Midtown Lunch

I was skeptical of the sign in the window of the Popeye’s on Fulton St. that said the store was closed to “make needed improvements to better serve you,” since no work seemed to be taking place inside the unpapered windows. When I walked by Friday there was a repossession by marshal’s sign on the door, and I’m pretty sure we’re now one fried chicken joint shorter. They closed for these alleged renovations after a shutter by the Department of Health for various violations, so maybe that had something to do with it.

Lahore’s food may not be pretty, but it’s a good deal. Courtesy of SE:NY.

• Saluggi’s is opening a sandwich shop in a couple of weeks. [Tribeca Citizen]
• The Arlette at Dominique Ansel is buttery, flaky and the size of your head. [Kathy YL Chan]
• Domo Taco truck’s nacho tots are a fragrant treat. [Blondie & Brownie]
• Pho Tu Do has “totally fine, unremarkable” food. [Lunch Studio]
• Lahore Deli gets a shout out among cab driver favorites. [SENY]

I was a little surprised to walk by the previously papered-up French Cafe Gourmand on Maiden Lane (btw. B’way & Nassau) this morning to see they were open and a couple of people were drinking coffee inside. I didn’t have a chance to go in and look at the menu, but a sign outside says they have coffee, pastries and sandwiches. You can expect a report soon, but I think we can all be happy with another place serving decent coffee and pastries that isn’t Starbucks.

There are a lot of trucks selling Korean food fused with other cuisines like tacos, sliders and even falafel, so it was kind of refreshing when I looked at the menu at the Bob & Jo truck and saw that it was pretty straightforward. Yes, there are baguette sandwiches but otherwise you’ll find rice platters, bibimbap and japchae with traditional meats or vegetables. They’ve only recently been parking in the Financial District one day a week, usually on Tuesday at Coenties Slip & Water, with occasional forays into Soho but Midtown contributors have already extensively sampled the menu and since it looked pretty good I decided to give the truck an ML: Downtown review.

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Unlike some of the steakhouses or fancy places in Midtown, we in the lowest part of Manhattan don’t get in on many $10 or under lunch time deals. Well, for the remaining three Mondays in May, you can get a steakburger at The Palm’s Tribeca location on West St. (btw. Warren & Chambers)  for $8.37 during lunchtime with this coupon. It’s in honor of National Hamburger Month and amazingly you have the choice of five different burgers AND it comes with fries.