Midtown Lunch

Since we don’t have 2 Bros. Pizza way downtown the $1 slices that are common in other parts of the city are something of a novelty here. The newly-opened Roll And Go on Broadway (at Franklin) is the only place I’m aware of (other than craptastic Papa John’s) below Canal selling slices at this price. When I got there the place was packed, but since almost everyone was getting cheese slices they had a bunch ready to go and it wasn’t long before I had food in hand.

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Imagine this on a street in Tribeca.

It’s hard work sitting around all day waiting for some guy under house arrest to…leave the house? When I took this photo Dominique Strauss-Kahn and his crowd of reporters were camped out at 71 Broadway in the Financial District. And then he decided that wasn’t good enough and moved into some swank townhouse Wednesday night on Franklin btw. Varick & Hudson in Tribeca. While DSK himself likely wouldn’t consult ML Downtown for where to get lunch, I bet those reporters will get bored and hungry pretty quickly. And even the French reporters could probably use a good fried chicken suggestion. Read more »

Those of you who work way down in the Financial District often complain that your eating options aren’t that great, but to that I say, have you noticed how many trucks park down there these days? On a recent day, within a two-block radius there was the Cevap Truck, Souvlaki GR, Big D’s Grub and a frozen yogurt truck. I was trying to decide which to eat at and then spotted Moshe’s Falafel which showed up downtown a couple of weeks ago after disappearing from midtown, and hasn’t looked back. A guy working at the truck told me they’re parked in that spot at Hanover Sq. & Water every Friday, but it seems like they’re there every day. Read more »

What I love about having SoHo in my coverage area is that a lot of its lunch options aren’t chains and can be within ML price range if you stick to the basics. Pepe Rosso To Go on Sullivan (btw. Prince & W. Houston) had been on my radar for a while after being mentioned in some profiles and also on Lunch Studio. Most of their panini are less than $10 and some of the pastas are if you go meatless. The reason I headed up there was for the lunch special, and I ended up being happy I hopped on the subway for something as lame sounding as pasta.

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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 Jonathan who has strong opinions on his burger options and also wants Schnitzel & Things to come back to the FiDi.

Name: Jonathan Ku

Occupation: Information technology

Where you work: 80 Pine St

Age: 29

Favorite Kinds of Food: Anything from a food truck. Red meat, no veggies: Cows eat grass, I eat the cow, the Circle of Life is complete.

Least Favorite Foods: Chain fast food restaurants

Favorite Lunches Downtown: Sophie’s Cuban (Multiple Locations) for the pernil with rice – instant food coma for the rest of the day. Zeytuna on Nassau (btw. Maiden Lane & John), although I always go there, look at the other stations and in the end I always order the same thing: Chicken adana over rice from the grill. Pita Press on Cedar (btw. William & Pearl) is something I recently discovered and submitted a tip for. I might’ve eaten here almost every day when they first opened. I especially like their sliced chicken and pork with lemon potatoes. Wall St. Burger Shoppe on Water (btw. Broad & Coenties Slip) and Five Guys on Fulton (at Dutch) are my go-to burger joints. Don’t get me started on Goodburger, although that $1 Wednesday happy hour makes them bearable for now. The Bian Dang truck is like Christmas to me when they show up on Wednesday. Schnitzel & Things truck please come back! I haven’t seen you in a while since you opened your brick and mortar, don’t leave me hanging bro. Koyzina Cafe for the pasta made right in front of you, the chef when done flipping your pasta always gives you the sprinkle sign, you give him the thumbs up, and he sprinkles some parmesan on it like it’s a controlled substance. And what Midtown (Ed.- and Downtown!) Lunch would be complete without your favorite street meat cart? For me it would be the Xpress Power Lunch cart on Wall St. (at Pearl) for chicken and rice, and Michael’s on Wall (at South) for when I want some charcoal grilled lamb over green rice – order the house hot sauce and get a fist bump.

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