Getting food of some distinction in full-service restaurants and staying below $99 isn't too easy, but it can be done.
What are your favorite restaurants for great food at a good price?
GOOD LORD! I don't think the Contessa and I have ever eaten out for over $75. And the one time the bill was that much she said "we'll only be coming here once a year" The food in New York city must be lined with gold. I can't imagine paying $100 for a meal for 2.
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NYC is one helluva expensive place, period. A co-worker who was based there actually used to pay more per month for his parking space than for his apartment.
As of October 2007, Zagat reported that the average NYC dinner, food items only and not at anyplace terribly special, ran at just shy of $40.00 each. It'll be more if you eat at a nice steakhouse; somewhere known and frequented in, say, Little Italy (the pastries at Ferrara are to die for, though, if spendy); or at a celeb chef's place like the Mesa Grill (a colleague and I tried it once in the mid-90s when it was just us in town for the first day of exhibit set-up: it came off as little more than a souped-up Chili's, to be honest. But then I'm no fan of Bobby Flay).
Budgeting for trade shows there, I routinely allowed for double the normal per diem. You kind of had to.
The good news is that there are bargains to be had if you look for them. A mammoth pastrami sandwich from one of the bazillion delis is enough to keep you going all day with a little left over for a midnight snack. Ditto with pub grub (we liked the Landmark Tavern, an Irish pub within walking distance of the Javits convention center...as few things are, sadly...but their food was authentic, hearty, casual and reasonable). And if you brave the byways of Chinatown the food is great and the prices sane, particularly if you have a gang and share a variety of dishes.
But, yeah, it can be a challenge for two to dine out for less than a Franklin.
And bear in mind that this reflects my memories from my last trip to NYC, which was in 1995.
That show (1995) included my then-employer's 30th anniversary, BTW. I arranged a gala reception for a few hundred of the company's bestest friends at the Museum Of Modern Art after hours. Champagne and hors d'oeuvres flowed freely - at a well-and-intricately-negotiated price - and we had private access to a photo exhibit in one of the galleries for the evening.
I *loved* that job. But when your baby is just one year old, in day care in San Jose while you're commuting to San Francisco every day, something's gotta give...
But, no regrets. It's all good.
The only time I was ever close to NYC was on my honeymoon when we drove past Albany. I don't think I could afford to go.
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