Mike’s Papaya

Out of business — remove

This tiny little business on the corner has okay food at GREAT prices.
Their hotdogs have the perfect «snap» casing that I love. And their cheese is like fake cheese, but whatever. Tastes great with their dogs anyway.
Cheese fries are yum yum too.
I don’t recommend getting their Philly Cheesesteak though. It’s not really anything close to a Philly Cheesesteak…
Never tried their Papaya juice, but I have tried their O.J. Pretty good!

Now that I don’t go to school a couple of blocks away, I actually find myself craving their cheese fries. That’s saying a lot for such a tiny store.
It’s basically standard hot dog joint food. They have rows of hot dogs sitting on the grill, ready for whoever orders it next. I like their philly cheesesteak. It’s a lot of meat for a very cheap price (I remember it to be around $ 3).
It’s definitely a hop-​in-​get-​food-​hop-​the-​fuck-​out kind of place, though. There’s not that much standing space, with no seats at all. There are huge tubs of condiments sitting on the bar facing the street. It’s a nice place to people-​watch if you get the right corner and don’t mind standing.
It’s not the cleanest place. There’s grease and oil all over the place. But what do you expect for such cheap food?
One complaint for me are the over-​ambitious workers. They constantly try to speak to me in Asian languages, ranging from Chinese to Korean. When I obviously don’t answer them back, they continue to try and get me to answer in Chinese (or Korean, which I don’t know a word of). They keep persisting and it gets quite annoying.

In the words of my co-​worker/​supervisor/​superior, «You’ll never get food poisoning here.»
The hot dogs were just that: hot dogs. They were hot dogs at a hot dog price: I had two for $ 3.00. One had «cheese» on it, the others had the raw onions in sauce. Now, I put the cheese in quotes since it was that cheez whiz type stuff.
This was a good lunch though. I will definitely stop in again at some point next time I’m in the area. I mean, it’s a lunch on the cheap in Lower Manhattan. If you want something overpriced, go elsewhere, if you’re just looking for a quick lunch, bam!– Mike’s Papaya.

Disgusting.
The place has flies flying around. There’s a repulsive musty scent that slaps you across your face soon as you open the door. The food is cheap and it tastes cheap. Their fries are either rock hard or barely solid.
Sometimes I even wonder if they put MSG in their food.

It’s a ridiculously cheap place in the financial district. Good hotdogs, fruit juices and cheese fries (although they are soggy sometimes). I visit it occasionally when I don’t have bucks on me and want some delicious and filling food. The place is not big but it can fit quite some people. Food is served quickly and the servers are pretty nice. I recommend this place. However, if you are looking for high quality food/​service, Mike’s papaya isn’t the place for you.

For under $ 5 at Mike’s, you’ve got lunch.
This was the first papaya location I have ever been to. And I must say– they spoiled me. I used to get two chili dogs, a papaya drink and an order of fries (shared with a friend), and it was ridiculously cheap.
I love the snap you hear every time you bite into a papaya dog. When you dont get the chili on your dog, the onions are the next best thing.
They make an amazing freshly squeezed orange juice that in my opinion– is the perfect antitidote for when you are feeling a little under the weather.
When I visited other Papaya spots to find there were no fries, chili or fresh OJ, my heart sank a little– but this place is great.
Minus a star for the several times I ordered fries that came COVERED in salt… but other than that its a great spot for the Broke and Hungry.

I’m was staying the Battery Park/​World Trade Center area for the weekend and wanted a good NY hot dog without having to taxi or metro too far away. After Google and Unilocal proximity searches that both confirmed this location was open it has been closed each time I’ve called or visited (both times in the middle of the day, not off hours).

Your standard hot dog joint. Cheap, dirty, tasty, wham-​bam-​thankyou-​maam type joint. I wasn’t too fond that the hotdogs looked overheated and wrinkled, a clear sign that they were neglected for the most of the day.
You can get hotdogs like you get on the street (Sabrettes), but for a buck.
However, I would suggest dishing the extra buck and getting the hot sausage because that thing is as close as you get to a real sausage.
Speaking of which, let me rant. When you bite into those long wiener sausages, what are those little white pieces within? I remember back in the day, my cousins pranked me and told me that the white spots in spam were the ground up bones of people killed by the spam mafia. Is there such thing as a spam mafia? I’m pretty sure. Anyhow, I applied the same logic to the sausages in Sabrettes hotdogs and am convinced they’re made by one of the many infamous underground mafiosos in NYC. Well, kind of.
Papaya drink is decent, fries are mushy but cheap. There’s other choices to be tried, but what else would you really come here for? Get your two hotdogs, fries, and papaya drink for ~$ 5 and get outta there!
Oh and 10% discount if you flash your student ID. Usually a grand total of $.20 to $.50.

