Midtown Lunch

There’s a strange complex of restaurants on Fulton Street that I’ve never ventured into, including a subterranean Thai place, a Chinese restaurant, a Russian bath and restaurant, and Tandoor Palace. I had my eye on the goat biryani at Tandoor, but I was feeling a little under the weather the day I went and instead went for one of the the steam table combos so I could get in and out a little quicker without sneezing on anyone. The ordering process is slightly confusing, and the workers kept slightly yelling at me asking what I wanted (My predecessor Kevin had a similar experience at Bangal Curry on Church St.), but I finally made a decision and yelled my order right back. See where all the yelling took place, after the jump.  Read more »

When I first heard that Cheeky Sandwiches was opening on Orchard St. (btw. Hester & Canal), I got pretty excited because there are few places serving food from New Orleans at all in the city, let alone po’ boys and other sandwiches. When I took over as head downtown lunch’er, it immediately went on my short list to check out. Well, I have done some quality control assessments and careful research. Hot, hot sandwich porn after the jump. Read more »

Those of us working south of Houston St. have often had to deal with our envy of our brethren in Midtown with their wealth of carts and trucks. Well, now if we want a Belgian waffle in the Financial District, we will always know where to find one as the Wafels & Dinges Truck has brought a permanent cart to the South Street Seaport (at Fulton & Front streets), right in front of the Gap store.

The two guys working at the cart told me it’s there permanently and that they will have everything the truck does except for the pulled pork. It’s open daily from 10 a.m. until 9 p.m.

According to Thomas DeGeest from the truck, it’s the first of a few carts they’re launching this summer. He also said that the DOH “freaked out at inspection and gave us a hard time – but we passed,” and that he’s using the cart to show memories of his life in Belgium.

It’s definitely a welcome addition to the tourist-trappy Seaport, and it will be interesting to see where else the carts pop up. And if your dream is a khaki shopping spree followed by a Belgian waffle, well, now that can come true.

As is customary here on Midtown Lunch, every Tuesday we’ll profile a different lunch’er and get their recommendations for places to eat in Downtown NYC. This week, we have Clare who asks for extra hot sauce and eats at Pret way too often.

Name: Clare

Occupation: Non-profit management

Where you work: On Wall Street at Broad – right in the heart of the Financial District

Age: 33

Favorite Kind of Food: In no particular order: Mexican; Italian; BBQ; pretty much anything involving pork; hot dogs; condiments. I’m a big sandwich eater, particularly at lunchtime.

Least Favorite Food: I’m not a big fan of offal and I don’t eat burgers.

Favorite Lunches Downtown: Falafel sandwich with extra hot sauce from Alfanoose on Maiden Lane (btw. Broadway & Nassau); chicken enchiladas from Tajin on Greenwich (btw. Edgar & Rector); the Financier sandwich (chicken, artichokes, tomato, goat cheese) at Financier (Multiple Locations); the Milanesa de pollo with rice and maduros (and extra green sauce) from Sophie’s Cuban on New Street (btw. Beaver & Exchange Pl.); spicy chicken, spicy tofu, corn, or mushroom empanadas (and extra hot sauce) from Ruben’s Empanadas (Multiple Locations).

When I’m feeling particularly indulgent (or hungover) on a Friday, I get the messy and delicious pulled pork sandwich with cajun fries (Friday special) at Burger Burger on Pearl Street (nr. Coenties Alley). This is actually a doubly indulgent lunch: It is 1) mounds of pork, topped with cheese, with a side of fries (extra ketchup); but also it is 2) the only lunch I eat with any regularity that exceeds the $10 rule of thumb.

On nice days, I like to go to Samantha’s over on South End Ave. (btw. Albany & Rector Pl.) and get the #26 (roasted eggplant, fresh mozzarella, roasted peppers, EVOO on focaccia) and eat in Rector Park.

The “go-to” lunch place you and your co-workers eat at too often: Pret – it’s way too easy. You’re in and out in 3 minutes, the sandwiches (particularly the chicken mozzarella) are decent, and (most significantly) there are two within 2 blocks of my office. Pretty much every Tuesday, I go to The Grotto on New Street (btw. Beaver & Exchange Pl.) for their Tuesday lunch special: 2 plain slices and a soda for $4.75.

Place you discovered thanks to Midtown Lunch: A bunch of places I never get to try because I don’t go north of Chambers Street.

Dream job location, purely for lunch purposes, and why: Northeast Chinatown. I had a friend who used to work over there and she had so many amazing lunch options. Obviously, there’s all that Chinatown has to offer: cheap dumplings, noodle shops, pork buns (mmmm), Vietnamese bun; but it’s also close to the Lower East Side, so there’s Tiny’s and everything in Essex Market, and, you know, a million other things right there.

Anything you’d like to ask the Midtown Lunch readers: Now that it’s warm enough to eat outside regularly, what are the best street carts downtown?

I would say the best collection of standard street meat carts is at Liberty Plaza, and I’m also a fan of the chicken over rice from the XPL on the corner of Maiden Lane & William St. Where does everyone else think Clare should go for some outdoor dining action?  And as always, if you would like to be next week’s Profiled Lunch’er (or know somebody you’d like to nominate), email us at downtownnyc@midtownlunch.com.

Pizza is something I am no expert on, but some days my body wants something greasy and carb-filled. One such day, I headed over to Little Italy Pizza on a weird, deserted-feeling block of Park Place (between Broadway and Church). It came highly recommended by lunch’er adamprato‘s mom, who threw down the gauntlet in response to a review about nearby Portobello’s Pizzeria & Sicilian Kitchen by saying she had tried all of the pizza places near where she works, and “all but one suck.” That “one” was Little Italy, and I had to investigate. Read more »

This is what a winning fish taco looks like, courtesy of Fork In The Road

• Fish tacos from Nolita’s Pinche Taqueria and Baja Fresh went head-to-head, with Pinche coming out the winner thanks its taco’s heft and tastier fish. What, no throwdown with Taco Bell? [Fork In the Road]
• A protein-oriented chainlet for meatheads has opened its first NYC location in Tribeca. I’m sure it’s just as healthy as those jugs of bright pink protein drinks being consumed in the weight area of the gym. [Tribeca Citizen]
• Old school Chinese hole-in-the-wall Mee Sun Cafe has been shuttered by the DOH since the end of April. [Lost City]
• The Grand St. location of Two Boots is closing on May 9 after three years. Apparently, people on the Lower East Side don’t like their pizza with a Cajun twist. [The Lo Down]
• The po boys and other New Orleans fare at Cheeky Sandwiches pass muster. [Restaurant Girl]