Midtown Lunch

The arsenal of decent lunch spots in the World Financial Center keeps growing, and the latest addition is Casa Masa, a kiosk outside by the marina next to Fatty Snack, Ed’s Lobster Bar and Quality Burger. Despite being a side venture from the people behind burrito chain Blockheads, the menu is restricted almost entirely to tacos and when I stopped by during prime lunch time the other day there was no line. A clump of guys was waiting to mark down what tacos you wanted on a little checklist sheet that you give to the cashier and within about two minutes I had my three tacos and was on my way. But how were they?

There are several varieties to choose from including green chicken, beef picadillo, roasted pulled pork and roasted vegetable (2 for $5, or three for $7). There are also grilled fish tacos that cost more than the others (2 for $7, 3 for $9). I went with, from left to right in the picture above, veggie, pork and chicken.

The chicken was good, and I liked the tomato salsa on top. The roasted vegetable was surprisingly good, slightly spicy, and included mushrooms, broccoli and possibly eggplant under  a bunch of cabbage and a sprinkle of white salty cheese. My favorite of the three was the roasted pork with a Latin spice rub because it had a lot of flavor and the meat wasn’t dried out. If you don’t like raw cabbage, two of my three tacos were covered in it, so beware. Another warning: As you can see, these are single tortilla affairs and in my walk back to work a couple of them became soggy and fell apart as I was eating the taco.

This is one of the cheapest trio of tacos I’ve come across downtown, and they were tasty enough that’s I’d likely go back. Have any of you tried the grilled fish tacos? Leave you impression in the comments.

THE + (What somebody who likes this place would say)

• There’s not much of a line and the tacos are cheap.
• I can eat my tacos while staring wistfully at Jersey across the water.

THE — (What somebody who doesn’t like this place would say)

• Why are the grilled fish tacos so much more than the other kinds?
• I wish they had salsa options.

Casa Masa, outside 3 World Financial Center