Midtown Lunch

The restaurants on Pearl St. had a rough go of it after hurricane Sandy, but when I walked down the stretch between Broad St. & Maiden Lane yesterday it’s a bit of a mixed bag. Signage was up for a new lunch spot on Pearl at Cedar, but others are closed due to structural damage from the hurricane, or for more mysterious reasons.

I had forgotten about the previous announcement of Roti Mediterranean Grill coming to Pearl St. (at Cedar), but paper is now up in the windows, and it looks as though something else is going in on the other side of Yushi as the windows are papered up. Soon, within a two-block radius you’ll be able to get Chipotle, Indian-style Chipotle, and now Mediterranean-style Chipotle. Yeesh.

As noted by a luncher a while back, Fresco on the Go has shuttered and has a For Lease sign in the window. It didn’t seem like a very budget friendly lunch option, but hopefully something good will open in its place.

Also, I noticed FIKA Espresso Bar and Zigolini’s remain in the dark. Both have signs in the window noting that structural damage, like wet floorboards, have prevented them from opening. Let’s hope that they make a return sometime soon.

Other places on Pearl that have reopened include Pearl St. Diner, Dig Inn and Chop’t. Hale & Hearty is still shuttered, if you’re missing your soup fix in the cold weather.