Midtown Lunch

First the bad news: My return trip to Express BBQ was not as awesomely tasty as the first. Finding decent pulled pork is a huge thrill for me, however, so that would have been a tough visit to top.

The good news: Express BBQ serves up decent brisket and tasty mac and cheese. Kreuz Market it ain’t, but the brisket is smoky and flavorful like the pork, and a little bit of bbq sauce makes up for the fact that’s a touch on the dry side.

The mac and cheese is solid as well, and the price for either is reasonable, solidifying Express BBQ’s position as a Downtown Lunch destination.

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A week ago, we had a brief post about the start of the Street Vendor Project’s new interview series in which they’ll profile various street vendors around the city.  The inaugural interview happened to profile a gentleman by the name of Tesfalum Kiflu who hails from Eritrea and happens to be cooking out of a truck fairly close to City Hall.  Reading his words, I couldn’t help but focus in on two in particular: Eritrean stew.  I am all about trying new things and eating unusual foods.  Stew may be common enough, but it’s the modifier here that caught my attention.  Eritrean.  I’d be willing to bet that most folks in this country don’t even know what continent Eritrea is on (it’s Africa), let alone the characteristics of the indigenous stew.  So I did what any sensible, hungry, curious young man would do and made my way up Nassau St. to Ann St. to order one of Mr. Kiflu’s stews.

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Southerners like myself would claim that we have high standards when it comes to barbecue. Other people might say we’re jerks about it.

In fact, I was so righteous about this Holy Grail of down south cuisine when I first moved north nearly a decade ago, I would constantly correct my friends when they referred to a weekend cookout as a barbecue. I’ve relaxed a lot about it since then (and probably kept more friends as a result), but I am still very choosy about pulled pork, my native South Carolina’s barbecue of choice.

So it was with great skepticism that I unwrapped my pulled pork sandwich from Express BBQ on the corner of Park Place and Church St. But – Daggum it, y’all! – not only did the pork well exceed my very low expectations, it might even be called good…

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Midtown workers shouldn’t have all the fun, so to even the score, I’ve brought on Daniel Krieger as an official Downtown Lunch Correspondent to write up some of the tasty stuff you can get in the lower half of Manhattan. He’s a great photographer (ensuring good food porn), but more importantly he is a lover of cheap, unique and delicious eats (or as I like to call it- Midtown Lunch’ish food.)

Ever since Rosario’s closed last June, I’ve been dying for a giant Italian sandwich replacement. Of course nothing could replace the awesomeness that was Rosario’s, with overstuffed sandwiches and smiling Joe Rosario… But I hit up Sandwich House this week on Ann street and it came pretty damn close.

Sandwich House has mostly Italian offerings, with a long list of salads, sandwiches, soups, and pastas. But like the name says, you should go for the sandwiches, which are heavy on the Italian meats and cheeses, all made with great bread. I was originally going to go for just a sandwich (which are slightly expensive at $8.55) but when I saw that you can get a drink, a bowl of soup and a half sandwich for $10 (tax included) I realized that was the way to go. Of course that decision was also aided by the amazing tomatoish soup smell, and all the rainy weather we’ve been having lately.

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