I love good food, and this New York trip was full of excellent, cheap eats.

I go to New York City for a wide variety of reasons. I went to college there for a year and a half, before COVID sent us all home for a solid two years, and now a lot of my work has to do with the arts organizations in New York and coming back and forth for movie events, such as the New York Film Festival (NYFF).

I was in town for this year’s NYFF, and because I finally have a little bit more money to spare in my life because of the work I’ve picked up over the past year or so, I was ready to splurge. Plus, I was having some of my expenses covered by the workplace, which is always a plus.

So what ended up happening is that over the course of a week, I splurged on some spots I’ve been meaning to try across Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens. I worked hard during the day to play hard and eat at night, and trust me: it was worth it. Here are some of my favorite spots I went to over the course of this week, and remember: it’s spread out across the boroughs.

Joe’s House of Soup Dumplings

It was pouring down rain when I first got into New York, and I went, dropped my bags off in Brooklyn, then decided I want ramen at Ramen Danbo in Park Slope. At 3 PM in a downpour, apparently everyone else had the same exact idea.

There were no tables. So I kept walking all the way to the train station, and because I had to be in Manhattan anyways, I went back to Midtown, where I was coming from originally. I was on autopilot when I went to Joe’s House of Soup Dumplings, which I’ve been to twice already.

I took my mother here many months ago for her first soup dumpling experience, and she loved it. I went in, immediately was seated at the bar, and I got chicken soup dumplings and the dry shredded tofu appetizer. I ate both of them quickly and merrily went on my way—I was so satisfied for only $22.

My go-to dishes here: the pork xiao long bao or soup dumplings, the scallion pancake appetizer, and the udon noodle stir fry.

Premium Sweets Dal & Chal, Kathmandu Fusion Kitchen + Dera Restaurant

I spend a ton of time in Queens, despite it being a trek to get back and forth from in central Brooklyn. My friend and I met up on this day first at the movie theater in Jamaica to see the movie Jawan, then we walked to Premium Sweets Dal & Chal. I ordered the Khalo Bhuna, which my friend informed me was a specialty from Chittagong.

It was absolutely delicious, as it was packed full of flavor along with the khichuri. Although this location is a bit pricier, I think the quality of the food is worth it.

We then ventured to Kathmandu Fusion Kitchen, which had some delicious masala chai and vegetable momos. We loved the food there, but ended up agreeing that it was an uncomfortable experience. Unfortunately, it wasn’t because of the restaurant itself—there were a bunch of homeless people wandering in and making a scene, which made eating in a bit more uncomfortable. The food was delicious, but I think I’d get takeout if I was in the area.

That night was finished at Dera Restaurant, where we ordered a faluda to split. I’d never had this dessert before and I thought it was really interesting and light to eat. I would definitely eat it again whenever I get the chance! Dera was such a local spot though, we were enjoying the Bollywood music videos being shown on the screen as we ate.

Tangra

Tangra is a Kolkata Chinese restaurant, which means it serves food that originated from the Chinatowns in the capital city of West Bengal: Kolkata/Calcutta. My friend ended up telling me about this restaurant, and we agreed to meet up quickly one night after we both wrapped up our work for the day.

I got there first, as I was at my workplace near the seven train, and I was taking in the gorgeous decorations throughout the restaurant. Some might call their decor outdated, but I loved it personally.

I ended up ordering the Chicken Manchurian, and my friend a beef dish. The food we ordered ended up being more than enough portion wise each, and I am glad I did not pick out an appetizer because I wouldn’t think I could eat it in hindsight. The food was great and full of flavor. My only qualm was with the masala chai, as I thought it was kind of watery for the price.

Sofreh

I have been trying for years to get a reservation at Sofreh, even before they blew up with the James Beard Award or the Michelin Guide recommendation. I don’t live in New York, so I was limited in the times I could try to get one, and every single trip I would look and be devastated to realize I wouldn’t be able to go yet again.

I randomly looked one day a month before this trip and saw they had reservations, and nabbed two seats at the bar for my friend and I.

