Midtown Lunch

There’s a strip of Church St. in the lower part of Tribeca that’s chock full of cheap eats. Many of them are steam table Indian or those weird hybrid Chinese/Tex Mex hole in the walls but there’s also falafel and delightful independent places like Mimi’s Cafe. A place called Kool Bloo opened a year ago and terrible, intentional misspelling aside, I never got around to checking it out because it just seemed like a crappy overpriced generic deli and there are plenty of those around already. After Kool Bloo shuttered, Church Street Kitchen quickly opened serving deli sandwiches, fried chicken, burgers and well, basically everything from a generic deli. What brought me there was the reasonable prices and want of some comfort food. And I’d have to say, they delivered.

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While I do enjoy a maki roll from the Genji counter at Whole Foods from time to time, I think we can all collectively get excited by the news that they’re scrapping that counter and putting something much more exciting in. If you like Indian street food, get ready because the Whole Foods in Tribeca at Greenwich & Warren streets is putting in a Dosateria in a collaboration with makers of prepared Indian food Cafe Spice. A look at what’s in store after the jump.

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It’s a good thing I don’t live or work near the Taim brick and mortar location in the West Village or I may develop an addiction. However, when news came out that they’re opening a new flagship shop on Mulberry St. (at Spring) in Nolita, I did a little happy dance inside because their delicious falafel would be available after only a short ride on the subway. But that opening was announced what seems like ages ago, and the Taim Web site still carries a message that the shop is opening “soon.” Reports at the beginning of July said the location would open in two weeks, but that came and went. Rather than wait for the Taim Mobile truck to come close to my office (the WFC lot is as close as it gets, and that’s still far), I took matters into my own hands to try their harissa falafel at last weekend’s food truck rally in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park. And after tasting this flavor of their falafel, I want that new shop to open even more.

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There’s no actual menu up for the chain-y looking grk coming to Fulton St. (btw. Dutch & William), but the items mentioned at the bottom of the window make it seem like it will be  similar to Pita Press on Cedar St. Among the dishes on tap will be gyros (which they spell yeeros), Greek yogurt, tzatziki, Greek salad and “freshly baked pita bread.” So nothing totally outside the box, but a decent option if you’re not in the mood for Crisp, Hale & Hearty or Chipotle that are all located on the same block.

It’s rare I’m pleasantly surprised by Indian food in the Financial District. I’m by no means snobby about my curries or chicken tikka masala, but how many times have you suffered through some sort of watery concoction from a steam table where the flavors seem to have been dialed down to please a wider variety of palates? After finding out a new truck had popped up on Whitehall St. (btw. Bridge & Pearl) serving Indian food, I decided to go investigate and found out from one of the women that they’re calling themselves Desi Food on Wheels. The truck is mysteriously affiliated with a restaurant and while which one seems to be under lock and key, it doesn’t really matter if the food’s good. Read more »

There are trucks out there serving crazy sandwiches and burgers – the Feed Your Hole truck instantly comes to mind – but they don’t often come downtown during lunch hours. Munchie Mobile hit the streets a while back but it wasn’t until late last week that I was able to catch up with the truck during a stop at the Lent Space food truck lot at 6th Ave. between Canal & Grand. I’d looked over the menu before getting there and it’s pretty vast with several variations of burgers, grilled cheese, chicken sandwiches, fried items and some other combos thrown between bread that breached the $10 mark without including a side. I mean, if you’re eating a triple decker grilled cheese involving a hamburger patty, jalapeno poppers and fries (that would be the Gangsta’s Paradise for $11) you’re not going to be needing some onion rings on the side.

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