For Sale: Eating Pleasure. Price: $2

Posted by Ed Levine, September 6, 2006 at 7:28 AM

Bouchon Bakery's bouchon, Shake Shack's cone, and Burgers and Cupcakes' mini-cupcake

So what can you buy for $2.00 or less that is good enough to tell your friends about, (not including pizza slices, which I'll deal with separately)?

My top 11 list (is that a baker's ten?) list, not in any particular order. Please pardon the lack of visuals and links. I'm totally crazed this morning.

1. I teased you yesterday with one of my picks, the intensely chocolaty bouchon at Bouchon Bakery. I believe the bouchon is the only thing you can get at Bouchon Bakery for under two dollars.

2. Another great cheap chocolate thrill is the chocolate fondant ($1.85), the little flourless chocolate cakes, at Beard Papa. I've bought six of them as dessert for a dinner party. Nuked in a microwave for 20 seconds each and topped with Häagen-Dazs vanilla ice cream, these puppies will have have your host thanking you profusely. Of course the Beard Papa cream puffs also qualify ($1.25) (stick to the classic flavor). Also delicious and cheap here are the cheesecake sticks, a light soufflé-like confection that gives Japanese cheesecake a good name.

3. Mitchel London cupcakes at Burgers and Cupcakes: Yes, Mitchel is shall we say eccentric in the extreme, but the man knows what tastes good. The mini-cupcakes ($2) here are moist flavorful and, gasp!, taste as if they weren't made with a mix. And if you've overdosed on cupcakes, Mitchel's very good rustic apple tarts are a very reasonable $1.75 here.

4. Bings at Roll and Dough (NOW CLOSED): These little savory pastries ($1.50-1.95) have a divine flaky crust and fine fillings. I like the regular and spicy pork varieties, but then again I go for the pork time and time again.

5. Hot Dog at Papaya King: Though I heard at dinner last night that Gray's Papaya was about to raise the prices of its hot dogs to over a dollar, Papaya King has been at a $1.70 for awhile now. Same great natural casing dog, perhaps a touch bigger, with an unidentified secret ingredient I can't identify, and better mustard.

Roll and Dough's bings and Sullivan Street Bakery's pizza bianca

6. A Bag of Organic Popcorn at Fairway: wouldn't mind spending $5 for a tub of popcorn at Sony Lincoln Square popped the week before it's purchased if the popcorn didn't suck. But it does, big time, so when I have the time I walk upstairs at Fairway and pick up a $1.29 bag of organic popcorn easily big enough for two. It's worth the trip up those stairs and the hand to hand combat you have to engage the crazies in on every visit to Fairway.

7. Four Prosciutto Balls at Joe's Superette: A shout-out to fellow Times contributor Dana Bowen for turning me on to these crunchy, creamy, savory delights at a shop on Smith Street that has most assuredly not been gentrified. Maybe that's why Joe Coladonato can sell these outstanding little treats for 50 cents apiece.

8. Kiddie Cones at Shake Shack: I know you all think I'm on Danny Meyer's payroll for mentioning the Shake Shack in every list, but the kiddie cone ($1.15) here is a beautiful thing. You get enough frozen custard to fully experience its greatness, and you get your cone within five minutes of being in line because you get to wait in the ice cream only express queue.

9. A slice of Pizza Bianca or Bianca con Pecorino at Sullivan Street Bakery: I know it's not the cheesy slice of pizza New Yorkers know and love, but Jim Lahey's pizzas are Roman-inspired rafts of deliciousness. The Pizza Bianco, made with fresh rosemary, extra virgin olive oil, and salt, and the Bianco Pecorino, made with Pecorino chese, salt, bread crumbs, and extra-virgin olive oil, both make it under the $2 limit.

10. City Bakery Hot Chocolate Shot: Let's face it. An entire cup of Maury Rubin's insanely rich hot chocolate is just too much. But City Bakery regulars know to order the hot chocolate by the shot, which is just the right amount and costs $2.

11. I almost forgot about Madeline Lanciani's insanely buttery and good fruit turnovers ($1.50) at Duane Park Patisserie, which are just about as good as a turnover can get.

Again, I know I'm light on Chinese and Mexican snacks, so please come to my rescue.

Today's Times reviews:

Bruni takes on Japonais and declares it woefully inconsistent and obviously trendy.
Peter Meehan goes to Province. I went with him a couple of weeks ago, and the pork and and short rib sandwiches are very fine, indeed.

Bouchon Bakery

Address: 10 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10019 (map)
Phone: 212-823-9364
Website: bouchonbakery.com

Beard Papa

Address: 2167 Broadway, New York, NY 10024 (b/n 76th and 77th; map)
740 Broadway, New York, NY 10003 (neat Astor Place; map)
5 Carmine Street, New York, NY 10014 (b/n 6th Ave and Bleeker; map)
Phone: 212-799-3770, 212-353-8888, 212-255-4675
Website: muginohousa.com

Burgers and Cupcakes

Address: 265 W 23rd Street, New York, NY 10011 (b/n 7th and 8th; map)
Phone: 212-242-0600
Website: burgersandcupcakes.us

Papaya King

Address: 200 W 14th Street, New York, NY 10011 (near 7th; map)
179 E 86th Street, New York, NY 10028 (b/n 3rd and Lex; map)
121 W 125th Street, New York, NY 10027 (near Lenox Ave; map)
Phone: 212-367-8090, 212-369-0648, 212-665-5732
Website: papayaking.com

