I Went On A Food Crawl Around Manhattan With YouTube And TikTok Foodie Lisa Nguyen — Here's Everything We Ate
Hello my BuzzFeed foodies! My name's Hannah, and I love doing fun and unique food stories to satisfy my creative appetite. I'm a bit of a novice foodie, so I've recently been learning more about cooking and eating out on a budget. In New York City, budget-friendly bites can sometimes be hard to come by, so I found a friend who could help!
In case you're not already in love with her videos, let me introduce you to Lisa Nguyen! Lisa has attracted quite an incredible following on both YouTube (over 3.6 million subscribers) and TikTok (over 2.7 million followers) for her fresh, authentic, and delicious food content. From building her spice tolerance to cooking in the kitchen with friends and family, Lisa has an incredible repertoire of mouth-watering content.
Prior to the pandemic, Lisa traveled all over as a food videographer, visiting small and family-owned businesses and capturing their tasty offerings. She pivoted once the pandemic hit and began documenting her own journey as a budding home chef through YouTube videos and TikToks. As her content blew up, she started branching out and trying new foods and recipes suggested by her fans. Lisa's always up for trying something new, so she was the perfect person for me to meet.
Lisa and I teamed up (with the help of Meghan Danks and other incredible folks at Google) to conduct a budget-friendly food crawl around Manhattan. Did you know that among more than 40 of the biggest US cities, New York City has one of the lowest percentages of budget-friendly restaurants? Folks who live here or visit often know the struggle. Things are inherently more expensive in NYC. That being said, the city is full of incredible food, and it doesn't all have to break the bank.
To determine the top budget-friendly restaurants in Manhattan, the Google Maps team looked at restaurants across numerous Manhattan neighborhoods with a rating of 4.7 or higher and a minimum of 50 reviews. Chain restaurants, pizza places, delis, bagel shops, and restaurants with three or more dollar signs on Maps were excluded. That data led us to five incredible restaurants spread out around the borough. All restaurants were entirely brand new to both Lisa and I, so we were eager to give them a try!
Lisa and I, along with our pal Meghan from Google, set out on our food crawl! Let's dive into our journey:
Stop #1: Sullivan Taqueria
Address: 71 Sullivan St., New York, New York 10012
Tucked away in a quiet, charming SoHo street, Sullivan Taqueria serves up authentic Mexican cuisine with homemade recipes and locally sourced ingredients. Founder Dolores Martinez, who was born and raised in Puebla, Mexico, is proud to share her tasty food with her loved ones and her customers.
The restaurant is small but inviting, and you can watch your food get cooked right behind the counter! The smells were *divine.*
We ordered a birria quesadilla ($8.00), a carne asada taco ($4.00), and chips and salsa ($4.00).
I have been on a mission to find some really good chips and salsa in the city, and I've had bad luck so far...until now! Most restaurants have been passing off tiny cups of enchilada sauce as salsa (and charging like $10 for it), and it's been a huge bummer. I was very, very pleased with this thick, flavorful salsa.
⭐️Rating⭐️
🍽 Aesthetic: 4/5
There were no bells and whistles — just practical plates of delicious food. We had to get the quesadilla without guacamole because I'm allergic to avocados (😢), but I do think that added pop of green color would've made the plate even more appealing to the eyes. Even so, it all looked good and tasted great!
🍽 Taste: 5/5
In a word: SCRUMPTIOUS. The meat in both the quesadilla and the taco was so savory and juicy. I also couldn't get enough of the cheese in that quesadilla. Wooow.
🍽 Value: 5/5
Great bang for your buck! For Manhattan, these are some pretty cheap bites. Since you're ordering all your items a la carte, you can go as light or as heavy as you want. Just looking for a quick snack? Great, grab a taco! Craving a big dinner with some friends? Perfect, you can pick a few items all for yourself, or split a bunch of dishes amongst the group!
Stop #2: Joy Love Club
Address: 232 8th Ave., New York, New York 10011
Joy Love Club in Chelsea serves up comforting, wholesome Chinese food using French culinary techniques. It's owned and run by three hard-working women who have been in the hospitality industry for 30 years. Their mouth-watering dishes contain organic, locally sourced ingredients from farmers markets.
We started with the Joy Love wontons ($12), which contained prawn and water chestnut and were covered in chile oil. The dish comes with eight wontons, making it the perfect starter to split.
Next, we just had to get the chicken soup dumplings ($10). You'll find a lot of tasty soup dumplings in the city, but you rarely see chicken soup dumplings! Most of the time, they come pork or veggie filled.
Our next endeavor was trying out the Joy Love dumplings ($14) topped with mustard truffle sauce. Someone PLEASE get me a bucket of that sauce. Seriously. I was about to lick it off the plate.
Finally, we got a sizable bowl of the Joy Love noodles ($22), which contained hand-pulled noodles, ground ribeye, sesame, organic egg, and Sichuan peppercorn chile oil. 🤤 Peep Lisa's hands on the right expertly mixing the noodles for us!
