Midtown Lunch

The Indian fusion place Hot Clay Oven that is intending to take over Manhattan, followed by the world, has put up signage on its first location on Maiden Lane (btw. Gold & Pearl). A peek inside revealed that there’s still some work to be done, but it looks on track for the early September opening. You can check out the menu now and decide on your four-step order for opening day. Update: A girl standing outside handing out menus today told me that they’re opening in the “first week or two of October.”

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 Craig who doesn’t believe in $5 foot longs or certain green vegetables, and thinks the FiDi is a pretty good place to be come lunchtime.

Name: Craig Savitzky

Occupation: Research Associate

Where you work: The American Lawyer magazine

Age: 28

Favorite Kinds of Food: Neapolitan-style pizza, Cincinnati chili, Milwaukee frozen custard, Tibetan momos, El Salvadorian pupusas, muffulettas, shokshuka and any and all Caribbean food.

Least Favorite Foods: Not into peas, green beans or baked ziti.

Favorite Lunches Downtown: The “Napoletano” calzoni at Farinella on Worth St. (nr. Broadway); jerk chicken at Veronica’s Kitchen on Front St. (at Pine); Alfanoose on Maiden Lane (btw. Broadway & Nassau) for their red lentil soup; the calamari done with a southwestern flare at the Capital Grille on Nassau (btw. Liberty & Pine); the speck, taleggio and frisee sandwich at Barberini Mercato on Front St. (btw. Beekman & Peck Slip); the chicken, mushroom and spinach burger with peach ketchup at Kitchenette on Chambers St. (btw. Greenwich & W. Broadway); Urban Lobster Shack on Stone St. (btw. Broad & Broadway) for the ongoing $10 special, but if it’s ambiance you’re after, get the tuna roll at Ed’s Lobster Bar kiosk instead behind the World Financial Center (nr. Vesey); Jou Jou Café on Nassau (at Maiden Lane) for their Israeli panini comprised of egg salad, Swiss cheese and Zataar; Takahachi Bakery on Murray St. (at Church) for scrumptious almond-miso cookies. Finally, step on over to Battery Park City where Izzy & Nat’s on South End Ave. (nr. Albany) will tend to all of your appetizing needs. Read more »

This looks like pasta, but it isn’t. Courtesy of Food In Mouth

• A new cart in Chinatown is doing some magical things with sugar that makes cotton candy look lame. [Food In Mouth]
• There is apparently a record store in Chinatown that also sells banh mi. This trumps the jewelry store that sidelines in Vietnamese sandwiches. [Ozersky TV]
• A creamery from NJ is opening a brick and mortar shop in Soho, so you can get some fancy sandwiches with fancy cheese, probably at fancy prices. [Grub St.]
• You might want to stay away from Pomodoro and their “soft and almost squishy” spaghetti. [Lunch with Front Studio]
• I don’t know if I could eat three of the same vegetarian sandwich in two days, but some people can. [Serious Eats NY]

I was wandering way down in the FiDi yesterday and spotted a truck called Cook House parked on Hanover at Water. A guy out front was handing out samples of (wait for it) vegan empanadas. Oh yeah, did I mention they serve “Latin Vegan food”?  Check out the menu after the jump. Read more »

Grocery store/lunch favorite for tons of downtown office works Zeytuna has had what they call a Mediterranean snack cart set up outside on John St. (at Nassau) for a little while now, and I have been meaning to try it. I didn’t so much want to eat there because it was new, but because they seemed to have a pretty random assortment of food. We’re talking something called a maffle, some sort of sandwich called a dove, crepes and “corn in the cup.” Oh, and samosas! After asking what corn in the cup was, I was told they don’t have it anymore and will be replacing it with ravioli. Random! Since the cart will probably only be there as long as the weather is nice, and I really wanted to know what the hell a maffle was, this finally became my lunch destination. Read more »

• Homemade Halal cart gets a shout out for best street meat. [Downtown Eating]
• Anybody have some hot tips for non-lame lunches in the World Financial Center? [Downtown Eating]
• Downtown happy hour is so on at Bon Chon. [Downtown Connections]
• Asian soups seem to be the ticket when you’re sick. [Downtown Eating]

Crisp is coming to 111 Fulton St. (at William) which is great news in that it’s not another Subway or salad place. It should be open in December, when it will join another yuppified (although cheaper) chain Chickpea which is opening next week on John St. (nr. William). Zach grudgingly gave Crisp his seal of approval and its known for its creative iterations of falafel sandwiches. The sandwiches are not cheap compared to what you can get from a cart, but I guess you’re paying for the fact that they have a chef thinking up creations like the Asia and The Taj. Now if only we could get a Maoz down here with its fixin’s bar, the trifecta would be complete.