Usually HC Columbia only hooks you up with Top Fives, but this week, we’re giving you an extra treat: two extra bakeries to round off our list. Consider it our gift to get you through midterm season. Whether you’ve got friends and family visiting from out of town or you’re just done with Ferris, everyone heads off campus to eat out every once in a while, all in the hopes of scoring some quality food without breaking the bank (unless, of course, you’re out with your parents, in which case, do order that steak). Broke college student or a thrifty foodie, there’s no need to get worried about finding a great restaurant for a good deal. With variety and cost in mind, we present to you five restaurants and two bakeries (in no particular order) that are sure to satisfy your hunger and keep (most of) your money in your pocket.
1. Spice is a Thai restaurant with eight locations throughout the city. They provide a lunch special for just $7.50 that includes an entrée and an appetizer. A nice, reasonable dinner is completely doable at Spice. Most items on their menu, including daily specials, are between $6 and $13, and nothing is above $20.
2. If you’re in the mood for Italian, go to Paesano’s, right off of Canal St. on Mulberry in Little Italy. This restaurant’s menu has a large selection of dishes from which to choose, with most items between $8 and $15. Because they have fresh and delicious homemade pastas, breads and sauces, it’s hard to go wrong at this classic Italian joint. If you’re a fan of pink sauce and salmon, I personally recommend the Fusilli Salmone.
3. If you’re bent on staying on Canal St., you can find great deals in Chinatown at very reasonable prices. For dim sum at lunch time, The New Mandarin Court is a great restaurant with a huge menu of dim sum dishes, most of which are under $3. Dim sum is a Chinese style of food preparation in which small portions are served in bite size pieces. Basically, if you order three dim sum dishes you will have had more than enough to eat for less than $10! Of course, if you find yourself craving Chinese food at dinner time, you can still find reasonably priced entrée dishes, all under $13, at this same venue.
4. A New York classic established over 40 years ago is Mamoun’s, a Middle Eastern restaurant with two downtown locations. Although the menu is not particularly expansive, the prices are incredible—mostly under $6, and the food is fabulous! I have only been here once, I can vouch for the tastiness of the falafel, lentil soup and hummus.
5. While Indian restaurants can be found all over the city, most people are hesitant to spend over $12 on a dish they have never tried before and expect to be mind-numbingly hot. However, if you like Indian food or want to send your taste buds on a wonderful adventure, you can go to Indian Taj in Greenwich Village to try this cuisine for a great price. This restaurant offers an $11 lunch buffet on weekdays and a $13 lunch buffet of weekends that allows you to eat as much as you’d like from sixteen different traditional Indian dishes. On top of that, it offers a 10% discount to students and teachers!
6. If you have a sweet tooth, look no further than Amsterdam and 111th street where the Hungarian Pastry Shop sits bustling with its happy customers. A Columbia favorite, this Eastern European bakery offers traditional desserts like baklava as well as more common pastries such as chocolate mousse cake. This venue also serves a wide variety of hot and cold drinks. Almost, if not everything, is under $6.
7. Looking for a change of scenery? Head to Chinatown and hit up Fay Da Bakery and Tai Pan Bakery for at least thirty different desserts between $1 and $2.50 a piece. They offer traditional Chinese sweets like pork buns and moon pies as well as vanilla, chocolate, mocha, and carrot cakes, to name a few.