Consider ordering the terrific Long Island duck dumplings at this new Brookfield Place stand from the Yunnan Kitchen team. They're not exactly a steal at $8 for six, but these funky poultry dumplings are larger than what you'll find on Eldridge Street, and one order is big enough for a meal. Northern Tiger also offers wraps for $9 and salads for $6.

[Photo: Greg Morabito]

Ligaya Mishan recently discovered this tiny restaurant under the Manhattan Bridge specializing in Northern Chinese noodles and street food. The critic recommends ordering the spice-dusted griddled pancake, as well as the Qishan noodles, which come with minced pork and a spicy broth. The priciest item is $8, and most dishes are much cheaper than that.

[Photo: Foursquare]

The specialty at this Lower East Side newcomer is kottu, a Sri Lankan stir-fry made with slivers of roti, vegetables, and meat or seafood. Kottu House serves many varieties of this spicy dish, along with fried snacks and add-ons like sambol, a peppery coconut paste. For a light meal or a major snack, order one of the small portions, priced from $7 to $9. [Photo: Greg Morabito]

Robert Sietsema recently observed that "Venezuelan fare is beginning to feel like a next big thing." Case in point: Venezuelan sandwich and snack shop Patacon Pisao recently expanded to the Lower East Side. Like the original food truck and the Elmhurst restaurant that it spawned, this new outpost serves sandwiches made with fried plantain buns, plus arepas, empanadas, sweet corn crepes, tacuchos (Venezuelan burritos), and salads. The hefty patacon sandwiches run from $7.50 to $10.50, and the arepas cost between $6 and $9.50

[Photo: Robert Sietsema]

James Beard Award-winning pastry chef Brooks Headley recently left Del Posto to open this casual veggie burger stand in the East Village. The restaurant's signature $6 dish is a crispy patty made with a mix of farro, quinoa, brown rice, and barley. It's served on a soft bun with iceberg lettuce and pickles. This sandwich gets high marks from vegetarians and meat-eaters alike. The menu also includes a vegan sloppy Joe, a tofu-stuffed "hippy wrap," and a burnt broccoli salad. You can get a burger, a salad, and dessert for under $15. [Photo: Nick Solares]

This year-old Syrian restaurant serves shawarma and falafel bowls as well as sandwiches made with floppy flatbreads. After his first meal, Sietsema wrote: "Mirage Kitchen's no mirage — it's a solid place for a reasonably price lunch or a fast, modest dinner, and a boon to vegetarians." Eater's critic especially likes the chickpea fries for $3.50.

[Photo: Robert Sietsema]

This Chelsea Japanese cafe offers 10 varieties of omusubi, priced from $2.50 to $4. Options include a Hawaiian rice ball with Spam and dried tomato, another made with sweet potato, and a version topped with beef and burdock root. For lunch, you can get two balls with soup, an appetizer, and pickles for $10.50, and a similar deal is available at dinner with an extra starter for $13.50 [Facebook]

One of New York's ramen pioneers recently sprouted a second location on Amsterdam Avenue, near City College. Rai Rai Ken uptown serves five varieties of ramen, plus pork buns, crispy chicken, dumplings, and fried rice dishes. Sietsema notes: "[T]he unadorned space feels more like a Chinese restaurant than a Japanese ramen parlor — which is just fine, since the prices are even lower than at its downtown counterpart." The most expensive dish on the menu is $9.

[Photo: Robert Sietsema]

Around this time last year, Mari Cano — AKA the Arepa Lady — opened a restaurant serving the amazing corn cakes that she's peddled from a cart on Roosevelt Avenue for two decades. The sensational arepa do choclo is only $4.

[Photo: Foursquare]

Around this time last year, the Seersucker team moved Nightingale 9 out of this small space and reopened it as a inexpensive Southern comfort food restaurant. The chicken is the star of the show — a crispy breast is $6, and half-chicken dinners are $15 — but also consider ordering the fried bologna sandwich ($5) and the burger ($8). [Photo: Robert Sietsema]

The eclectic menu at this year-old bodega/taqueria includes Pueblan specialties alongside deli salads and Tex-Mex items. In his three star review, Sietsema recommends the tacos placeros, the monster cemitas, the poblano-and-cheese-stuffed burrito, and the cactus-topped plato ranchero. [Photo: Paul Crispin Quitoriano]