Midtown Lunch

I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve scavanged in the basement of Zeytuna on Maiden Lane (at William) for a decent lunch, and usually ended up with soup or a random container of stuff from the by-the-pound buffet. Yes, even serious lunch’ers have lame lunches once in a while. When I’ve ventured further afield to the Mexican station or tried the falafel I’ve only been met with disappointment and regret. Lunch’er Mel recommended the pizza (and Indian) which I’d never thought to try. Grocery store pizza, here we come!

They only had a small selection of slices available and most of them didn’t look that exciting. The tomato and basil slice looked promising, but I instead went with a plain slice ($2.49) and one topped with pieces of fried eggplant ($2.79).

One thing you’ll notice right away is all of the slices are topped with fresh mozzarella which you don’t see too often down in the FiDi. And the prices are pretty even keel with what you’d find at any slice place down here. They popped the slices in the oven for a couple of minutes which heated them but didn’t turn the mozzarella into melty pools. If that’s what you’re looking for you may want to ask them to put it in the oven a little longer.

I really liked the slice with the fried eggplant, which I wasn’t expecting to. The only downfall is the eggplant wasn’t exactly stuck to the cheese so it tended to fall off. Really, though, how many complaints can you have about fried food placed on pizza? Compared to this slice, the plain one was somewhat lacking. The sauce and crust were really good, though.

If you’re looking for a good place to grab some pizza that has ample seating, this is a good choice. Now I may have to try some of that Indian food…

Zeytuna, 59 Maiden Lane (at William), (212) 742-2436