Lunch Break: Wallet Friendly Deals

A pizza deal to make you smile, Japanese bento for a great price, or Chinese dumplings that are perfectly tasty - today's New York Lunch Break is a friend to your wallet. By Yvo Sin.

Motorino

349 E 12th St
New York, NY 10003
(212) 777-2644
motorinopizza.com
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Also See: NYC's Best Slices Of Pizza

Motorino's cozy space produces some of the best examples of Neapolitan-style pizza in the area; a super hot wood-burning oven that only takes minutes to char the bottom of a pie and cook the top of it. This leaves the crust tasting something like Italy meets India: pizza top, naan bottom - pillowy, fluffy, airy. Even better than that, however, is the lunch special: $12 gets you a mixed green salad and your choice from a list of four pizzas, two of which cost $16 alone on the dinner menu, and one of which is simply amazing. Brussels sprouts and pancetta may not sound like something you'd like, but give it a try; the Brussels sprouts add a nice touch of bitterness to counter the sweetness of the cheese, the smokiness from the oven and the saltiness of the pancetta. If you can't get behind vegetation on your pizza, there's always the margherita pie as well.

Cafe Zaiya

18 E. 41st Street
New York, NY 10017
(212) 779-0600

69 Cooper Square
New York, NY 10008
(212) 253-9700
zaiyany.com/

The best way to describe Cafe Zaiya would be 7-11 meets Japanese sensibilities with a dedication to freshly prepared, inexpensive meals for those on the go - back to work, really. Zaiya offers various bento and donburi, or set lunches and rice bowls, with proper portion sizes in mind as they're created. Bentos will typically include a portion of rice, the protein of your choice (chicken, tofu, salmon, beef) in various iterations: fried, teriyaki, grilled, along with vegetables, occasionally Japanese potato salad, and are designed to fill you up with a properly balanced meal - so eat those veggies! Donburi are just as they sound: a bowl filled with rice, then topped with protein, such as chicken and egg cooked together, or beef (pictured) cooked in a light sweet soy sauce. Aside from being healthful, balanced meals, they won't break the bank.

Dumpling Cafe

71-60 Yellowstone Boulevard
Forest Hills, NY 11375
(718) 268-2099

See: NYC's 5 Best Restaurants For Dumplings

While Dumpling Cafe looks like just about any other Chinese take out joint you might find, there are two things that set it apart from the others: first, the lunch special menu, where over fifteen different choices are listed at $4.59, served with vegetable fried rice or plain white rice, along with your choice of hot & sour or wonton soup (they do not have egg drop soup; don't ask) or soda. The choices are your usual suspects at a place like this, but the price really can't be beat. But the other thing that sets it apart? The snack section of the menu, where you can find scallion pancakes for $1.75, skewers of either beef or chicken for $3.00, wontons with sesame sauce, cold noodles... items that you don't always find at your local Chinese takeout. If you look through the menu carefully, you might find some other items to spark curiosity as well. And yeah, the pork dumplings (pictured) are pretty good, too.

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Yvo Sin is the founder and head writer of Feisty Foodie.