Central Park and people watching in New York sounds like my kind of ideal day.
It's always been a lot warmer when I've been though which probably makes it a lot more enjoyable!
I have to say that eating can be lots cheaper than you experienced though. There's lots of local delis, diners and coffee shops where we ate breakfast for less than $20 for the two of us, although I appreciate with the cold you didn't want to go looking for one.
Thanks for writing your trippie - I've enjoyed reading it.