Midtown Lunch

Today Roti Mediterranean Grill officially opens at the corner of Pearl St. & Cedar in the Financial District (their Web site says at 10:30 a.m.), but myself and many other Lunch’ers got a sneak preview on Friday when they were doing staff training.

There was an intimidating line out the door, but it went really quickly which bodes well for opening day. But what about the food? If you want meat and carbs, and to eat somewhat healthy food, you might want to check this place out.  Read more »

The couple of times I’ve written about Baba Ghanouge (Multiple Locations), I’ve somehow gotten items with chicken – in a sandwich with fries and in man-ushi form – and never tried the falafel or other vegetarian items.

If you’re not in the know, this place has a falafel sandwich for just over $4. Yes, it’s utilitarian and doesn’t involve hummus or anything, but for $4 no one should complain. You can barely get the same thing at a street cart for that amount of money in the Financial District!

But is their bargain falafel any good? I’m here to tell you that it is, and they don’t skimp on your sandwich either.

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Sometimes it seems like the only places opening in Downtown Lunch territory are of the “build your own…” variety involving some sort of flatbread or bowl option. Maybe I’m exagerating, but when word came that the second NYC branch of The Hummus & Pita Co. was opening on Chambers St. (btw. Broadway & Church) where Carl’s Steaks used to be, I wasn’t exactly rushing out to review it. But, the menu looked promising and so I trekked over on a brisk day for lunch. One food coma later, I was happy I made the trip.  Read more »

It seems that sometime since I last ate at Alfanoose on Maiden Lane (btw. Broadway & Nassau) the restaurant has started playing up the fact that they serve Lebanese food rather than generic “Middle Eastern cuisine,” or coasting on the fact that at some point they were once named as having the best falafel in the city. I’ve never been wowed by the falafel, but they do have a pretty extensive selection of vegetarian items on the menu (a french fry sandwich!), including fried cauliflower. I figured this could either be a very good, or very bad way to pretend I’m being healthy.

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There are days that some specific food sounds really good, and it becomes a mission to find exactly what I’m craving. The other day this happened and it was falafel that sounded good, but I also wanted to go for a little bit of a walk since it wasn’t raining outside for once. Baba Ghanouge popped into my head because I remembered a sign in their window for a $3.99 falafel sandwich. When I took a glance at the menu, though, something else caught my eye: The man-ushi sandwich section. How had I missed this before?

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When lofty claims such as “the best kofta kabab in NYC” emblazon the side of a food truck, I feel they must be investigated through eating. After asking you all if Ambizza Cafe truck was worthy of a review, a few of you said it was so I headed over for a kabab platter ($8), although there’s a wide variety of meats cooked on sticks available as well as a couple of burgers and some vegetarian options such as falafel and a vegetable sandwich. Really, though, this trucks seems to cater to the carnivore.

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I’ve walked by the Ambizza Cafe Truck that’s been parked at Old Slip & Water, but haven’t had the chance to try it. There was a substantial line there yesterday and a glance at the menu shows they do meat kebabs and “the city’s best kofta” as well as a lamb burger & fries for a cheap price. Has anyone tried food from this truck? I might have to check it out, simply because I don’t want to miss out on the best kofta this city has to offer.