Clean plate club! If we hadn't been on a fairly tight schedule for our food crawl, I would've holed up in our booth all day and eaten my way through this entire menu. Talk about comfort food!! Each dish made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
⭐️Rating⭐️
🍽 Aesthetic: 5/5
Did you see that plating? Absolutely stunning! Every dish looked as superb as they tasted.
🍽 Taste: 5/5
I was almost sad we had so many places to try after this one because I wanted to keep eating all that delicious food! Every sauce I encountered was like a warm blanket of flavor — the chile oil, the truffle mustard, and the sauce coating the noodles. I was more than pleased with every bite.
🍽 Value: 4/5
I think this is a pretty great deal, especially when you consider the location. Though it leans toward being a bit pricey on my budget-friendly scale, the meals themselves were massive and would surely yield leftovers, especially if you and your crew split some apps first. Given the quality of the food and the ambiance of the restaurant, it's a pretty valuable spot.
Stop #3: Indian Summer
Address: 239 Malcolm X Blvd., New York, New York 10027
Located on a quiet Harlem corner, Indian Summer provides authentic Indian cuisine in a relaxed setting. The menu is filled with pages of hearty, traditional dishes, so there's truly something for everyone to enjoy.
First and foremost, this lass (aka me) had her very first mango lassi ($6), and it was heaven in a cup! What a perfect treat for beating this miserable summer heat. It was so creamy, but lighter than a smoothie or a milkshake. I'm such a sucker for mangoes (few things are better than a fresh, sweet slice of mango...fight me if you don't agree), so I was in love.
Then, we started our third feast of the day with vegetable samosas ($5) with spicy potatoes and peas and chatpata poori ($5), a famous Indian street food filled with potato, chickpeas, coriander, and tamarind-yogurt sauce.
Here's a little close-up dissection so you can get a peek at those flavorful fillings! The chatpata poori (right) was cool in temperature, which I wasn't expecting. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the refreshing bite and all the various textures (crispy outside + cool, creamy inside).
For our main course, we ordered vegetable biryani ($13), which is basmati rice cooked with vegetables and a touch of saffron, and chicken hara masala ($15), which is chicken cooked with fresh coriander, mint, coconut milk, and spices. We also had to try some chile garlic naan bread ($5), and were given this gorgeous side of rice!
*Sweating* How spicy was the chile garlic naan? Well, that's naan of your business! JK, you have a right to know. It had quite a kick to it, and that's not just my wimpy heat tolerance talking. But dang, it was good.
Isn't this the loveliest bowl of rice you've ever seen? This heart reflects the ambiance of the entire restaurant. The setting was cozy and welcoming. We felt very taken care of (and very full!).
⭐️Rating⭐️
🍽 Aesthetic: 5/5
Everything was plated so beautifully, which made each dish intriguing and inviting. The colors in the vegetable biryani were incredible, and you already know I'm absolutely in love with that spice heart on the rice.
🍽 Taste: 4/5
I could go on and on about the deliciousness of that mango lassi, but I need to talk about the food too! I've always loved vegetable samosas, so no surprises there. I really enjoyed the unique texture/flavor combo of the chatpata poori and would order them again. The vegetable biryani and chicken hara masala were dishes of abundant flavor and abundant warmth! Speaking of warmth, that chile garlic naan did a number on my tongue (and probably my breath too, sorry). I was grateful to have that mango lassi to keep my mouth cool!
🍽 Value: 4/5
They certainly don't go light on their portions, and when it comes to a budget-friendly meal, the more food, the merrier! If you were to eat the chicken hara masala over that giant bowl of rice, you'd certainly be able to stretch it into two meals (and who doesn't love some late-night leftovers?).
Stop #4: The Noodle
Address: 370 Malcolm X Blvd., New York, New York 10027
Located in Harlem, The Noodle is a cozy Chinese noodle restaurant with a menu spanning from customizable noodle dishes to flavorful wings that'll challenge your spice tolerance. They also have this really awesome "slurp and burp" wall.
We decided to try their scallion ginger stir-fry ($14) with ribbon noodles and jackfruit (+$2). Jackfruit is the largest tree-borne fruit in the world, and it's grown in Asia, Africa, and South America. When it's unripe, it is often used in savory dishes and can even be used as a vegan substitute for meat!
Here's Lisa showing me how it's done. 😉
We also had to try these crispy scallion pancakes ($6). Their flaky, fried taste and texture reminded me of eating a snack at the fair.
Then, when I saw bao sliders ($7) on the menu, I knew I had to have them. I chose a pork filling, and though I've only ever had my buns steamed, I opted to try them fried. Let's just say I'll be making that decision again. 😋 These were, without a doubt, one of my favorite bites of the day!
Just a girl, standing in front of an iPhone camera, slurpin' and burpin.'
As we were preparing to head to our final stop of the day, an excited fan of Lisa's happened to walk into the restaurant! The young fan was absolutely precious, squealing with delight at every question Lisa asked her. She even started to cry before Lisa offered her a warm, friendly hug. What a special moment. ❤️
New foodie friends!!
