Midtown Lunch

I got really excited when I discovered the walk up window at Koko Asian Fusion on Greenwich (btw. Carlisle & Albany) where you could get quality General Tso’s chicken at a rock bottom price. When I walked by recently I noticed they’ve changed things up and are offering a different special over rice for $5.95 at the window every day. If you like restaurant quality Americanized Chinese or Thai food on the cheap, this is the place to get it.

I know many of you are fans of Alfanoose on Maiden Lane (btw. Broadway & Nassau), but based on the couple of times I’ve eaten there I have to say I just don’t get the hype. Maybe at one point their falafel was phenomenal, but these days I’d rather head over the Crisp for one of their wild concoctions. One place that often falls under the radar and offers many of the same items as Alfanoose is The Country Kebab over at Fulton & Gold. A look at the menu showed something called muchver, aka zucchini patties. I’d had something similar at Pita Press and was interested in how Country Kebab’s version compared. Read more »

When the Duane Reade flagship store opened its fancy-pants doors on Wall St. (btw. Nassau & William) I marveled at the fact that they had guys making sushi rolls a short stroll away from the pharmacy. Also on offer is a juice bar and various grab-and-go items as diverse as quinoa salad and Fat Witch brownies. The other day when the parade for the Giants made working in the Financial District something akin to hell, I didn’t want to have to walk far for lunch, and that’s when I decided to check out the sushi rolls sold by a drug store.

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A few weeks ago it looked like the location of Sushi by Bento Nouveau at Broadway & Cortlandt St. was closed for good, but then it reopened after a couple of days. When I walked by during lunch yesterday the gates were down once again and all it took was a peek inside to show it was absolutely demolished. The above note taped to the door offers the explanation that they’re renovating until February 23, and directs you to their other location in the Financial District down at the bottom of Broadway by Bowling Green. I’ve never actually eaten the sushi, but I used to have a slight addiction to their cheap udon soup, so I consider it good news that they’re not closing for good.

I’m sure many of you working way down in the nether regions of the Financial District have been wondering what’s up with the mysterious coffee cup holding a delicious doughnut in the old Burritoville space. Dough Re Mi will be serving up breakfast carbs including, yes, doughnuts, and possibly a few lunch items, but not for a couple of months. Johnpaul Perrone of Midtown’s Papa Perrone truck is in on the project and has been keeping me posted. He says they’re still working on details and it looks like they’ll open no later than April.

It’s not often that eating lunch actually makes me angry because often that little break where I get to put food in my mouth is the highlight of my day, whether it’s sub par or awesome. After striking out on my lunch idea one day, I happened to walk by Kortako on Nassau (btw. John & Fulton) and realized I hadn’t returned since their much-delayed opening at the beginning of December. I had a burrito on my first visit which I enjoyed for what it was (Kor-Mex fusion), but another person didn’t seem too positive about the place in the comments of that post. So I stepped inside to try something different and it was all downhill from there.

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There are a lot of good cart options for falafel in the Financial District, but there’s always room for one more, right? After noticing a new cart called Don Halal right next to the No. 1 Bahn Mi cart at the corner of Hanover Sq. & Pearl, I chatted with the woman manning the window and after I didn’t order anything, she called me “sweetie” and invited me to come back. There are some interesting things on the menu like a falafel platter with Indian marinated vegetables, and chicken curry so I decided to go see if they could compete with the superb falafel across Water St. at Alan’s Halal.

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