Midtown Lunch

If you work in the Financial District and have a craving for kati rolls where do you turn? Up until last week I thought the only options were a couple of carts at Liberty & Broadway – Bombay Biryany and Biryani House – where you can get street meat chicken or lamb gyro put into paratha with standard street cart sauces. The price is right at $5 or $6 for two of them, but they weren’t anything special, and I’d rather get the namesake dish or street meat from either of these carts.

Profiled Lunch’er Yury asked where to get the best kati rolls downtown, and all of the suggestions came from Murray Hill or Greenwich Village where they’re more abundant. I remembered seeing kati rolls listed on the menu at Bombay’s on Pearl St. (btw. Coenties & Broad) but hadn’t got around to actually eating one. Well, I finally did, and I don’t know if my expectations were really low, but the chicken tikka one I tried got me all kinds of excited.

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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 Jen who has all of the bases covered for downtown lunching, but is looking for some elusive good ramen.

Name: Jen Balisi

Occupation: Digital marketer and food blogger on the side

Where you work: World Financial Center

Age: 22

Favorite kinds of food: Anything indulgent (i.e. lobster rolls, rich & fatty ramen, anything with truffle oil/butter), proteins that are juicy on the inside and crispy on the outside (Filipino lechon, Peking duck), Asian fusion (Korilla tacos/burritos, Bibimbap burger, Japadog), pizza with LOTS of fresh basil, tacos, pork buns, and eggs benedict. I like most everything.

Least favorite foods: $15+ salads. It just doesn’t make sense. Also not a fan of cole slaw, non-pickled cucumbers, bananas, or raw tomatoes (exceptions: pico de gallo and bruschetta).

Favorite lunches downtown: When I was still at NYU, I practically lived off Cafetasia lunch specials, shakshuka from Hummus Place, and NY Dosas. For corporate life, the food trucks at the WFC lot have been my lunchtime savior with the falafel platter from Taim Mobile, arugula pie from Eddie’s Pizza truck, lobster BLT from Red Hook Lobster Pound truck, and al pastor tacos/torta from Mexico Blvd. at the top of my list. Having a Shake Shack on Murray St. (btw. West St. & N. End Ave.) by the office is obviously a great option too. Other FiDi faves are the shrimp or lobster roll from Luke’s Lobster on S. William (nr. Broad), the $6 potsticker/”Chinese spaghetti” combo from A- Pou’s Taste cart on Liberty (at Broadway) w/ extra hot sauce, chocolate pork tacos from Toloache Taqueria on Maiden Lane (btw. William & Gold), and half soy garlic/half spicy wings from BonChon on John St. (at Cliff).

Since I practically live in Nolita on weekends, I also have to give some love to the Cuban sandwich and grilled corn (it’s like crack) at Cafe Habana on Prince St. (at Elizabeth); beef rendang and Hainanese chicken w/ rice from Nyonya on Grand St. (btw. Mulberry & Mott); bocadillos at Despaña on Broome St. (btw. Lafayette & Centre) – the namesake with Serrano ham and goat cheese is my fave; the most amazing shrimp tacos from Cafe El Portal on Elizabeth (btw. Kenmare & Spring); and the Bronte/Bondi burgers from Ruby’s on Mulberry (nr. Spring). Sweet chili sauce on a burger/chicken sandwich? Yes, please.

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When lofty claims such as “the best kofta kabab in NYC” emblazon the side of a food truck, I feel they must be investigated through eating. After asking you all if Ambizza Cafe truck was worthy of a review, a few of you said it was so I headed over for a kabab platter ($8), although there’s a wide variety of meats cooked on sticks available as well as a couple of burgers and some vegetarian options such as falafel and a vegetable sandwich. Really, though, this trucks seems to cater to the carnivore.

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It feels like every week we’re reporting on It’s A Pizza being closed for one reason or other lately. The cheap yet delicious pizza and pasta place on John St. (btw. Broadway & Nassau) was closed on Friday for operating without a permit, and this is after a shuttering by the Department of Health back in January for health code violations. Let’s hope they’re able to bounce back from this closure to continue serving us 99 cent slices for dinner.