Midtown Lunch

A tip of the hat to luncher Daniel who wrote in to tell us about a new Mexican option on New St. where Pita Grill used to be. El Toro Mexican Grill opened between The Grotto and Sophie’s Cuban, and has a varied menu (no, not like a generic deli).You can build your own burrito, tacos, bowl or salad, from a wide variety of proteins including tofu and chorizo, and then also have quesadillas, rotisserie chicken and burgers for those who may not be so much into lunch in a tortilla.

Have any of you eaten there?

El Toro Mexican Grill, 69 New St. (btw. Beaver & Exchange Pl.), (212) 363-3900, (212) 363-3901

There are a couple of events put on every year by the Street Vendor Project that help out the people providing us with lunch (or other non-edible items) from carts or trucks on a daily basis, without a PR machine behind them. The Vendy Awards are one, but there’s another coming up on April 2 called The Great Street Meet that you can buy tickets to. This one celebrates the SVP community, as well as the recent City Council bill that cut the cost of the tickets that vendors get for certain violations in half. And if you buy a ticket before Friday, you’ll be entered in a drawing that could net you a tasty-sounding dinner at Ma Peche.  Read more »

Danish fish and chips. Via Blondie and Brownie.

• Pan Latin desserts at Battery Place Markets. [Tribeca Citizen]
• Pier 17 revamp would bring two food markets to area. [Crain’s]
• The secret ramen of Tribeca. [FitR]
• How the Danish do fried fish. [Blondie & Brownie]

Earlier this week, temporary signage was strung up over the old It’s A Pizza’s sign on John St. announcing the arrival of Aroy Dee Thai Kitchen. It ended up opening on Tuesday, and lunch’er Eric wrote in to give his impressions of what he ate. Express lunch thoughts, straight ahead!

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Somehow it escaped my notice among all of the construction at Fulton St. & Broadway, but pizza shop Caruso’s Pizza apparently caught fire. It was completely boarded up on Thursday, and Cafe Tomato next door (home to a decent Korean food counter) also had to close up due to damage, according to large signs taped to the windows.

I’ve never eaten at Caruso’s, somewhat discouraged by the fake chef statue sitting out front, but if you’re in need of a slice walk a couple of blocks to Rosella’s, Friendly Pizza or Majestic Pizza & Calzone.

Among the fast food establishment and tourist shops on the stretch of Broadway between Canal and Chambers streets, shiny new Siring Asian Grill (at Worth) stands out. It’s essentially a Chipotle of Asian food, allowing you to build a wrap or bowl of rice noodles, rice or salad as a base. We’ve seen this type of “build you own lunch” restaurant before but this one’s probably welcome in an area that’s fairly grim with lunch options that aren’t McDonald’s or dollar pizza slices.

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I’ve been missing the somewhat authentic Chinese food found at Goodies and not too excited to try out its replacement, Asian Wok, located in the same spot in the little mall at Fulton St. & Gold. A glance at the menu showed one of the cheaper lunch combos I’ve seen at $6.95 for an entree and rice, along with your choice of soup or egg roll. And the quality turned out to be better than what I’ve gotten at other Chinese places downtown.

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