a couple of personal gems which I regularly encounter (either near work or on my walking commute route) that I share with my über-frugal readers:

Abdul's Hot Dog Stand - located on the southwest corner of 38th Street and Broadway, Abdul is one of the very small number of hot dog vendors, especially in the midtown area which will sell you a hot dog for $1. Most vendors will charge you $1.50, or $1.25 if you're lucky. The dog is precooked boiled, but then grilled for about a minute on a kebob grill, which is step up from some stands which will take a soaking wet dog from a tank and slap it on a bun.

99¢ Fresh Pizza - located on East 43rd Street between 3rd Avenue and Lexington is a bargain. To state the obvious, a pizza slice sells here at the bargain price of 99¢, and the pizza is actually pretty good - slightly crispy crush with a chewy dough inside, with just enough cheese and tomato sauce. The popularity of the pizza ensures that turnover is quick and you'll likely be getting fresh pizza right out of the oven as opposed to a 90 minute old pizza sitting under plexiglass like the multitude of Original Ray's.  Just as important, you won't be paying $1.75 to $2 per slice like you would at Ray's. Fair warning that they do charge tax, so two slices will put you back $2.15 and three slices will put you back $3.25 (I think they round out just to make things easy). Apparently they're also on the West Side at 9th Avenue between 41st and 42nd.

I'll update this list as other gems are unearthed.