Urban Strategist
cheap pleasures
Saturday: Love on the Lower East Side
Eat and see a show for under $20.

BY AMY ZIMMER

Street theater: Shakespeare in the Park(ing) Lot.

For dinner, try the Cantonese fare at Congee Village. Their bamboo décor and plastic trees are over-the-top kitschy, and their specialty rice porridges are under-the-radar cheap.
• Congee Village, 100 Allen St., 212-941-1818.

Walk two blocks east for highbrow culture in the ultimate lowbrow setting. For the past eight years, Shakespeare in the Park(ing) Lot has taken over a municipal lot, treating theater lovers and curious neighbors to new takes on the Bard's classics.
• Municipal parking lot across the street from 85 Ludlow St., between Broome and Delancey Sts. Shows are on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at 8pm. See expandedarts.com for more information.

For a post-theater drink, head to bargain-basement hipster bar Welcome to the Johnsons, where you can debate Hamlet's character flaws — or play a round of Ms. Pac Man — over frozen margaritas or PBRs.
• Welcome to the Johnsons, 123 Rivington St., 212-420-9911.

Estimated cost: $20