#Next time : Meals that make them return home ... Thai Red and Peanut butter curry :) .... NYUM!!! Hugs Mel xxx

[melaniescholtz]

more for your taste buds ... less on your wallet - Dining in and out in The Big Apple

Location : East village, Manhattan 

Late morning snack/ bargain : Nothing extravagant unfortunately .... Only apple cinnamon flavoured Greek style yoghurt with fresh blueberries and banana - The yoghurts were 3 for 2 at Ctown :) 

Recommended listening : Some East village birds that think Spring is on it’s way. Later .... An impromptu duet of Let’s call the whole thing off while stuffing a sirloin :)

So, If someone told me a couple of years ago that I would be moving to the US, let alone NYC, I would have said, you’re soooo pulling my leg, but hey, here I am :) 

There is no place quite like NYC on the planet. It is a proverbial Mecca of everything. Art. Music, food, fashion. A smorgasbord of inspiration and effervescence. You are so spoiled for choice on all these fronts and when it comes to food, restaurants are hard pressed to deliver as the competition is among the toughest in the world. The competition for your tastebuds and all your other senses starts here. 

Well, as the focus of my article today is trying to eat well for less in NYC , let’s start by saying that eating out as a twosome with drinks could easily cost you 80 to 100 dollars a night. But fear not , cause there are some amazing restaurants of some popular cuisines that will definitely leave you satisfied and with a doggie bag for the next day :) 

Eating out : 

Affordable Italian : 

John’s of 12th street provides the bustle and organized mayhem of a family run Italian Trattoria. I had the spaghetti and meatballs, that to my surprise, happily resembled a portion in the animated classic, Cloudy with a chance of meatballs :). Brian, my boyfriend, had another Italian classic called Chicken Parmigiana with spaghetti. Nicely washed down with a glass each of Montepulciano D’abbruzzo, our meal came to 58,90 USD. Then you’re supposed to leave 20 percent tip. ( Yup they really nail you when it comes to tipping in NYC ) 

For a romantic and typical red and white table clothed experience visit https://www.johnsof12thstreet.com/

Affordable Mexican : 

Tortuga on 14th Street is your typical Mexican cantina fully equipped with a salsa and taco chip bar as well as frozen margarita dispenser. You can have a breakfast special for 10 dollars with tip :) 

The huevo rancheros is particularly good and you get to choose two dishes for 7,95 USD when choosing from their breakfast/ brunch menu.

Muy bien :)  .... for more information visit http://hoteltortuganyc.com/

Other cheap and delicious restaurants : 

Dumpling man -  visit http://www.dumplingman.com/  (Asian )

Crif Dogs - visit  http://www.crifdogs.com/ ( American) 

Sarita’s Mac and Cheese - http://www.smacnyc.com/ ( American/ Southern) 

Eating in : 

New Yorkers generally tend to eat out as their lifestyles are beyond busy but there are the few that steer away from the crowd and decide to cook at home. 

The main places to grocery shop would be Whole foods, Trader Joes, Associated Supermarkets and Ctown. 

Personally I have found Ctown to be the most affordable and to have good quality meats, fruits and vegetables. 

Today’s bill came to 61 USD and the ingredients we bought can easily make 4 meals. 

I bought some beef sirloin for 3,39 USD 

A packet of beef chuck mince - 4,40 USD 

A packet of spaghetti - 1, 49 USD 

A packet  of macaroni - 1,99 USD 

Cheddar cheese for 1,99 USD each 

A pack of chicken thighs - 2,49 USD 

Eggs per dozen - 1,49 USD 

So, not going to run down my whole receipt, but just to give you an idea...

From those core ingredients, I will make a mac and cheese, spaghetti and meatballs and a thai red peanut butter chicken curry. That’s on tomorrow’s menu ... Brian’s favourite  farewell dish before he goes on a mini tour this weekend. 

The Special of the Day today is feta, cherry tomato and herb stuffed sirloin :) Served on a bed of oven roasted sweet potato and a steamed broccoli,green bean, iceberg and avocado green salad... Yum , right ?:) 

It’s such an easy recipe : 

The filling : 

a handful of finely chopped cherry tomatoes 

half a bar of crumbled feta 

Handful of chopped cilantro ( coriander/ Dhania) (don’t forget the stalks) 

dried oregano 

pepper 

finely chopped garlic 

a glug of olive oil 

Mix well and set aside 

Then put the filling all the way down on the shop flattened sirloin and start to roll. Toothpick to keep in place and place in an oven try on top of chopped sweet potato. Drizzle the stuffed sirloin with olive oil, a little salt and pepper for seasoning and bake in the oven for 35 mins at 400 F/ 200 C.  

Remove at round about 35 mins and let rest. Pop the potatoes back in for another 20 mins and serve ....  (I know, I am super impatient too, but nothing worse than a potato or sweet potato that’s not quite there yet ! )Enjoy : ) 

PS... if some of the filling spills out the side of the sirloin, just pop it on the potatoes before putting in the oven! 

Here’s one I made earlier ( hehehe) 

Before 

After