What's better than cupcakes?

Half-price cupcakes.

And what's better than half-price cupcakes?

Four cupcakes for the price of one.

Eleni's in Chelsea Market, 75 Ninth Ave., has some of the brightest, tastiest cupcakes in New York City. But at $3, they're also expensive, even for Manhattan.

But get there in the last hour before they close at 7 p.m. (Saturday and Sunday) or 8 p.m. (weekdays), and everything behind the bakery case is half-price. That's why I found myself at Eleni's at 6:55 p.m. on one recent Saturday.

My husband and I each chose our favorites, and at the last moment the girl at the counter threw two more cupcakes in the case gratis.

Four gourmet cupcakes for $3? That's a deal my stomach can get behind.