Midtown Lunch

I’m not going to lie – there are some times that I don’t want a big meaty plate of street meat. Not that I would go so far as visiting a place like Just Salad, but I have been known to walk over to the Whole Foods in Tribeca for some buffet ceviche, mostly because you can get a whole lot of it for cheap because it’s so light. So it was with this mindset, and blazing hot temperatures, that I ended up at the 99% Vegetarian Cart on Liberty St. (at Broadway) to check out its vegetarian platter. The cart defected from midtown in May, possibly due to run-ins with hot dog cart ruffians. They used to be called the Healthy Vegetarian Cart, but then changed their name after adding grilled chicken. I didn’t see any of that chicken when I went, but maybe they were just out? They have a couple of different ordering options. You can get a platter with any four items ($6), a veggie burger sandwich, or two items ($3). They don’t have anything too crazy (mashed yams, pasta, vegetables, rice, scrambled tofu), but believe me, missteps can be made.

I chose the platter option and got vegetarian chili (available on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. They have a “bean of the day” on Tuesday and Thursday), pasta with tomato sauce, mixed vegetables….and “veggie chicken.” Can you guess what my lunch fail was?

The chili was surprisingly solid, and if they would give you some pita, it would have been perfect. The pasta and vegetables were pretty bland, but I really liked the tomato sauce and the hot sauce that they put over everything. A word of warning: the hot sauce has quite a bit of kick to it.

Then there was the veggie chicken. I dislike most foods that are pretending to be another, like soy products and fake meat. In retrospect, I definitely should have gotten the homemade veggie burgers a guy was cooking on the flat top. They looked really good, and had to have been way better, in my book anyway, than fake chicken.

I would go back to this cart to try the veggie burger, and if you’re looking for something cheap and healthy for lunch, I would endorse this over a generic deli or salad chain.

On a side note, I saw this truck on Wall St. (at Front) the other day, and I’m pretty sure it’s an offshoot of the 99% Vegetarian Cart. If you’ve eaten at this awesome truck, let me know in the comments.

THE + (What somebody who likes this place would say)

• I’m a vegetarian and it’s hard to find cheap lunch options that aren’t falafel.
• I like eating vegetables that aren’t on a by-the-pound buffet.
• Sometimes I need to cleanse my soul, and arteries, from all of the pastrami and Bon Chon chicken I’ve consumed.

THE — (What somebody who doesn’t like this place would say)

• Vegetarian food disgusts me, you dirty hippie.
• They don’t have enough options and everything they have is kind of bland.
• I cannot go one day without eating meat or I get the vapors. Plus, Alan’s Falafel is right there.

99% Vegetarian Food Cart, Liberty St. (at Broadway), (646) 807-7294