Midtown Lunch

In case you didn’t get the memo, Clarke’s Standard now has combo meals. That means you can go into the location at Maiden Lane & Pearl St. and order by number if you so desire, but since this is not McDonald’s it might be best to actually say the name of the thing you wish to eat in a combo. Before, you had to shell out more than $10 for just the sandwich or hot dog if you wanted fries on the side. Now you can get two of those things plus a fountain soda in a “Butcher’s Combo” for less than $10 before tax. It’s a wise move, and in my opinion a good deal.  Read more »

When I saw a man handing out food on Nassau St. next to Nicky’s Vietnamese Sandwiches, I thought I was going to get a little free banh mi action. Instead, I discovered that a place called Pisillo Italian Panini had opened next door with a super-focused menu of only sandwiches. There are 25 varieties with fillings such as prosciutto, salami, tuna, sopressata, fresh or smoked mozzarella and various spreads and toppings it’s a bit like Alidoro in that there aren’t any parm sandwiches or other Italian-American concessions made. Prices range between $8.50 to $11.90 and note that it’s cash only. As always, if you eat there, let us know how the food was in the comments!

Pisillo Italian Panini, 97 Nassau St. (btw. Fulton & Ann streets), (212) 227-1304

I’ve eaten sushi from a drug store, surprisingly good sushi, and disappointing sushi from a place with sushi in its name. However, I’d never eaten a sushi crepe before so when Tous Crepes opened its doors with this item on the menu I decided to sidestep the long list of more conventional iterations. What happens when you substitute rice for a buckwheat crepe? Find out straight ahead.  Read more »

Last week the Banh Mi Cart at Hanover Sq. and Pearl started serving beef noodle soup (aka, pho) which was a departure from their roster of sandwiches, spring rolls and drinks. This is kind of great news for the winter months when a heart soup may sound better than a sandwich, but could pho from a cart be any good? The answer is yes, but with some caveats.  Read more »

We have a lot of new restaurants that open downtown that are pretty far outside of Midtown Lunch’s price boundaries of $10. When Route 66 Smokehouse announced its opening I took a peek at the menu and saw a bunch of items that sounded delicious including a pulled pork BBQ sandwich that I’d already tried at a pop-up, brisket, and a fried oyster po’ boy. The last one is pretty rare in Lower Manhattan, although you can find an awesome shrimp and oyster po’ boy at Cheeky Sandwiches on the Lower East Side.

I love a good po’ boy, so I took a trip to Route 66 to try an expensive version of a classic sandwich.  Read more »

Somedays, against my will, I crave a lunch that’s kind of trashy. My mind wandered back to a delicious fish sandwich on white bread that I had at the defunct Sea World in Tribeca, and I wondered if I could find something similar in the Financial District. The answer is yes, because you can find something similar at Terrace Fish & Chips just off of Pearl St. (nr. Stone). But would it be as good?  Read more »

We got word that the Route 66 Smokehouse on Pearl St. (btw. Coenties Slip & Hanover Sq.) will be opening Wednesday at 11 a.m. for lunch and dinner service. The chef is an alumni of Blue Smoke, and the owner has other bars and restaurants on the Stone St. strip including Beckett’s Bar and Grill and The Dubliner. While it’s unclear how much of the “American regional” menu will be affordable (as in, $10 or less) because there are no prices listed, there are several items that sound delicious. Read more »