Midtown Lunch

Among the fast food establishment and tourist shops on the stretch of Broadway between Canal and Chambers streets, shiny new Siring Asian Grill (at Worth) stands out. It’s essentially a Chipotle of Asian food, allowing you to build a wrap or bowl of rice noodles, rice or salad as a base. We’ve seen this type of “build you own lunch” restaurant before but this one’s probably welcome in an area that’s fairly grim with lunch options that aren’t McDonald’s or dollar pizza slices.

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I’ve been missing the somewhat authentic Chinese food found at Goodies and not too excited to try out its replacement, Asian Wok, located in the same spot in the little mall at Fulton St. & Gold. A glance at the menu showed one of the cheaper lunch combos I’ve seen at $6.95 for an entree and rice, along with your choice of soup or egg roll. And the quality turned out to be better than what I’ve gotten at other Chinese places downtown.

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It’s hard finding sushi lunch specials downtown that are the right balance of quality and price. Often you pay $8 to $10 and get two skimpy rolls with an iceberg lettuce salad or cup of miso soup, and you’re hungry again in an hour. Or you just have to break the $10 barrier so you’re not in search of a snack right after lunch. I’m happy to say that if you work within walking or delivery distance of Sun Cafe on Reade St. (btw. Broadway & Church), I think you’re going to be happy with the size and price of the sushi rolls you get.

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Despite Zaitzeff being a mere two blocks from my office, I have never stepped inside the place, partly because it had already been reviewed long ago on this site, and because of the prices. I mean, I like a good burger, but is it worth paying nearly (or more than) $10 for just a burger and no fries? It was time to find out, and I picked the turkey burger as my guinea pig.

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Ever since Toloache Taqueria opened on Maiden Lane (btw. William & Gold), we’ve been treated to a slightly fancier take on Mexican food than is found at Chipotle or other options in the Financial District like Sabor de Mexico or the taco trucks that have started parking down here. I’ve sampled the tacos and burritos, which until a recent price break overshot the $10 mark, but the tortas have always beckoned. As I discovered, at $8 they’re probably the best gut-filling bargain to be found there.  Read more »

The scene of the disappearance.

In the last couple of weeks, the number of street meat carts on William St. between Maiden Lane and John St. has been reduced to one instead of three. It’s always hard to tell where these carts have gone since they don’t use Twitter, but Biryani House and NY Express Biryani, which used to sit across the street from each other have been MIA, although Biryani House’s original cart is still a couple of blocks away at Liberty St. and Broadway.  Read more »

Following in the footsteps of grilled cheese, barbeque and Japanese rice balls from Smorgasburg vendors, Yuji Ramen is bringing a test kitchen to the second floor of the Whole Foods at Bowery and E. Houston from March 12 to May 12. The ramen maker used to draw large lines at Smorgasburg, and then at a shop in Williamsburg before that shuttered. Yuji is now trying to raise money via Kickstarter to open a restaurant serving its mazeman, or dry ramen, pictured here from their Twitter. What will they be serving at Whole Foods? Find out straight ahead.

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