As Rebecca Perkins walked home to the Jacob Riis Houses on Avenue D, she paused in front of a glowing storefront on Seventh Street. A staff member noticed and stepped outside with a soft sell.

“It’s a seven-course meal,” the staffer explained. "You can pay $15, $45 or $125 … Whatever you pay, you get the exact same thing.”

Perkins was intrigued.

“That’s pretty good, because living out here in the city is very, very pricey, and food costs are expensive,” she said. “If I could pay $15 for a [seven]-course meal, it’s amazing.”

The storefront is Community Kitchen , a nonprofit “sliding-scale” restaurant that aims to make high-quality, ethically sourced meals accessible to all New Yorkers, regardless of income. It offers an unusual combination in the city’s food scene: a fine-dining exper

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