Midtown Lunch

It’s true this site has a bias against the many generic delis dotting the downtown landscape. It’s also true that some of them serve at least one thing that differentiates them from the others, whether it’s roast pork, rare roast beef or Korean food. A while back, someone tipped us off that Variety Cafe on Broadway had a mongolian grill where you pick your fixings and they cook it for you. After an investigation, it seems that you need to employ some sort of strategy to keep your lunch here under $10.

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Get your sweatpants ready because the new location of Go Go Curry on John St. has announced an opening date. You’ll be able to get Japanese curry in sizes ranging from reasonable to insane starting on Feb. 25, according to a press release. The newest location has been dubbed the “World Trade Center stadium” as it’s a couple of blocks away from that building site on John between Broadway & Nassau. I’m already anticipating a solid food coma.

In case you’re in the mood for a sandwich involving french fries or an extreme amount of garlic, the new location of Baba Ghanouge is open on Fulton St. (btw. Broadway & Nassau), adding to the original on Church St. in Tribeca. The Financial District now has a bunch of solid options within a small area for falafel and meats cooked on a spit, including Crisp, Alfanoose and Pita Express. There’s always room for one more, and maybe if you sniff real hard you will be able to smell fried chicken from the previous inhabitant of Baba Ghanouge’s space.

The Gyro House Truck on Cedar St. (at Broadway) has a somewhat limited menu and thus sometimes I forget about it in favor of kati rolls and Thai food from the carts across the street at Liberty Plaza. They do a mean chicken over rice, and tasty falafel, but I’d heard rumors that the lamb gyro from this truck wasn’t too shabby either (and was in fact championed by one of my predecessors). On a day when salty meat and rice sounded amazing, and it was above freezing outside, I headed over for a street meat lunch.

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It seems like just yesterday that a tip came that the old Backyard Chicken space at John St. & Pearl was turning into another Mooncake Foods which already exists downtown in Soho. Then just like that, the doors were open for business yesterday at lunch. And I’d have to say – especially with similar places like OBAO and nearby BonChon on John temporarily down for the count due to the hurricane and a fire respectively, this is a welcome addition to the lunch scene in the Financial District. Read more »

I’d have to say I’ve never paid more than $10 for an uncooked meal, but that’ exactly what I did last week at the new Magic Mix Juicery on Fulton St. (btw. Nassau & William).

It was curiosity (and something of a dare by a fellow Downtown Luncher) that led me to this vegan, kosher, raw spot that mostly traffics in juices that cost more than 90% of most solid lunches. However, there is a small case of raw food items available when you walk in, and I tried to bypass the ones that looked most like salads for something that resembled an actual meal. Despite being denied my dish of choice the first time I stopped in, on a return visit they had properly dehydrated the kelp and I walked out into the freezing cold with the raw food equivalent of spaghetti.

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It’s been a good three months since hurricane Sandy left the Financial District a mess of generators and shuttered restaurants and buildings. Some places have managed to reopen because of minimal damage, but with or without phone or Internet service (or in some cases, electricity, but we’ll get to that). Many that were completely obliterated by the flood waters still remain closed with papered up windows and vague notes in the window about reopening soon.

The lower part of Maiden Lane, or as I call it “chain row,” was especially hard hit, along with other low-lying spots along the bottom part of Pearl St. and at the South Street Seaport. Two affected lunch spots were Yushi on Pearl St. and Hot Clay Oven nearby on Maiden Lane. Both were shuttered after the hurricane, and only one has reopened. I reached out to both of them, and found out that opening the doors for business isn’t an instant cure all.

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