Fairway

Address: 2127 Broadway, New York, NY 10023 (b/n 74th and 75th; map)
Phone: 212-595-1888
Website: fairwaymarket.com

Joe's Superette

Address: 349 Smith Street; Brooklyn, NY 11231 (map)
Phone: 718-855-6463

Shake Shack

Address: 10 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10010 (inside Madison Square Park; map)
Phone: 212-889-6600
Website: shakeshacknyc.com

Sullivan Street Bakery

Address: 533 W 47th Street, New York, NY 10036 (map)
Phone: 212-582-1237
Website: sullivanstreetbakery.com

City Bakery

Address: 3 W 18th Street, New York, NY 10011 (near 5th; map)
Phone: 212-366-1414
Website: thecitybakery.com

Duane Park Patisserie

Address: 179 Duane Street, New York, NY 10013 (map)
Phone: 212-274-8447
Website: madelines.net

18 Comments | Tags: bargains

18 Comments:

How about 12 (!) fried dumplings or 8 pork buns at Fried Dumplings on Allen St below Canal?

[1]

monkeydaem at 8:39AM on 09/06/06

Ed,

At Bouchon Bakery, the financiers are also under $2. Checking my receipt from lunch... the financier is $1.50 and the chocolate bouchon is $1.75.

Also, at the 35th St (Chinese) Bakery (494 8th Ave), most items are under $2.

painauchoc at 12:11PM on 09/06/06

I prefer Dumpling House on Eldridge. 10 dumplings or the sesame pancake with beef ($1.50, so good).

arsenal at 1:07PM on 09/06/06

Casa del Pan (probalby one of a thousand similarly named Casa del Pans in the NY metro area) in Astoria on Broadway and 38th Street has these great beef empanadas for $1.25. It's a rich, rich beef filling encased in a substantial yet flaky dough. Casa del Pan is open 24 hours, and these savory little beef empanadas have sated my drunken hunger on a few late nights. I had one for lunch today, in fact (my first sober daylight empanada) and it was surprisingly filling. I paired it with their passion fruit drink for a vaguely Papaya King-esque taste sensation.

SaraBir at 3:06PM on 09/06/06

"An entire cup of Maury Rubin's insanely rich hot chocolate is just too much."

NOOOO!!!!!

...

NOOOO!!!

Okay, I'll admit that everyone I've made drink the hot chocolate has said the same thing, which makes me wonder if something is wrong with me for being able chugging a cup rather easily. I can tell you for sure that TWO cups is too much. I know that from experience. Yeeeaah.

roboppy at 3:42PM on 09/06/06

Taqueria Coatzingo in Jackson Heights has amazing al pastor tacos for $2 each (all tacos are $2). I haven't been super recently, so the price might've inched up but I don't think so.

-----------------------------------

http://www.project-me.com

Krista at 4:36PM on 09/06/06

you know, this never would have occured to me if I hadn't been talking to a co-worker who recently moved here from Florida.

He's in the process of buying a place and thusly, a little broke, so I asked him if he had discovered any of NYCs cheap culinary masterpieces, meaning things like Gray's Papaya, Halal street carts, etc and what he said surprised me.

To quote "I've been living on bagels, I CANNOT believe how cheap they are here!! Everywhere else in the world, a bagel with cream cheese is like, $4, but here, you can even get a bacon, egg and cheese on a bagel for under $2!"

so, to this list, I humbly submit, on behalf of my co-worker, the bagel, and on behalf of myself, the Yonah Schimmel knish. Nothing's finer on a snowy winter day than a warm knish!

Ann at 12:25PM on 09/07/06

[1] White Castle, dude. White. Castle. Two bucks gets you at least two sliders there. Or maybe one double cheeseslider.

Adam Kuban at 1:01PM on 09/07/06

A Large Spanakopita from Sahadi's - the best! Not too rich, not too salty. It's a meal in itself and only $1.20 each.

bks at 8:26PM on 09/07/06

I just tried the pizza bianca, $1 for a large slice, at Grandaisy Bakery (the old Sullivan Street Bakery on Sullivan St.) and it was wonderful.

The sliders at Sassy's Sliders on 3rd Ave. & 86th are pretty good for the price -- $1.09 each, $0.12 extra for cheese. It's also worth noting they make their burgers from 100% ground sirloin.

I also like the custard choux at Choux Factory, especially that the custard is freshly piped in for each order. They're $1.60. 1st Ave. b/w 87th & 88th and 1st Ave. & 48th.

Finally, I haven't been, but my husband likes the rice balls at Oms/b, a little Japanese place on 45th b/w Lex & 3rd; they range from $1.50-$2.

Bettina at 7:03AM on 09/08/06

From the day it opened, I thought Beard Papa was the "Emporer's New Clothes" of fashionable desserts. The folks standing on line outside the store that first couple of weeks remind me of the people who attend the US Open to be seen and talk on their cellphones, and have virtually little interest in the tennis being played. Perhaps I can't shake the prejudicies formed after those early days, and I know you can't expect much for under $2 but Beard Papa may be on the cutting edge of baking technology and it totally soulless (and for my money, relatively tasteless). Give me my $2 worth of rugelah (if they'll sell you that small amount) accross the street from William Greenberg's any day, which is oozing flavor and TLC.

swillig at 8:29AM on 09/08/06