TAKING a bite of the Big Apple isn?t as budget-breaking as some people would like us to believe. Sure, the city is home to expensive restaurants with prices that range from high to shocking ($350 tasting menu at Masa, anyone?). But New York is also crawling with great food finds that won?t drain a hole in your pocket.

Here is the Super guide to cheap eats in New York. You can keep your $20,000. Trust us, you won?t be needing it.

Hotel secret: The burger joint

Forget the Kobe beef burger with black truffles, seared foie gras and gold flecks from the Wall Street Burger Shoppe. Would you really shell out $175 for a burger? Instead, head over to Le Parker Meridien hotel (119 West 56th Street), go to the lobby and part the maroon curtain, which is hiding a very tasty secret ? The Burger Joint.

Take one step into this place and forget that you are actually inside a hotel. The Burger Joint looks like a random greasy hangout but this city secret serves really good burgers ?so good that its cheeseburger was included in GQ?s list of 20 Burgers You Must Eat Before You Die. The Burger Joint?s cheeseburger, which comes loaded with lettuce, tomato, onion, sliced pickles, mustard, ketchup and mayo, costs only $7.35. If you want to get yourself an extra treat, order fries, $3.67 and a milkshake, $5.00, which they only serve after 1:30 p.m.

Consider yourself lucky if you get to grab one of the coveted booths. There are a lot of Burger Joint fanatics ? don?t be surprised to see a line snaking out of the curtain. But don?t worry, service is quick.

Korean fried chicken

There are a number of Korean fried chicken places in New York right now but our favorite is Unidentified Flying Chickens (71-22 Roosevelt Ave. Jackson Heights). The New York Times and New York Magazine agree with us. The New York Times compared UFC to other Korean fried chicken places Bon Chon and Bon Bon and declared UFC as the best for its ?most rounded flavors? while New York Magazine gave it a score of five drumsticks, the only one out of a list of seven that got the perfect rating. UFC?s chicken is fresh, crisp and juicy.

Choose from four flavors ? Hot, BBQ Mustard, Sweet and Spicy and Soy Garlic. The Soy Garlic variant is the best, especially when eaten with UFC?s coleslaw. Other side dishes include macaroni, garden salad, Korean radish, white rice, french fries and sweet potato. Chicken orders come in two sizes ? $10 for small (10 wings, 6 drumsticks or 6 wings plus three drumsticks) or large for $18 (20 wings, 12 drumsticks or 8 wings and six drumsticks). UFC?s chicken is so good that we ate there about four times in one week and even flew back to Los Angeles with a bag full of soy garlic wings.

Vietnamese pork chops

Forget Babbo Ristorante?s $29 pork chop. Nha Trang One (87 Baxter St. between Canal and Bayard Sts. in Chinatown) is a Vietnamese restaurant that serves pork chops that will keep you coming back for more. An entire meal at Nha Trang One will cost you less than five dollars. The food is good (try the pho, spring rolls and the ice cold coffee drip too), the prices reasonable and the service is unbelievably fast.

Pizza pizza pizza

Truth be told, I?d be fine with any huge slice from any Ray?s pizza. At just over $2 per slice, they?ve never failed to hit the spot. But my more discerning friends from New York recommend Lombardi?s (32 Spring St., New York), Two Boots Pizza (branches are all over New York, visit www.twoboots.com) and Grimaldi?s (visit Grimaldis.com). Large pizzas are mostly under $20 ? great for sharing and sticking to your budget.

All-day breakfast

If you want breakfast for breakfast or breakfast for lunch, head straight to Norma?s, which is also at Le Parker Meridien hotel (119 West 56th Street), open from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Norma?s serves unforgettable breakfast platters. Try the Irresistible Banana-Macadamia Nut Flap Jacks with Whipped Banana Brown Sugar Butter ($21), Chocolate Decadence French Toast Covered in Strawberries Pistachios and Valrhona Chocolate Sauce ($23), Artychoked Benedict with Truffle Porcini Sauce ($23) and Scrambled Eggs and Bacon Breakfast Quesadilla ($21). Just skip the only insane thing on the menu ? The Zillion Dollar Lobster Frittata which costs $100 with one ounce of Sevruga Caviar and $1000 with 10 ounces of Sevruga Caviar. That is just too much money to pay for an omelette.

Colombian comfort food

Huge meat platters are served daily at Pollos A La Brasa Mario (81-01 Roosevelt Ave. Jackson Heights, New York, http://www.pollosalabrasamario.com). Chicken may be their specialty but we went there for the huge slabs of meat. Try their Grilled T-Bone Steak with french fries and salad, $16.95, Grilled Beef, Pork Skin, Egg, Corn Cake Sweet Plantain, Rice, Beans and Avocado for $10.95, Pork Loin with Salad, Sweet Plantain, Rice and Beans, $9.95. That was serious Latin American comfort food.

Twin treats

At Pop Burger (14 E 58th Street and at 58th and at 58-60 Ninth Avenue), some items on the menu come in twos, making them perfect for sharing. The POP burgers (2) cheese are $6.75, the hot dogs (2) are $7 and the gobble, gobble are $8. Fries or onion rings are $3.75.

Hot dogs!

After the president?s $20,000 dinner at Le Cirque, Press Secretary Cerge Remonde was quoted as saying that the president could not be expected to eat in a hotdog stand. Did he mean the ones around Central Park? Well of course we don?t expect the president to eat the hotdogs there. They?re bad. In fact, the last time I ate a Central Park hotdog, I had to whip out a packet of mayonnaise from my backpack (one I saved after a trip to The Burger Joint) just so I could eat the thing. But what about Gray?s Papaya? Surely the president can eat there? Even Salma Hayek attacked it with gusto in the movie Fools Rush In. The iconic hotdog, which has been featured in movies like You?ve Got Mail, Nick and Norah?s Infinite Playlist and Die Hard With a Vengeance, also came out in Sex and the City. If it?s good enough for Carrie, it?s good enough for us. One more reason to love Gray?s Papaya? Their Recession Special ? two franks and a 14 oz. drink ? is just $3.50.

Dessert deals

With all the money you?ve saved, you deserve some sugary treats. Here are a few that would satisfy your sweet tooth without draining your bank account:

Rice to Riches (37 Spring Street between Mott and Mulberry St). Don?t like rice pudding? Rice to Riches might just change your mind. There are thirty flavors to choose from?our top picks are Coast to Coast Cheesecake and Sex, Drugs and Rocky Road. The Rice Pudding comes in five sizes?try the Diva ($4) or the Solo ($6). We love Rice to Riches? reusable packaging. I should have brought it home.

Chinatown Ice Cream Factory (65 Bayard Street Manhattan Chinatown) offers unusual flavors like lychee, taro, black sesame, chocolate pandan, durian, ginger, longan, pumpkin pie and coconut. Don?t worry ? they serve your favorites too. The butter pecan, pistachio and strawberry cheesecake are top picks. Watch out for avocado, peanut butter and jelly and chocolate caramel pecans which are served only occasionally. Each cone is $3.75.

Crumbs (all over the city, visit www.crumbs.com). When we crave cupcakes in New York ? we go straight to Crumbs. I will never forget my first bite of their Raspberry Swirl. The flavor exploded in my mouth and I was hooked. Try the Cappuccino, Banana Split, Stawberry, Oreo, Cookie Dough. Each big cupcake is $3.75. You can also buy a taste pack of their best seller collection ? 12 small cupcakes for $18. These cupcakes are so good that I?ve actually hand-carried them home to Manila.