Midtown Lunch

It’s pretty rare that I step into a restaurant and feel like it might be a little too hip for my blood, because usually I avoid these places. The other day I wanted to go up to Soho for lunch, and looked for recommendations from some recent profiled lunch’ers who work in the area. Lunch’er Sherry had recommended Peep on Prince St. (btw. Thompson & Sullivan). Thai sounded good to me, and I was intrigued by the lunch special that gets you a choice of a bunch of appetizers and a main course for $7 or $8. Any place that doesn’t give you a crappy default soup with the lunch deal is OK in my book.

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I don’t get over to the South Street Seaport very often because it’s like the Times Square of the Financial District and full of mostly mediocre eateries. I noticed the other day that a Johnny Rockets is going in below the Pizzeria Uno but it doesn’t say anything about when it’s opening. The Go Burger Truck parks right in front of where it will be, and there’s a Heartland Brewery across the street, so I don’t really know why this is necessary. Find out about another chain coming downtown, after the jump. Read more »

If you didn’t get a chance to try the Taiwanese dumplings at the A-Pou’s Taste cart at the Vendor-Organized Pushcart Market back in June, today’s your day. On my walk to work this morning I spotted them on the increasingly crowded plaza on Broadway & Liberty a couple of carts down from the Biryani House. I really liked the beef and kimchi variety I tried and the chicken ones were OK too. At $6 for 10 large dumplings, it’s not exactly dirt cheap, but it saves a trip to Chinatown.

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 “Opchee” who likes man food, has eaten most of the good burger places in the Financial District and is in search of a place that serves breakfast for lunch.

Name: Opchee

Occupation: Legal (sometimes just barely)

Where you work: Around the One Chase Manhattan Plaza (building with the big ‘shroom in front) on William at Liberty

Age: Yes, I like age statements with my boeuf, whiskey, or cheese.  People? Not so much.

Favorite Kinds of Food: Man food, and protein shakes (whey, casein, egg, soy, etc.  Any kind of Muscle Milk).   Also some good Asian when the time is right.

Least Favorite Foods: Wraps.  Faux-Asian.  Worse yet, Asians who screw up Asian, like:  “You mean to tell me THIS is Pad Thai?” or “These xiaolongbao (Shanghai soup dumplings) have thicker skin than a cold-calling telemarketer.” Read more »

I will admit that despite working downtown for more than two years, I have never eaten at L&L Hawaiian BBQ on Fulton St. (btw. Gold & Cliff). I’m not quite sure why, but I feel that deep in my mind I knew that eating lunch here would make me worthless for the rest of the afternoon at work. When Daniel checked it out last year he called it the “Hawaiian McDonald’s” and while he liked the roast duck and spare ribs all right, he wanted to go back to check out the curry chicken katsu. That sounded good to me, so I headed over with an empty stomach and dreams of Japanese-style fried meat in my head. Find out if the katsu was worth the food coma after the jump. Read more »

Today might not be the best day to go check this out, but a David Byrne-endorsed pop-up cafe is officially open on Pearl St. (near Broad) in front of the Fika Espresso Bar and Bombay’s Indian Cuisine (which sponsored the installation). It’s the first in the city, and the 14 tables are open for anyone to use regardless if you’re eating a sandwich from home or something from one of the restaurants it’s in front of. I went on Friday to check it out, but sadly all of the tables were full. And if you’re a Talking Heads fan, maybe you’ll be lucky enough to sit in the same chair Byrne did.

Now that’s a handsome sandwich. Courtesy of Serious Eats NY

• The prosciutto cotto, brie and grilled zucchini sandwich at Pepe Rosso To Go is good, but another sandwich in their roster is better. [Serious Eats NY]
• A mannequin of a small child beckons you into a Chinatown clothing boutique where ice cream and tea await. [Grub St.]
• Fro-yo and coffee purveyor Joyride made its first trip downtown and plans to be in Tribeca on Wednesdays. [Tribeca Citizen]
• Strawberry tarts are like the supermodels of the pastry world, and the one at Ceci Cela does not disappoint. [Lunch with Front Studio]
• Those behind the revamp to Pier 25 in Tribeca are on the hunt for snack vendors. Might I suggest a taco stand? [Eater NY]