Midtown Lunch

I hate decisions. Quite frankly, they’re one of the reasons I avoid pay-by-the-pound lunch bars because I want a little bit of everything on display. And I’m no different when it comes to choosing a place to eat every week or two to write up for Downtown Lunch. So on Wednesday when we heard about the Frites N’ Meats truck opening, it was like the clouds had opened and the sun was shining on my little cubical. And the best part? The menu was just two items! Burger + Fries. And I had to write about both of them? No choices? The heavens were definitely smiling… or so I thought.

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Earlier in the month the Schnitzel Truck threw competition to the wind, and hipped everyone to a brand new vendor hitting the scene called Frites N Meats. One would assume burger and fries from the twitter account, but it’s all been pretty shrouded in secrecy… until today. The Frites N Meats has been spotted setting up on Greenwich and Chambers this morning- and from the looks of their website they’re serving up burgers and fries. They’ve got two kinds of burgers from DeBragga (grass fed angus, and wagyu), three different buns from Balthazar (brioche, potato onion, and sesame seed), and 5 different kinds of cheese from Murray’s (gruyere, goat, brie, cheddar, and blue.)  Uh… that sounds pretty great.

We found out that their permit is only for that location in Washington Market Park… so sadly there will be no Frites N Meats for Midtown. (Boooooo!) I guess I take a little bit of solace knowing that our Downtown Lunch’ers are incredibly happy right now (but not much.)

Check out the menu, after the jump.

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The Ravioli Fair cart outside One Chase Plaza got no love in the forums, and I know Daniel was not a big fan, but I think the place is getting a bad rap. I remembered having some great food there in the past… not only their Italian heroes, but also their pasta dishes. I decided to try it out once again.

Admittedly the results were mixed. You guys were right about the sandwiches, which are pretty underwhelming. Decent, just not anything I think I couldn’t get from one of the half-million pizzerias down here. The pasta, however, was even better than I remembered- and more than justifies this cart’s presence on downtown’s crowded streets.

The lasagna alone should put this place on the map, and even if you’re in the market for a hero, you could do a lot worse than Ravioli Fare.

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Rickshaw Dumpling is selling their new Szechuan dumplings down in Hanover Square, and the Schnitzel & Things Truck has got goat cheese spaetzle (wha!?!?) on Water and Broad.  When are these guys back in Midtown again?!

My first time writing for Zach, I faced the complicated dilemma of who to write about, or, as I so gracefully put it, who to shank? Continuing my prison yard analogy, I’d like to introduce my next victim, one of the options I referred to in that fateful first post, the one I’m going to take down to let people know I’m not backing down. Yes, if you want a burrito, you can go to Chipotle or even Gloria’s Pushcart (on a quick side note, I’m pretty sure she’s Puerto Rican), but what if they just aren’t cutting it? An even better question, what if you want to get beyond the everyday standard of a burrito? The answer to these questions (and more!) can be found at Tajin Restaurant at 85 Greenwich St., just south of Rector St.

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What is bourbon chicken anyway? Not any kind of authentic Cajun food, that seems to be certain. It’s much more like American Chinese food, pretty similar in a lot of ways to teriyaki, which I realize is Japanese rather than Chinese, but that’s beside the point as the predominating influence here is clearly American. If you’ve got a craving for bourbon chicken and want to make it at home you can go to my new favorite website bourbonchickenspices.com whose secret sauces and techniques will allow you to make bourbon chicken “the same or even better than the malls.”

That has got to be the most questionable endorsement of a food product I’ve ever seen, but I’ve had bourbon chicken at malls, airports, and a few other places, and given the context, it’s pretty damn good. Nothing to chase to the ends of the earth, but a safe bet when you’re trapped in a culinary wasteland like an airport or the financial district.

And the bourbon chicken at Cajun Maggies on John St. between Broadway and Nassau is no exception and may be — dare I say? — “even better than the malls.”

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Café Water on the corner of Water and Pine looks like a run-of-the-mill deli in almost every way — hot bar, salad bar, Wall of a Thousand Beverages, etc. — but tucked away in the back corner is a Lunch’er’s dream: A made-to-order ramen soup bar. For $5.95 you get a steaming quart of ramen-y goodness that you think you won’t be able to finish.

Oh, but you’ll finish it. And an hour later you’ll find yourself slumped over your keyboard, comatose but happy. Good ramen from a deli? Believe it.

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