Midtown Lunch

As you’re probably aware there are two carts serving West Indian food in the FiDi. I knew about both Veronica’s Kitchen and Trinidad & Tobago carts before I became editor of this site but I hadn’t ever eaten at them. Why? Well, I live in a neighborhood where for a long time the only food options other than crappy Chinese were Caribbean places. My very first meal after moving to NYC and unloading all of my belongings was at a West Indian takeout place. So I guess I figured since I could get this food any time I didn’t need to stuff my face with it at lunch. Then the other day I really wanted roti come lunchtime for some reason I can’t explain, and it was a toss up which cart to get this from. Veronica’s has already been written up a couple of times on this site so instead I headed way down to the T&T cart on Whitehall St. (btw. Bridge & Pearl) to see how Ms. Shirley’s roti stacked up.

Read more »

The string of restaurants on Maiden Lane continues to grow, with signage up on the Potbelly Sandwich Shop going in next to Hot Clay Oven between Gold & Pearl. The store location was announced more than a month ago to some people’s delight and others’ disinterest. This is the first NYC shop for the Chicag0-based chain but their Web site is void of any mention of this location so it’s unclear when it’s opening. If any of you are fans, weigh in on what’s good at Potbelly in the comments.

A couple of weeks ago while alerting you all that Sophie’s Cuban was now selling its legendary green sauce I realized something shameful: I have never eaten at Sophie’s. Sure, I’ve had roast pork from other downtown spots like the West Side Coffee Shop on the fringe of Tribeca, and at the Roxy, but Sophie’s eluded me. I’d also been meaning to try the pernil at Lane Cafe that I stumbled upon a while back. And so on two different artery-clogging days I got pernil plates from each place to see which one was better. That’s right, it’s a roast pork battle the likes of which the Financial District has never seen. Read more »

Greek food isn’t something we have a lot of downtown. There are places like Zeytuna and Koyzina Cafe that sell some vaguely Greek items but most of it is more Middle Eastern. When it was pointed out that something called Pita Press had opened on Cedar St. (btw. William & Pearl) I had no idea what it was and assumed it was another falafel shop. You can’t miss the blinding sign and interior of the shop that proves if you are selling Greek food you must use blue as a color scheme. What really caught my attention, though, were the words “Greek rotisserie.”

Read more »

About the same time that Souvlaki GR opened its brick and mortar on the Lower East Side, Pita Press quietly did the same in the FiDi on Cedar St. It kind of flew under the radar until they put up that bright blue sign that’s noticeable from William St. Lunch’er Jonathan wrote in yesterday and had this to say:

You guys should check out Pita Press on Cedar St. between Pearl St. and William St. I believe this spot used to be occupied by Koyzina Bar and Grill but they shuttered down and it’s replaced by this bright blue “Pita Press” sign. Attached is a photo of the sliced chicken with lettuce, lemon potatoes and real yogurt white sauce. I’ve tried their pork and lamb before and everything tastes great. I want to say this is one of the best Mediterranean style dishes here in FiDi with Zeytuna coming in 2nd.

Jonathan sent along a photo of his lunch, so click through to see it and find out what else is on the menu. Read more »

In between the spam and invitations to things only loosely-related to food sometimes I do get worthwhile e-mails. I recently got one from a downtown lunch’er that opened my eyes to how much it must suck to keep kosher in the Financial District and try to find a good meal. The person was asking where to go for a kosher lunch in the bottom part of the FiDi. I was stumped because while there’s the Kosher Luncheonette (and Milk St. Cafe coming to Wall St.) there really aren’t many options at all (that I’m aware of), especially if you want to actually sit there and eat. Pita Express on Ann St. (btw. Nassau & Park Row) was one of the places I came across, and the mix of Israeli and Middle Eastern food sounded good. Plus all of their sandwiches are under $10, and so I figured I would find out if this place was any good.

Read more »

A couple of weeks ago I noticed that Dominic’s Truck was parked in the same spot every day on Whitehall (nr. Water) serving cheese steaks and Italian sausages and that’s about it. I asked you lunch’ers if it was worth a shot, and you said yes (although not if it’s a long hike). On a day when a nice greasy lunch that would likely give me heartburn sounded good, I headed down to see what Dominic was cooking up and just how much his food would set me back.

Read more »