The inside of the restaurant is gorgeous, and we started off with the herbal tea. Oh my god, I wish they sold that tea. It was so perfect and full of flavor. I started off with the ash reshteh, which I had read about online. Disclaimer: I am Iranian and used to acidic flavors. I think a non Iranian might struggle with the sour limes in this dish, as it leans more acidic than other ash reshtehs I’ve had at restaurants. I thought it was very good though, and so was the half chicken. I thought the entire meal was worth the $62 I paid, as the half chicken I barely touched because I was full from the ash.

The Hummus Place

This was a spot recommended to me by my bosses, and when I was at the New York Film Festival for my movie writing gig I thought I might as well go ahead and check The Hummus Place out. It was only a twelve minute walk from the Walter Reade Theater, so I made the little trek since I had time to burn before going to see The Refuge Plays.

I arrived at around 3:30 PM and they handed me a lunch menu, so I was pleasantly surprised. And when I say that lunch lasted me more than one meal, I’m not kidding.

They end up giving you a hummus, salad, or soup if you order the lunch special, so I got a falafel sandwich. The actual sandwich was several falafel, a cucumber-tomato salad, hummus, and sauce stuffed into a pita bread. I ordered it with french fries, which were okay, and it came with the hummus I had ordered as my extra for the special.

They gave me another big piece of pita bread to eat that hummus with, and it was so creamy with that bread. I ended up only eating half of the food and saving the rest for later—which ended up being a savior, as I was stuck in Brooklyn due to the flooding.

I also ordered a mint iced tea, and I expected something different I think. It was like Southern iced tea with mint, and I was ordering it thinking that I was getting a mint tea like the Moroccan mint tea. In the end, I’m glad I ordered it as I really needed it in the moment, but I don’t think I would get it again because I don’t like those kinds of tea.

Nurlan Restaurant, Spring Shabu Shabu, and Gong Gan

On my final day in New York City, I ventured out from Park Slope all the way to Main Street in Flushing, which is an hour and a half journey. Every time I go to NYC I do this because I love Flushing from the bottom of my heart. If I lived in the city I think that would be one of the neighborhoods I would live in for sure, even if the commute can be a pain in the you know what sometimes.

But on my last day, I ended up meeting a friend at noon at Nurlan Restaurant, which is further down Main Street in the quieter part of the neighborhood.

Nurlan offers Uyghur food, so we ended up ordering a lamb kawap, chicken kawap, lagman, and pot of red floral tea to share. I ate the chicken kawap, which was pretty good and unexpected when it came to the seasoning. The lagman, although it was terribly hard to share because of the long noodles, was one of the best I’ve had. I used to go to Farida for their lagman, but this one is hands down the best one.

And the bowl is massive, so we definitely made a wise decision splitting it. The pot of tea was also huge, and definitely was enough for a small family. We finished everything, though.

I then headed to the Flushing library, where I cranked out some work on the third floor. Afterwards I stopped at the grocery store in the Flushing Mall for some tea and things I can’t get at home in Maryland, then I met my friends at Spring Shabu Shabu.

We were a party of three and at 5:30 on a Saturday, we were seated pretty quickly. Spring Shabu Shabu is my favorite restaurant in the city if we’re going to be honest, and this time I ordered a Mala broth.

I’d never had it before, but I was in love. My go-to sauce this time was green onion, garlic, sambal oelek, red vinegar, and a hint of peanut paste. With the spiciness of the broth, this sauce combo was perfect as it was a little bit sour, spicy, and savory.

I load up on the fresh noodles, tofu skins, veggies whenever I’m here. We also ate two rounds of the matcha and vanilla ice cream. I don’t even like matcha ice cream but theirs always hits the spot when I need it to.

We then headed to Gonggan, which is a Korean inspired cafe. This cafe is so cute aesthetically, and we got a corner table to ourselves. It’s a bit hard through for three people to share a table here, and the manager slash waiter told me to scoot over at one point. Totally understand why, but I was already a bit self-conscious about it and felt like it was getting tight.

Anyways, a drink is about $8 here before tip. The desserts are pricier, but they looked so good. I ordered an injeolmi latte and really liked it, and my other friend enjoyed her drink too. My third friend thought it was overpriced because she ordered a plain tea and it was $7.5, so I would order one of the nicer ones if you’re in the mood.

I honestly thought my drink lowkey was a dessert at times, despite adding a shot of coffee into it.

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