I was in the Wall St. area so decided to walk over here. The two small hot dogs with kraut really hit the spot. And the papaya drink was excellent. Should have ordered another papaya drink! And under $ 4!

Great place to go to when you have a break from class. You get a 10% discount if you are a student. Good food, Great prices.

Two hot dogs and a drink for under 5? This place has been a lifeline since I started working in Tribeca 18 months ago. They are right outside the Chambers Street C&A lines, and provide the perfect way to start a day — an egg and salami and cheese sandwich for $ 1.25, (50 cents more if you get coffee). The dogs are great. Highly recommended.

While the hot dogs are not of the highest quality, they absolutely are worth their price! My friend and I were starved after a long day of sightseeing, so we each ordered the $ 3.50 recession special: 2 hot dogs and a drink.
Size wise, the hot dogs are very small. But when you’re paying such a low price, you barely notice!
The onions looked a little odd because they were covered in a reddish sauce, but we both decided to try it on one of our hot dogs. They actually tasted great! I’d get both my hot dogs with onions if I went back.
The drinks are great and taste very fresh. My mango drink tasted like real mango and my friend raved about her papaya juice.
Come here if you want a cheap meal!

I used to eat lunch here maybe 4 days a week back when I went to Stuy and the recession special was around $ 2.50, and hot dogs were 50 cents each. Those were the times.
Anyways, everything here is amazing, from the dogs, to the drinks (coconut is the best), to the fries, to the burgers. There really is no good reason NOT to eat at least once at this place if you’re in the area… period.
I know, this is a terse review, but you’ll thank me when you go.

$ 0.99 for a hot dog with the basic condiments?
Um, duh. Like this is a hard decision.

I love hot dogs. No I mean, I really really love hot dogs. This place fulfills my every dream. The dogs are delish. I love the fruity drinks. And I can get lunch for less than $ 4.00.
Oh and STUDENT DISCOUNT. Flash your student ID when ordering. It’s only 10% off, but still that’s 30 – 40 cents you could put in your piggybank in these trying economic times.

Hard to beat this place when you need to eat on a budget in TriBeCa.
The recession special (2 hot dogs and a drink) for $ 3.50 (that’s including tax) is obviously the best deal in the area. The hot dogs are good and the buns are also toasted on the grill, which makes for a delicious hot dog.
They also have breakfast but I haven’t had that yet so I can’t really comment.

This hot dog hole-​in-​the-​wall was a frequent lunch spot for me for the obvious reasons: The hot dogs are cheap, everything else is cheap, and the food is served extremely fast. It’s like any other Gray’s, except cheaper for some reason. The two hot dogs and a drink for $ 3.50 (it might be $ 3.75 by now) is the best deal you will find in the area. There is also breakfast in the morning: eggs, bologna, sandwiches on their hamburger buns, but it is not as good as the lunch «menu».
And also! for those of you who are students of any level, they give 10% off if you show your ID. I used my graduate school ID all the time without a problem. Holla!

I only discovered this place halfway through my high school years and it quickly secured a place on my mental «cheap and unreasonably delicious food» list.
This was my favorite of the Papaya places, partly because they seem to just serve more STUFF (do not miss the disgustingly delectable chili cheese fries). But mostly because for some reason, their hot dogs are SO much better than the hot dogs of the other Papayas: lightly toasted bun, not too salty, and with a distinctive SNAP. The snap is what makes it legit, people!
I like mine with nothing but sauerkraut, sometimes mustard. The papaya drink is standard and nice, even though I dislike papaya as an intact fruit. The non-​alcoholic piña colada drink or whatever is pretty gross. During a particularly glorious period, they had 25 cent coffee all day– teeny cups and mediocre coffee, but 25 cents, come on!
Am I biased because I frequented this place after school during my four years at Stuy, when my days were characterized by hunger on account of waking up too early to get breakfast and having to rush homework during lunch periods? Maybe. But not by much.
Not sure if it’s still open, since the last several times I passed by, it was closed. I thought all the Papayas were 24 hours? Oh, Mike’s Papaya!

Get the recession special! That’s all I need to say, there’s no way you can beat it… and what do you have to lose? Gambe the 3.50 and check it out for yourself!