New York to Istanbul - Chapter 2

Chapter 2: New York Cheap

Friday was Sid's birthday, and he celebrated by booking a himself a night in the Chelsea Hotel.  Presumably because, unlike our hostel, those rooms do not include an anonymous guy going through withdrawal in the corner.  We had a few glasses of scotch there, then Chester and I hit the city while Sid stayed back at the hotel with a bottle of Johnny Walker Red and Spanish soap-operas.

Despite my unforeseen residential circumstances, this was still Manhattan, and an avowed hedonist such as myself was not going to let an opportunity like this pass by.  After touring the Metropolitan Museum of Art for a donation of all the nickels and dimes in our pockets and a viciously disgusted look from the lady at the desk, it was time for dinner.  My only true restaurant meal in NYC consisted of fresh slices of sushi flopped over beds of warm and sour rice.  All of which was washed down with enthusiasm and a bottle of rice wine. 

The entre was, of course, half a bottle of scotch back at the hostel, followed by a half-dozen gin and tonics in a truly grime encrusted bar in lower Manhattan whose name its probably better that I forgot.  Things get fuzzy towards the end, but Sid smacked his face on the pavement after tripping on the only tree root growing out of the sidewalk in Times Square (or so he claims to this day). 

Somehow we ended up in a back alley sushi bar at two AM, eating raw fish in a place that looked more like an opportunistic bait shop cashing in on culinary trends.  My only regret was being too far gone to make the obvious jokes about eating "red clam" until the next morning.  

So, how do you enjoy an expensive city like New York when your entire entertainment budget has suddenly been spent on a bare metal cot in a room full of obnoxious gap-year Europeans?



Step 1: Food
As elsewhere in the world, street vendors are the place for budget kilocalories.  Besides, dirty water hotdogs are a New York tradition and two or three of them makes a decent meal.  Would you want to eat like this every day?  Not unless you wanted your heart to explode, but hey you're on vacation.  Mix it up with some pizza and resolve to eat nothing but salad when you get home.

Step 2: Drinks
Expensive, yes.  But if you're willing to start early, many hostels can hook you up with info about all you can drink specials at various clubs and bars.  You'll dish out a few twenties up front, but you get a wristband and no tab as long as you dip before ten o'clock.  Afterward, be warned that prices will skyrocket.

There's also a number of cheap bars in the outer Burroughs, particularly in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.  After taking advantage of the aforementioned drink-a-thons in Manhattan, we'd head to The Levy, which serves several shot-and-beer combinations at rock bottom prices.  I recommend the Frat Boy (Jagermeister and a Bud $5.50), while Chester heartily endorsed the Texan (Tequila and a Lone Star  $5.00).

Step 3: Transportation
The smartest thing I may have done in New York was buy 3-day subway passes.  Mobility is the key to exploiting food and drink specials in disparate locations.  Also, be prepared to walk and don't carry all your earthly possessions around with you, cabs are expensive.

Step 4: The Call of Nature
Not one I had thought about, but Chester prided himself on knowing "every place you can poop for free in Manhattan."  The Borders bookstore in Columbus circle is one convenient location.