Midtown Lunch

One of the two Financial District locations of Sushi By Bento Nouveau was closed yesterday during prime lunch time (and may have also been shuttered on Friday, now that I think about it). The shutters at Broadway & Cortlandt were locked tight and there was no note or DOH sticker to be seen, so maybe they’re just taking a really long Thanksgiving break? It would be a shame to lose a cheap source of udon soup right before winter hits. Update: They’re back open today. Let’s hope that was a temporary blip in business.

Earlier this year I was doing a scouting lunch for a freelance story and ended up eating lunch at The Bailey Pub & Brasserie on William (at Pine). It’s a very Wall St. restaurant right down to the red leather banquettes, giant bull sculpture and flat-screen TVs silently tuned to financial news channels. In other words, this is not a very Downtown Lunch kind of place. The prices also aren’t very DL because unless you sit at the bar and order sliders you’re not going to get out of here for less than $12 and that’s not including tip. So why am I writing about this place? They happen to have one of the best burgers I’ve eaten in the Financial District.

Read more »

The lunch options in Battery Park City have gotten remarkably better since I took over Downtown Lunch’ing duties for this site and it looks like more options are on the way. A friend who works in the neighborhood sent along an updated list of places coming soon and they include the already-announced Blue Smoke barbeque that will also awesomely have a bake shop, a place called Beans and Greens that will sell salads and sandwiches, Harry’s Italian and Wei West Restaurant , an Asian-fusion restaurant to the extreme that will have Japanese, Thai, Chinese and Korean. I’m not sure how many of these will be within DL price guidelines, but I don’t think anyone will complain about more lunch options without having to cross the West Side Highway. Photo courtesy of Serious Eats.

Anyone else just lick their screen? No? Courtesy of Serious Eats NY.

• All Chinatown pork chops over rice aren’t created equal. [Food in Mouth]
• At least one of Rubirosa’s sandwiches is a fork and knife affair. [Lunch Studio]
• The FiDi is getting a fancy coffee bar (with bonus cocktails). [Grub St.]
• There’s a new banh mi seller in Chinatown, and the meatballs are good. [Fork in the Road]
• City Hall had one of the city’s first LaFrieda burgers, and it looks damn good. [Serious Eats NY ]