Midtown Lunch

The second location of P.J. Clarke’s quick service burger offshoot, Clarke’s Standard, is opening Wednesday Monday at Maiden Lane and Pearl St. The storefront was originally Goodburger which was extensively damaged in hurricane Sandy. Clarke’s Standard took over the space and had to do a lot of renovations before opening.

What can you expect? Details straight ahead!  Read more »

Quick service vegetarian restaurants seem to go one of two ways selling falafel or sandwiches and wraps stuffed with roughage and fake meats. Terri on Pearl St. (at Maiden Lane) took the latter route with its vegan and kosher menu, also offering juices and baked goods. I’m all for these places if the food is good and not overpriced as it so often is. One good example, and a similar concept to Terri, is ‘sNice which has an outpost in Soho. I’d had a pretty good meatless Thanksgiving sandwich there, and I was curious how the version at Terri was despite my slight aversion to Tofurkey.  Read more »

Just in time for the cold weather to be over (maybe), Hale & Hearty has reopened at Maiden Lane and Pearl St. after being heavily damaged by hurricane Sandy five months ago. This is the last lunch spot in the area to reopen, and from the amount of people seen eating there yesterday you were all happy to have your dependable source of soup, sandwiches and salads back.

We wrote about the Homemade Cart long ago, with its owner who makes lamb meatballs and will give you a scoop of red beans with your rice platter if you ask nicely. The two gentlemen you see above had quite a system going so even though there was a line when I got there, it wasn’t long before I was giving my order of a falafel platter $5) which had been recommended. After eating my lunch, I couldn’t help but think that perhaps the lamb or chicken are the way to go here.

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Some possible good news for all of you fans of Caribbean food: R. Retha’s Cart is reportedly back at its spot on Beaver St. at S. William. We got word from reader “Broadway luncher” yesterday that the cart, which was formerly the Jamaican Dutchy transplanted from Midtown – was spotted back in its old spot after an extended absence starting in the summer of 2012, and temporary replacement by a random street meat cart. I’d noticed the spot was completely empty a couple of weeks ago, so it’s good to hear R. Retha’s came back to claim it.

The second NYC location of the all organic, vegetarian restaurant named Terri has opened on Pearl St. (btw. Pine & Maiden Lane). You can get most of the details here and expect a review soon, just in time for swimsuit season!

The lowest part of the Financial District is somewhat lacking in good Mexican food options on a daily basis, if you don’t count Chipotle. In a space that used to house Pita Grill, El Toro Mexican Grill has opened serving a wide variety of Mexican options and few American (or hybrid) items for those who have co-workers not really into burritos or tacos. You can get a quesadilla here, but you can also get a burger or rotisserie chicken, and you really have to try to spend more than $10.

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