Midtown Lunch

The Broadway Gourmet Food Market is not somewhere I would ever think of getting lunch. First of all it’s in the super touristy block of Broadway between Prince & W. Houston streets, and second of all it’s first impression is of a terrible overpriced generic deli. But a couple of weeks ago I was in desperate need of something to drink and popped in, only to discover that they serve legit-looking tacos and burritos…and bibimbap. The low price of the second item called to me and I decided to return and try it out. Read more »

The Korean taco truck explosion that started with Korilla BBQ Truck and continued with Big D’s Grub Truck now includes Kimchi Taco Truck, which made its Manhattan debut in the FiDi yesterday despite getting hopes up in midtown last week. I wanted to see how their goods compared with Big D’s since they have some similar taco fillings and the price for three tacos is $7 at both trucks. Kimchi also has some interesting sides like kimchi arancini and Korean BBQ nachos. Tacos and fried rice balls? Sold!

Read more »

Some proteins are more forgiving than others – namely those containing a lot of delicious fat. But I cannot live on fatty meats alone without my heart exploding, and when I saw Big D’s Grub Truck was making its weekly stop in the Financial District with a special of chili sesame chicken I decided to go check it out. I was also curious to see what these grinders they’re serving would be like. I’d had the tacos the first time they parked down here, and was impressed by two out of the three I tried and by the impressive price-to-size ratio. Would the grinder be a success or failure? To the analysis!

Read more »

It’s rare that a new truck hits the streets under the ML radar, but that was the case with Big D’s Lunch Truck. It parked in the Financial District last week serving its Korean fusion food of tacos and grinders although from its previous Twitter posts it seems they’ve been parking in Long Island City most of the time. The truck joins others like Korilla BBQ Truck and the forthcoming Kimchi Taco Truck (which is supposed to start serving food today). I was excited about Big D’s Korean-fusion grinders so I headed out to see what they were adding to the increasingly crowded field. Read more »

I know everyone complains that we don’t have a lot of food variety down in the Financial District, and that’s partly true. There is a source of decent Korean food (no, not the best you’ve ever had) at Soma By Nature on William St. (btw. Fulton & John). Chris had checked out the kimchi stew here as a cure for what ailed him and wasn’t too impressed. I went a different route and tried some of the rice-based dishes that may not have transported me to Korea, but did make me a happy lunch’er. Read more »

Normally when people go to Chinatown it’s for, well, Chinese food or maybe a little Vietnamese or Thai. While I’m sure there are a handful of Korean restaraunts lodged in that part of the city, I wasn’t really aware of them, except for Jup She (formerly Li Hua). It’s a tiny place on Grand St. (at Baxter) with no real sign so you have to watch out for it. The reason I trekked all the way up to Chinatown for Korean food is that there really isn’t much to choose from in the Financial District unless you want Soma By Nature, Bon Chon or Cafe Hanover. Plus, I’m all about a Korean lunch box for less than $10, which I feel is a rarity (especially judging by the crappy-looking box Chris tried at Cafe Hanover for more than $10). Take a gander at what was in Jup She’s arsenal after the jump. Read more »

It came out last week that the Bon Chon Chicken location on Chambers St. had been cast out by the company for using unapproved sauces. This leaves the larger John St. location as the only one downtown, and that might be for the best based on my experiences at both locations last week. The Chambers location was still called Bon Chon and prices and everything seemed the same. I decided it might be worth a look at what they’re serving there since that location has never gotten an ML review, and I also revisited the John St. location for some head-to-head Korean fried chicken comparison. Read more »