Midtown Lunch

It took me about four trips to the website of My Belly’s Playlist to figure out what exactly this was. The 10 sandwiches on offer sounded really good and once I discovered through my digging that they were all $10 I got even more interested. But how could I procure one of these delicious beasts? It seemed that delivery was the only option and when co-founder/partner Bo Kim e-mailed later in the week, that was indeed the case. It’s operated out of the Yorganic store at Hanover Sq. & Broad, but you can’t actually order any of the sandwiches while walking in there. Clearly I was going to have to get lazy and let my fingers order up some lunch.

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If you work below Chambers St. and can’t handle another day of ordering from Chipotle or wherever people order food from on a regular basis (can you tell I never use Seamless Web?), there’s a new option out there that only exists in delivery form. It’s called My Belly’s Playlist and operates out of Yorganic on Hanover Square, but you can’t actually get the sandwiches offered if you walk in there. I know because I actually tried that and there’s no sign that this underground sandwich source exists, although I was intrigued by those Bliss Bowls being sold there. Click through for a few more details on how to actually get this mysterious food.

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When I last ate at Oriental Express on Cedar St. (btw. William & Pearl) I went straight for the buffet rather than dealing with the crowd of people at the back counter where you get things from a steam table or order off the menu and have something cooked to order. There were some hits and misses with the buffet but it became pretty clear that if it’s junky Chinese food you want, it’s probably best to just order from the menu rather than grabbing little bits of things and worrying about how much rice you can afford to pile on. The good thing about the huge mass of people in the back is that even the food on the steam table won’t be sitting around for long.

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It’s been face-numbingly cold this week and as a result, foods that will help unfreeze said face sound really good all. I hadn’t checked back in with OBAO down on Water (at Hanover Sq.) since the Thai and Vietnamese food purveyor opened back in October. The menu has two noodle soups on it for $9 and I decided it was a good time to try the pho (the other option is a tom yum with shrimp). I’ll go into more detail after the jump, but it’s probably worth your time to walk up to Nicky’s Vietnamese Sandwiches at Nassau & Ann for your pho fix, or order online from Chinatown. Read more »

Something seemed like it was missing while walking down John St. between Broadway & Nassau yesterday, and it turned out to be the collection of signs outside of It’s A Pizza. The dreaded yellow “closed by the Department of Health” sticker was affixed to the door, much to the dismay of a couple of guys standing outside who apparently needed pizza badly and did not know where to turn. This place had one of my favorite slices, not to mention some really good and cheap pasta so let’s hope this is not permanent. I think we’re all still smarting from the DOH shuttering of the FiDi’s only Popeye’s location. Update: They’re back open, and have added Sicilian slices to the late afternoon 99 cent slice special.

I’m always on the lookout for new carts and it’s not often I spot a new halal one in the landscape of the Financial District. The bright signs on the Don Halal Cart at Pearl St. & Hanover Sq. beckoned me, and while the menu is mostly street meat they also have chicken curry and an interesting-sounding falafel plate involving curried vegetables. The very nice woman working there told me the name of the cart was “Don, like the man’s name,” but just look for the bright yellow signs on the side.

Forgive me lunchers, for I have eaten at a generic deli. I felt a little dirty walking into Stir Cafe at the bottom of Broadway (btw. Whitehall & Exchange Pl.), as most of my lunches come from carts, trucks or places that don’t have a make-your-own salad station. My reason for being here was that a friend tipped me off that Stir has legit roast pork sandwiches (or a platter if you want to spend $10), and since most generic delis only serve a pathetic attempt at a Cubano, I decided to check it out. Fatty pork on pork action straight ahead.

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