Being a college student is hard. Being a broke college student is even harder, and eating the same food from the same dining hall every day doesn’t make it any easier. Luckily for students living in New York City, there are a plethora of food options wherever you go. Still, deciding where to eat can be overwhelming.
The University’s dining hall offers a range of dishes inspired by cuisines from around the world, but sometimes it just gets boring. After a hard exam, a treat is needed, and a dining hall burger isn’t always it. Eating off campus can feel scary and costly if students don’t know where to look. Sometimes it feels like just stepping outside costs $30. It’s the worst feeling, walking into a restaurant, sitting down, opening the menu and realizing the cheapest entrée is $35. It’s discouraging to want something to eat that’s comforting and freshly prepared, but not know if it’ll fit the budget.
Depending on which meal plan they have, students receive a fixed amount of flex dollars to use at designated off campus restaurants including Chipotle, Subway, Pace Gourmet Deli and Red Mango frozen yogurt. While these are convenient options, they can get repetitive, or just might not appeal to everyone. Plus, flex dollars can run out quickly. So what happens then? Where should students eat?
Second year Arts and Entertainment Management major, Emma Pedersen suggested pho. “There are three great pho locations I can think of, all less than a 10 minute walk from my building,” Pedersen said. Pho is a Vietnamese soup made with a light broth, noodles and a protein of choice. It’s affordable (usually around $16), filling and healthy. The top three spots near the university, as suggested by Pace students, are Pho John Street, Pho Maiden Lane and Vietspot.
New York City, of course, has endless pizza options. Joe’s Pizza is the most popular, with the longest line. Little Italy Pizza is another strong choice. Both Joe’s Pizza and Little Italy average around $5 to $6 per slice. The cheapest option, however, is 2 Bros Pizza, offering two cheese slices and a can of soda for just $3. All three of the options are available all around the city, not just near campus.
The city also has great bagels, with plenty of options near campus. Bagel Market, Zucker’s Bagels, Apollo Bagels and the newly opened Leon’s Bagels are all within walking distance. Bagel Market and Zucker’s Bagels both offer bagel sandwich deals as low as $6 for two eggs on your bagel of choice. Apollo Bagels and Leon’s Bagels are a bit trendier and pricier, but they’re great popular spots to have nearby.
Craving a sandwich but out of meal swipes? Try Seaport Deli, Pace Gourmet Deli, Jubilee Marketplace or Pisillo’s Paninis (cash or Venmo only). All of these delis offer more than just sandwiches. Jubilee Marketplace has a large hot bar that specializes in Korean dishes for under $10. Pisillo Paninis is more expensive, around $20 per sandwich, but the portions are large enough to split into two or three meals.
Pace’s dining hall sushi is solid, but the poke bowls can get repetitive. For something different, check out Poke Bowl, a spot that lives up to its name. They offer a wide variety of bowls with hot and cold protein options like sesame chicken or spicy salmon. Toppings are unlimited, and they have a wide variety of sauces to spice up your bowl. Not in the mood for a bowl and want to sit down for sushi? Mikado Sushi, located on Pearl Street offers a hand roll set with any four rolls for $27. It’s not the cheapest option, but the rolls are large, filling, and high quality. Need an even cheaper option? Mitsuki Japanese Market on Park Row has a 50 percent sushi discount after 6 p.m., and during regular hours, most rolls cost around $7 or $8.
One last tip for students searching for cheap, good food: try the app Too Good To Go. It allows users to purchase meals that restaurants would otherwise throw out at the end of the night for a heavily discounted price.
All the mentioned restaurants’ full menus, prices and locations can be found online, and some may even offer a Pace student discount (like Jubilee Marketplace)!
