Midtown Lunch

I was not expecting the new Kortako (Tagline: “It’s Tako! not Taco…”) on Nassau (btw. John & Fulton) to be so uncrowded on opening day, but it was probably a good thing since the place is essentially a long hallway. The space is extremely narrow and since you have to order from the end of the counter farthest from the entrance, you’re left smooshing yourself up against the wall behind people who are ordering/paying. That being said, I had studied the menu beforehand and decided what carby delivery vehicle I wanted my Korean/Mexican fusion food to come in, and you can see the burrito with two types of kimchi that I ended up with straight ahead.  Read more »

I know many of you have been waiting for the opening of  Bon Chon on John spawn, Kortako, on Nassau St. (btw. John & Fulton) which was pushed back due to Department of Health inspection delays. When I walked past on Friday there was an unexpected line out the door, and it turned out they were giving away free food during a soft opening (and you guys can apparently sniff out free food!). I grabbed a menu and confirmed that they were opening today at 11 a.m. but didn’t have time to stand in the growing line. I’ll give you a full report later this week, but you can take a look at the menu after the jump.

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I’ve eaten a lot of things that are hard to take tasty-looking pictures of – i.e. every Indian steam table lunch ever – but when I took the lid off my latest Korean meal from Cafe Hanover on Hanover Sq. (at Pearl) my heart sank a little because it looked pretty unappealing. By that I mean it looked like there was an oil spill all over some udon noodles, and that became my introduction to the dish called jja jang myun on their menu, also known as jajangmyeon.

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Generic-looking deli Cafe Tomato on Fulton St. (nr. Broadway) still looks pretty generic, but they now have Korean food! I have never eaten here after an initial walk-through yielded nothing special, but this changes the game, especially since it’s a lot closer for those of us in the upper part of the Financial District than Cafe Hanover.

Unless you work near or at City Hall or the surrounding area (or are going to court), you’re probably like me and forget about the kiosks near the 1 Centre St. building. The other day when Korean food sounded like an excellent lunch idea, I realized I hadn’t been back to Koki & Vegi since they opened. I was impressed with their bulgogi that cost less than $10 and figured that based on the extreme enthusiasm of the people working there that the bibimbap was going to be pretty good too.

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There’s a sign outside of Soma By Nature on William (btw. John & Fulton) that I always pass by but have never investigated. That would be the $5.95 lunch specials that include curry chicken, ma po tofu, udon soup and japchae. Considering that most things there are $8 or more I feel like this is a pretty good deal, but do you get enough food to fill you up or do they stiff you in the name of a bargain? That’s what I headed inside to find out.

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It’s easy to forget about the area around City Hall at the foot of the Brooklyn Bridge in terms of lunch options because, other than a couple of food carts, there really weren’t any until a year ago when the Open Air Cafe kiosks opened. Those shuttered, but this year brought the amazing news that Tortilleria Nixtamal opened Nixtamalito and then others selling diner food, grilled cheese, shaved ice and other items were opening. The last of the bunch was Koki & Vegi with Korean food. As of last week the kiosk has been open selling bibimbap, kalbi, bulgogi and other items at less than $10. After what I ate yesterday, I can say that Korean food fans should be excited.

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