….or at least cheap stuff!

My friend Doug got wind of a $5 lunch (three courses, no less) that the Paramount Hotel offer on the 5th of every month to anyone who brings in a headshot. So we trundled off yesterday, headshots in hand and enjoyed a delicious meal in a swanky hotel for 5 of those green paper things. New York is a great city for being poor in – there are so many fantastic places to eat, go out, drink and have fun for relatively little cost. Here are my favourites:

Jake’s Dilemma, Amsterdam Ave between 80th and 81st Sts – the whole bar is half price on Fridays till 8pm and Saturday and Sunday till 7pm. They do a bunch of other drinks deals during the week so I can enjoy a cold beverage for less than $3 and a chilled Grey Goose on the rocks for under $5. Bargain. Plus, the bartender during happy hour is a lovely lady named Karen who deserves your tips.

Alligator Lounge, Metropolitan Ave, Williamsburg – get off the L at the Lorimer stop any night of the week and enjoy a free brick-oven pizza with the purchase of any drink. It’s a great bar and the pizzas are some of the best you’ll eat.

MoMA – it’s free on a Friday night if you don’t mind it being busy and full of other poor actors.

Central Park – it’s huge, it’s free and it’s pretty.

The Paramount Hotel – get a three-course lunch for $5 on the 5th of every month if you bring a headshot.

American Museum of Natural History – the admission is a suggested donation only; I usually pay $5 to get admission to all the general exhibitions. The Met is the same and they have to accept whatever you offer as a donation. So be nice, but be in your budget as well!

Share your knowledge of free and cheap fun!