NYC restaurants aren't cheap, but cheap food can be had

I write this the day after my NYC return.

Eating out in NYC isn't cheap-cheap my default. Their restaurants are about as expensive as Seattle ones, but offer much better quality. However, cheap and amazing food can be had. There's the halal carts, Asian restaurants, pizza places, and those small hole-in-the wall restaurants that will offer incredible deals for well under $10. One can feed 3 fully-grown adults a full tasty meal for about $20 bucks, a task that would be nigh-impossible in Seattle.

Having said that, average prices in NYC do seem to be on the lower side. The quality is definitely higher too. Most importantly of all, they don't do bs 'service charge' and 'mandatory 25% tipping' bullshit that has become the bane of outgoing eater in Seattle. Eating in the East is predictable, the quality's higher, and the prices are slightly lower. The choices are infinite: as good as they could possibly be anywhere else in the world.

Of course food options are better in NYC, but it doesn't have to be such a big gap. Seattle could do better, but our do-nothing politicians would rather we stay a second-rate backwater.