Midtown Lunch

In the course of doing my “fieldwork” (aka, eating) for reviews I often have to dine in some pretty small and poorly-ventilated dining areas. Terrace Fish & Chip on Pearl (at Coenties Alley) takes the cake though for leaving me smelling like I ate in a place that only serves fried foods. I went there to check out the fish burrito that lunch’er Mel recommended. I don’t think the location that was shut down on Fulton St. served this, but there it was, advertised prominently on the front counter. I was a little concerned about eating a burrito from a place that specializes in frying everything, but I figured if I could take a chance on an all you can eat buffet at a similar establishment and survive, I’d be OK.

The burrito is $7.99 which doesn’t make it that cheap but its size kind of made up for the price point. When I opened the container I liked that for once the food actually looked more appetizing than the picture advertising it. It’s also filling due to the fact that it’s stuffed with rice, avocado, fish, some black beans, and some token lettuce and tomato. OK, so this is not authentic by any means, but at least they didn’t season the rice like a certain burrito chain.

Most of the flavor came from the cajun seasoning on the fish and the house sauce that was nicely soaked into the rice. I’m not sure if it was the sauce or the seasoning on the fish, but my lips were burning after eating this bad boy so be warned if you don’t like spice. I didn’t even have to ask for hot sauce like I was expecting to.

I’m not sure they serve this at the Tribeca location, but this was one tasty lunch. Honestly, I went here with about the lowest expectations possible and was nicely surprised. And I had a long walk back to the office to air out my clothing.

Terrace Fish & Chip, 77 Pearl St. (at Coenties Alley), (212) 809-4604; 178 Church (btw. Reade & Duane), (212) 233-0795