Midtown Lunch

I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve scavanged in the basement of Zeytuna on Maiden Lane (at William) for a decent lunch, and usually ended up with soup or a random container of stuff from the by-the-pound buffet. Yes, even serious lunch’ers have lame lunches once in a while. When I’ve ventured further afield to the Mexican station or tried the falafel I’ve only been met with disappointment and regret. Lunch’er Mel recommended the pizza (and Indian) which I’d never thought to try. Grocery store pizza, here we come! Read more »

We don’t get much of the fad foods downtown, unless you count The Meatball Shop or the million cupcake places. A new Italian place called Da Mikele opened on Church St. (btw. White & Franklin) recently and while I was scanning the menu my eyes immediately skipped to the words “pizza cone.” Those of you who read the midtown site may recall the hype and rapid flameout of K! Pizzacone, which I could tell just by the pictures I would not want to put in my body. I was pretty sure the cones at Da Mikele were going to be a step above and not just a vehicle to get a wad of cheese into my stomach. And I found a co-lunch’er to go along so I could also justify sampling the pizza. Read more »

There’s a style of pizza I grew up eating that was baked on a cookie sheet by moms for birthday parties or at semi-crappy pizzerias. I love NYC-style pizza as much as the next person, but sometimes it’s nice to find a little variation whether it’s in fancy Neopolitan pies or a grandma slice. When I went to Adrienne’s Pizza Bar on Stone St. (nr. Hanover Square) for lunch I was not expecting to have a blast from the past put in front of me. Read more »

After a disappointing slice experience recently, I’d kind of shied away from pizza for a while. One day that I didn’t have much time for lunch I headed over to Majestic Pizza & Calzone on Cortland (btw. Church & Broadway) on the intel that they had a good grandma slice with fresh basil. I have maybe eaten one grandma slice in my life (unless you count what those in the Midwest call pan pizza, of which I have eaten a lot), so I was happy to make this No. 2.

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I don’t know about anyone else, but I didn’t know a Thames St. existed in the Financial District. Sure enough, it does, and on it you’ll find Big Al’s Chicago-Style Pizza (btw. Broadway & Trinity Pl.). Lunch’er Paul had recommended its regular slice so I decided to go check it out on one of those day’s where I couldn’t decide what lunch appealed to me. It’s one of only a couple of businesses on the street that only exists for two blocks. According to its menu, Big Al’s has been around for 30 years and a steady stream of people came in and out while I was there during prime lunch time. The weird thing is, that they don’t really seem to focus on the deep dish pizza that you think of as Chicago-style, although they do list a pie with a “special crisp and fluffy crust.” I guess there’s always Pizzeria Uno at the South Street Seaport for that. Read more »

There are a lot of places serving slices in the Financial District, and I’m always on the hunt for my favorite. I think I may have found a new front runner with It’s A Pizza on John St. (btw. Broadway & Nassau) – a place that caught my attention with its sign that makes it look like a chain even though, to my knowledge, it’s not.

They have a very busy front window that displays a number of signs for what they sell including pizza (99 cent slices from 3-5 p.m.!), pastas, a chicken over rice special and sandwiches. Things only got more awesome when I got inside and noticed they had some very un-Italian specialties listed including something called a samsa and some dumpling-looking things called hinkali. Part of me wanted to order all of these crazy things, but since it was my first time visiting I thought I should actually eat some pizza since it’s the place’s namesake. Read more »

Looks like the new Eddie’s Pizza Truck is coming downtown today after making its debut last week up north (aka midtown). They serve thin-crust bar pies and initial reviews seem promising, although they’ve been plagued by long lines from people ordering for their offices. You can get a pie with one topping, a side and a drink for $10, or they have a chicken cutlet with hot cherry peppers as a special this week. Check them out on Twitter to see the exact location. Update: Looks like they are at Broad & Water streets.