Midtown Lunch

The collection of carts along the water outside the World Financial Center has been a mixed bag since they launched a couple of years ago with burgers, lobster rolls and tacos among the foods on offer. The choices have changed, as the food scene at the WFC has.

Now that the indoor food court is closed for renovations, the carts and food trucks that park outside daily have picked up the slack. I was surprised to see a crop of mostly new vendors among the carts alongside mainstay Quality Burger, among them hot dogs, tacos and rotisserie chicken. Check out my experiment with mixing a Moroccan sausage with Vietnamese sandwich toppings straight ahead! 

I surveyed my four cart options, which include Oaxaca/Wahaka, Quality Burger and American Rotisserie, and the NY Standard Hot Dogs cart had the most intriguing food to me at the moment. There are six jumbo dogs or sausages on offer with a variety of toppings, all for $7 which includes a bag of homemade potato chips.

I was torn about what to order, so the workers helped me out by offering suggestions. When one said she liked the Moroccan sausage (merguez with harissa hot chili sauce, cucumber and curry ketchup) with the toppings of the banh mi dog (jumbo hot dog with pickled carrots, shredded cucumber, daikon, cilantro and jalapeño), I thought that sounded good and put in my order.

The merguez are thin, so you get a long link along the bottom, along with a smaller one on the top to fill the large bun, along with the slightly sweet pickled vegetable toppings and sauce. The harissa chili sauce is underneath the sausage which gives the sandwich a depth and added spiciness. This was one multi-ethnic sausage sandwich, especially since it’s on a baguette bun.

The chips were of the homemade variety and they give you a good amount. They’re a step above Lay’s and between that and the sausage I had my daily allowance of sodium for the day.

I’m not saying $7 for a sausage lunch is a great deal, but the inclusion of the potato chips and the heft of the sandwich left me satisfied and the flavors on offer sure beat a dirty water dog.

NY Standard Hot Dogs, on the waterfront outside the World Financial Center courtyard