Midtown Lunch

Despite having worked in the Financial District for four years now and having co-workers who clutch their brightly-hued plastic Just Salad bowls before going out to lunch, I have never stepped foot in the place or even felt compelled to. Yes, I reviewed a salad from Cosi once, but seriously you guys, the bread is the whole reason anyone goes there. What does Just Salad have? Why is there always just as long of a line snaking out the door at the Maiden Lane location as a couple of doors down at Chipotle where at least you’re rewarded with a ginormous burrito? These were the questions coursing through my brain as I committed to trying a salad from a place that I learned is misleadingly named.

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It really makes me sad to report this one, but Backyard Chicken, that hole-in-the-wall serving up rotisserie chicken, ribs and salmon at Pearl & John streets, has officially closed. I noticed the gate down a couple of weeks ago but decided to wait to post anything because hey, it’s summer and sometimes people take vacations. Now there’s a “For Rent” sign up, and the giant scrolling LED sign has been taken down. I know I enjoyed their food on occasion, and man did they have some great mashed potatoes and gravy.

I swear, every day there’s another truck or cart trying their hand in the Financial District. We already have the very solid San Luis Taco truck on Front & Wall, and now ML contributor Brian sends word he spotted the Tacos Morelos truck at Wall & Water this morning. They normally park in Williamsburg, the truck’s workers said, and they were here on Tuesday as well. You can see the menu after the jump.

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There was a time when I used to confuse Parisi Bakery with Paris Sandwich, but that was before I had eaten at both of them and learned how laughable that was. One is a venerable Italian bakery and sandwich purveyor in Nolita where you’re served by men who are efficient yet polite, while the other is a duo of Vietnamese banh mi shops in Chinatown staffed by women who are rushed yet polite.

I’ve been to most of the banh mi sellers in Chinatown except Paris Sandwich so I decided to remedy that situation and stop in the other day. I went to both the location on Mott St. (btw. Canal & Hester) and one on Grand St. (btw. Elizabeth & Mott), and both sell sandwiches supposedly made with baguettes baked every hour plus a small roster of other Vietnamese dishes and appetizers. While pork chop over rice did sound good, I instead tried a couple of different sandwiches since I wasn’t that impressed with the first one I tried and was sure they could do better.

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