$10 Steak at Arcane - Cheap Eats NYC

For those of you looking for a cheap yet classy protein fix, the restaurant French-Caribbean Arcane in the East Village offers a $10 entree special Sunday through Thursday, as well as a $20 prix fixe early bird menu .  The Sunday night $10 hangar steak with peppercorn sauce special is "worth $20", declares one yelper.  If brunch is more your thing, the $9.95 brunch comes with coffee, OJ, and  a cocktail. 

Arcane
111 Ave C (b/w 7th and 8th)
212 777 0477
Cash/AmEx only

Cheap NYC: Useful Links to find deals and discounts

General
New York Magazine's Cheap Guide NYC
http://nymag.com/urban/guides/nyonthecheap/

Free NYC - guide to free events throughout the city
http://www.freenyc.net/

NYC Recession Diary
http://www.nycrecessiondiary.com/

NYC Daily Deals
http://www.nycdailydeals.com/2008/11/byob-restaurants-in-new-york-with-no.html

Check Out NY Discounts - coupons for tourist attractions, transport, shopping, etc
http://www.checkoutnydiscounts.com/

Groupon - deals on everything from pilates classes to groceries
http://www.groupon.com/new-york/

Broke Ass Stuart's Goddamn Wesbite - tips on how to enjoy New York even when your ass is broke
http://brokeassstuart.com/category/ny/

Dining
Restaurant.com - buy $25 restaurant certificates for $10 (watch out for their sales, when you can buy these certificates up to 70% off)
www.restaurant.com

Wined and Dined Recession Specials -recession friendly dining guide
http://www.winedanddined.com/recession-specials/

Drinking
My Open Bar - daily guide to where the free booze is at
http://nyc.myopenbar.com/

DrinkDeal.com - lists happy hours and drink specials
http://drinkdeal.com/

Misc.
Freecycle -listserv where people post things they are giving away for free or things they are seeking - recent offers included a Ikea tv cart, mobile phone, and a food processor
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/freecyclenewyorkcity/

Lifebooker - book spa and salon services for up to 60% off
http://nyc.lifebooker.com/welcome

Holiday Special: 20% off an "I'm Not at Work" membership

http://www.imnotatwork.com/locations/52/New-York-City-NY offers a member card which gets you drink specials, many of which are 24/7, at bars around the city (examples: $2 off draft beers at Mercury Lounge, 10% off 3 bottles of wine at September Wines in LES, 64 oz pitchers of brandy infused sangria at Hop Devil Grill). Most of these bars aren't really places you'd want to hang in (Off the Wagon, anyone?) but cheap booze, is, well, cheap booze.

The membership currently costs $25 per year, and if you mention the coupon code "cheaptoboot" you get 20% off until the end of December. Take a look at their site to see if it's worth your while.

BYOB (for now) - Qi Asian Eatery

Qi Asian Eatery is a sleek, modern new Thai restaurant in Flatiron that has a no corkage BYOB policy while they await their liquor license. Most of their entrees are between $9-$15. Get there while the drinking's still free...

Qi Asian Eatery
31 East 14th Street
(212) 929-9917

Cheap Meals NYC: Nolita

It may seem a challenge to find a cheap, good meal in this neighborhood of trendy boutiques and trust fund hipsters, but it can be done. Here are some sure bets:


Bengali Noodles
58 Kenmare Street
This place is actually called Mott Corner, but we call it Bengali Noodles after their specialty dish, a Bangladeshi take on Chinese noodles, with lots of green chilies for around $7. They also have a pretty good spicy chicken sandwich.

Viet-Nam Banh Mi So 1
The best Vietnamese sandwich in NYC! Their sandwiches are served on fresh French baguettes and they have a ton of meat and vegetarian options, all for under $5. There's an old Auntie in the back who makes delicious fresh summer shrimp rolls, 3 big ones for under $5. Take out only.

Pho Bang
157 Mott Street
You can get a giant chicken and potato curry with rice for a mere $6 (they use chicken wing pieces, so you have to be okay with that), or giant bowls of pho for the same price. It doesn't have much ambiance but that's to be expected.

Prince Street Cafe
26 Prince Street
From 5-7 pm Monday thru Friday, you can get their sirloin Prince burger for $5.

Cheap Haircuts NYC: NYC Looking Good

In the city of $200 haircuts, where can you get a decent trim for under $30? We like NYC Looking Good, a no frills salon in Murray Hill. If you want a new style or a trendy haircut, this probably isn't the place, but if you just need to cut off those split ends or even out those layers, then give it a try. A lot of our curly-haired friends go to Anna for maintenance cuts in between their visits to more expensive salons. At about $25 for a wash, cut, and dry, it's a good service at a good price.

NYC Looking Good
416 3rd Ave
212 685 9475

Cheap Eats NYC Alert: Tabla $10 Menu

To celebrate its 10th anniversary, every Wednesday Tabla is offering a rotating menu of small plates for $10 and under in its upstairs dining room. Examples include Parsi spicy-sour curry with sauteed scallops and cilantro and a Goan pork sausage sandwich on a brioche bun. Bonus: you can bring up to 2 bottles of wine with no corkage fee (after that it's $25 a pop). Reservations are required.

Tabla
11 Madison Ave
212 889 0667