Not sure how daring their tastes are, but since they are downtown, for $22 you can eat really well in Chinatown....or cross Canal St and check out Little Italy, if they order carefully they could get a nice meal..
Lombardis Pizza makes and amazing pie.. Another thing they could or should do is walk across the Brooklyn Bridge.. Grimaldis Pizza near the base of the bridge rocks...but let them know on a weekend afternoon in the summer there will be a wait...
To get a real selection of pretty awesome food in one place...they could go to
Smorgasburg a food truck/farmers market event in East River Park... Though better access to that would be if the walk across the Williamsburg Br... or Uber it.. The amount of visual stimulation is a bit overwhelming..
And not sure if the Yelp app is popular in Europe, but in NYC its really helpful for finding places to eat... Have him download it...
Hell he should even experience a dirty water dog from a corner vendor. with mustard and Kraut, or onions...