Gaia is a tiny Italian restaurant that's open for lunch every day but dinner only on Saturdays. Reservations are mandatory and hard to come by. Check the website for the hours during which you have to call to make a reservation, as well as the rules of the restaurant (yes, there are rules, and they are important). Don't forget to BYOB.

Ktown has plenty of great expensive places to eat, but at Woorijip you can get a huge Korean feast and your own personal bottle of soju for less than $30. It's basically like a cafeteria, but with some seating in the middle. A great place to eat before heading to the nearby karaoke bars.

If you've never had soba before, you must go to Cocoron and get the mera mera dip soba. Few things are as comforting on a cold NYC night.

For my money, the best pho in lower Manhattan.

Skip Vanessa's and come here instead. A plate of pork dumplings and some peanut noodles will set you back less than $5.

If I had to guess, I'd say there are more bodegas in NYC than people. But if you're after an awesome lunch (instead of a more shopping-focused bodega run for batteries, ice cream, and hot sauce) then Sunny and Annie's is the best in the city -- primarily for their super creative sandwich combos.

Tiny, usually a wait, and with sometimes surly servers (I once got kicked out for asking that they bring me a dish that I ordered and paid for but never received), but worth it for the food. The big plate chicken and the pork pancake are two of the best Chinese dishes in the city. BYOB, but if you do, they strictly enforce a $12 food minimum per person, which should give you a sense of how inexpensive this place is.

Popular at all hours of the day and night for soups, burgers, sandwiches, and in particular, pierogis. Open 24 hours.

The best falafel in Manhattan, alongside homemade pita, hummus, and salads.

Take-out spot for huge plates of impossibly cheap vegetarian Indian food.

Pretty well known at this point, but they are still the best tacos in the city. Freshly pressed corn and flour tortillas, delicious fillings, and all sorts of salsas. Make sure you try a queso taco if you love cheese. Best consumed immediately while hunched over a high top table with strangers.

Yes it's a (small) chain, but it's a great standby for creative middle eastern sandwiches and veggie sides.

Mediterranean fast casual assembly line lunch spots are a dime a dozen in NYC, but this one is the best. Their huge bowls of shawarma, kebabs, and veggies are great for a cheap, fast, healthy, and filling lunch.

When I lived around the corner from Mally's I would go at least twice a week. A true hole in the wall, this tiny taqueria/bodega is usually manned by just one woman, who presses fresh tortillas to order. Without a doubt the best tacos in Bushwick. Get the milanesa cemita and thank me later.

Another sandwich institution, this time Italian, and in Brooklyn. No better way to overcome a Saturday morning hangover than by consuming a face-sized sandwich filled with meats and cheeses.

Ok this is no longer a hole in the wall, but it's worth mentioning for this pro tip: order your pizza online, for pickup, well in advance, breeze past the huge line, grab your pizza, take it to the beautiful back garden.

Delicious Salvadorean food in Williamsburg, if you're looking for a change of pace.

The best falafel in Queens. More options than Taim, including fantastic Shawarma and baked goods.

My go-to middle eastern spot when I lived in Williamsburg. Huge plates of chicken and veggies, and awesome sauces and sides.

Can you tell I ate a ton of middle eastern food when I lived around here? Make sure you get a few of the salads, which change week-to-week but are always amazing.

Primarily a tortilla factory, but they have a small dining room where they serve very good tacos. BYOB. Great spot to hang out for a few hours and try every taco on the menu.

Havana Outpost was once described to me as Fort Greene's backyard, and I think that's pretty appropriate. Great Cuban food and drinks with an even better patio, where they sometimes show movies at night.

Huge plates of shawarma, falafel and hummus, but the primary attraction is the phenomenal fresh baked pita. Grab one (or 4) and some hummus and take it to their back patio.