re: Is NYC really worth the incredibly high prices?

A few years ago, I popped into a little Pakistani hole-in-the-wall in Manhattan called Haandi and got a really good lunch for like $7. It's probably $10 now.

As others have said, there's a food court in Koreatown where you can get some great Korean food for cheap.

And, yeah, New York pizza is awesome and cheap.

The point is that you can have some fun food experiences without breaking the bank.