⭐️Rating⭐️
🍽 Aesthetic: 3.5/5
Since the food was all packed in to-go containers, it didn't have the same aesthetic flair as some of the other spots. That being said, I really loved the fiery red container the noodles came in! Also, I had to add some aesthetic points for the plentiful sprinklings of cilantro on the sliders. I freakin' love cilantro, and if you think it tastes like soap, I'm so sorry.
🍽 Taste: 5/5
Though the scallion pancakes were perhaps not the best I've ever had, those noodles and the sliders were MAJOR wins. Also, this was my first time trying jackfruit, and that was really cool! It was such a nice touch to the noodle dish. But we all know I am mainly here to gush about the bao sliders. I mean, that was some bao that made me say WOW. I have dreamt about those sliders every day since I had them. I must have them again, and soon.
🍽 Value: 3.5/5
Though perhaps some of the other restaurants we tried had a little more "bang for the buck," I would still say The Noodle is a worthwhile budget-friendly spot. They have a decent list of dumplings and wontons, in addition to their wide array of noodle options.
Stop #5: Benyam
Address: 2795 Frederick Douglass Blvd., New York, New York 10039
Also located in Harlem, Benyam is a traditional, family-owned Ethiopian restaurant that boasts an expansive menu featuring an array of meat- and vegetable-based meals. They also have glasses and bottles of Ethiopian honey mead, sooo we tried that first.
We decided that our day of deliciousness needed to go out with a bang, so we went all in and ordered the meat/veggie sampler ($38.99) served on and with pieces of injera.
Look 👏 at 👏 that 👏 TEXTURE! 👏👏 Injera is a sour, spongy flatbread that's the perfect vehicle for sampling all the goodness shown above!
"No, I couldn't possibly eat another bite!" *Continues to munch on injera.*
⭐️Rating⭐️
🍽 Aesthetic: 4/5
I absolutely adore the setup of this plate (and not just because I was excited to get extra injera)! I love a sampler platter because it's like a mini buffet of flavors to try. It's a great way to learn about your tastes. You may find a flavor you don't like, but you may also discover something you love! Plus, it looks cool and it does the trick.
🍽 Taste: 3.5/5
Ironically, the things I expected to like the least became the things I liked the most! I've never been a fan of peas, but I really liked these yellow split peas. Same goes for the cabbage and carrots! I knew I'd like that chicken though, so I guess that didn't come as a surprise. To be quite honest, I was absolutely stuffed by the time we reached this spot and didn't get to fully immerse myself in the flavors. I did enjoy it, but I was taking baby bites at this point. I'd love to go back on an empty stomach!
🍽 Value: 4/5
Though you might see that price and think, Umm, is that really budget friendly? welcome to New York, baby! But also, when you think about it, this is a platter designed for two or more people. They also offer a sampler platter for one person that's priced at $20.99. Even so, I think going all in with the bigger sampler platter and bringing some foodie friends along is the best (and most budget-conscious) way to go!
Final thoughts: I'm so happy I got to experience all of these unique restaurants! And, I'm even happier I got to do so with someone as kind, intelligent, and creative as Lisa! Lisa truly loves food, and she loves celebrating the people and the restaurants that share their flavors with communities. How cool that we got to experience these restaurants together!
⭐️Our favorite bites of the day⭐️
🍽 Sullivan Taqueria
Hannah's favorite: Birria quesadilla
Lisa's favorite: Birria quesadilla
🍽 Joy Love Club
Hannah's favorite: Chicken soup dumplings
Lisa's favorite: Joy Love wontons
🍽 Indian Summer
Hannah's favorite: Mango lassi
Lisa's favorite: Chicken hara masala
🍽 The Noodle
Hannah's favorite: Fried bao buns with pork
Lisa's favorite: Scallion ginger stir-fry with jackfruit
🍽 Benyam
Hannah's favorite: Split peas with injera
Lisa's favorite: Beef stew
Next time you're visiting Manhattan and you're feeling overwhelmed by all the restaurant options, consider one of these spots! Get out of Midtown and explore the restaurants on a quieter street. And, if you live in the city or surrounding area, I encourage you to do your own budget-friendly food crawl! Try one of these restaurants out, or make your own list of delicious destinations to visit. I would love to take my next food tour outside of Manhattan and explore the great eats in other boroughs! We had to stick to Manhattan in the interest of time, but I bet I could find even better budget-friendly bites in other boroughs! Send me your restaurant suggestions for all over New York City, and I'll send you mine! I've got a looong list that just keeps growing.🍴
Check out this TikTok if you're interested in seeing a little more of our journey!
@bringme More food.. and more.. and more please!🗽😍 #foodcrawl #nyceats #newyorkcity #foodie
♬ Aesthetic - Tollan Kim
Cheers to a perfect day filled with food and friendship! Thanks for following along. ❤️
