Here's My Favorite Way To Pull Off Rachael Ray's $40 A Day In NYC

In 2002, Rachael Ray set off across North America and Europe with a budget of $40 a day for meals. The celebrity chef's show, aptly titled "$40 a Day," aired until 2005 on Food Network. Throughout these three seasons, Ray visited popular cities and tourist spots in search of unique, budget-friendly meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. She avoided massive fast food chains like McDonald's or Burger King, opting for more localized but still affordable options. Back then, the buying power of $40 in the U.S. was around $72 when adjusted today for inflation. 

However, I wanted to see if we could stick to the original premise of the show while taking on a major foodie city in the U.S. Opting to try this experiment in New York City, my goal was to find three reputable food spots and get some filling, flavorful meals that stuck to Ray's original $40 budget from over two decades ago. I sought to include trendy spots to prove that you can still eat well and get those Instagram-worthy food shots without breaking your wallet. That being said, here's my favorite way to pull off Rachael Ray's $40 a day in the Big Apple.

For the first stop on this budget meal journey, I headed over to Radio Bakery in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn, which is a must-try for those who love creative baked goods and homemade focaccia. The same team behind Rolo's — which is one of "The Bear" star Jeremy Allen White's favorite restaurants — launched the bakery's flagship Greenpoint location in 2023. By 2024, The New York Times named it one of the best bakeries across the U.S., and in May 2025, this Prospect Heights spot opened up. 

Radio Bakery's the type of place you'd walk by, see a line wrapped around the block waiting to enter, and wonder, "Is it really that good?" Trust me when I say, the answer is yes. The bakery offers tons of pastries and baked goods for under $10, like the shakshuka focaccia slice or the maple sage breakfast sausage croissant, for an affordable NYC breakfast. Everything is baked in-house daily and available on a first-come, first-serve basis. Since many items sell out quickly, it's recommended to get there early.

I opted to try a pastry that's exclusive to the bakery's Prospect Heights location: the Darjeeling cardamom morning bun. Coming in at $6 before tax and tip, this bun is large — around the size of my hand — and absolutely delicious. Looking almost like a cinnamon-roll-croissant hybrid, it has a light, flaky exterior dusted with a sugary mixture. Once past the crispy outside, you're met with soft, moist layers beneath. The interior has a very prominent buttery flavor profile that complements the outer layers beautifully. The cardamom comes through with each bite, giving the bun a warming spice that balances the sweetness, with delicate notes of Darjeeling tea peeking through. If you're in the area, this is a must-try.

radiobakery.nyc

Multiple locations

I went to DeKalb Market Hall in Downtown Brooklyn for lunch. As this borough's largest food hall, it's a solid spot if you're hungry but feeling uninspired. With food stalls featuring a range of global cuisine, from Korean street food at BK Gangnam to Caribbean flavors at Likkle More Jerk, taking a quick loop around the hall will surely spark your appetite. One of my favorite stalls is called Pierogi Boys. Opened by two Polish natives in 2017 right in DeKalb Market Hall, this spot serves up a range of homemade pierogi, along with other Polish classics, like borscht and kielbasa. Using family recipes passed down through the generations, the Polish dumplings at Pierogi Boys are handmade to order. The stall prides itself on not owning a freezer, as written on the menu sign itself, further emphasizing that freshness.

I decided to grab an order of six potato and cheese pierogi, which set me back $13.50 before tax and tip. You can choose to order the dumplings either fried or boiled — I opted to get them boiled. These dumplings are filled with a traditional mix of potatoes and farmer cheese, and are topped with caramelized onions and fresh chives. Each order also comes with sour cream. 

These were some of the best pierogi I've had in a very long time. The dumplings are a good size, and the dough is super pillowy and soft. The filling itself is well seasoned, with that mild, slightly tangy cheese flavor coming through, along with a well-balanced salt level that complements those sweet and savory caramelized onions. I was nervous that six dumplings might not be enough to hold me over, but they were very rich and filling.

pierogi.nyc

(929) 368-2768

445 Albee Square W, Brooklyn, NY 11201

Xi'an Famous Foods, a noodle restaurant founded by Shaanxi native David Shi in Flushing, Queens, in 2005, is credited as the first restaurant to bring the punchy flavors of Shaanxi cuisine to U.S. palates. When culinary legend Anthony Bourdain visited the original basement food stall for a 2007 episode of his Travel Channel show, "Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations," it put Xi'an Famous Foods on the map. Since then, the restaurant has expanded, joining some of the best noodle shops in NYC's Chinatown and opening up shop throughout NYC's boroughs.

Some of the most popular dishes on the menu are hand-ripped noodles, which are also called biang-biang noodles due to the sound the dough makes when stretched and smacked against the countertop. At Xi'an Famous Foods, all hand-ripped noodle dishes are made fresh to order. As you wait for your meal, you can watch the chefs pulling, stretching, and slapping the noodle dough right in front of you. The chefs work quickly, and the restaurant recommends you eat your noodles quickly, as well, or within 15 minutes for optimal texture and consistency. 

I ordered the pork zha jiang hand-ripped noodles at the regular spicy level. Before tax and tip, this affordable NYC dinner came out to $11.75. These wide noodles are covered in a savory-sweet ground pork sauce and topped with julienned cucumbers. The sauce clung well to the noodles, which were bouncy and chewy. There's a spice that hits you in the backend of each bite, which builds, making it so you want to eat the entire bowl in one go. That said, the noodles were so hearty, rich, and punchy that I was full before I could finish the last few bites.

xianfoods.com

Multiple locations

Throughout the day, I stopped at three different locations: Radio Bakery, Pierogi Boys, and Xi'an Famous Foods. Breakfast, which consisted of a Darjeeling cardamom morning bun, was $6 without tax and tip, with the final total adding up to $7.71. The initial cost for those potato and cheese pierogi for lunch was $13.50, which totaled $16.90 with tax and tip. For dinner, the pork zha jiang hand-ripped noodles I ordered were listed as $11.75 on the menu. Following tax and tip, the total came out to $12.79. 

The full price of a day's worth of meals, including tax and tip at each location, comes out to a final expenditure of $37.40. This proves that Rachael Ray's $40-a-day challenge can still hold its own in 2025, and you can have some filling, flavor-packed meals along the way. This was my way of doing it. Can you take on the challenge yourself?