Midtown Lunch

You don’t often see lamb dumplings around these parts, especially without traveling to Queens or some outer borough where such things are more easily found. The Chinese Mirch Truck was parked nearby the other day and I saw that they’ve added the lamb keema momo to the menu regularly rather than having them as an occasional special. Although I’d already gotten lunch, there’s always room in my stomach for dumplings.

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It’s easy to forget about Niko Niko on Wall (at Pearl) which has been a mainstay of cheap Japanese comfort food for years in the Financial District and is the closest thing we have to something like a Sunrise Mart. When Yushi opened a couple of blocks up Pearl St. I wondered how the two would compare, but I think Niko Niko has the edge on most things in the price department although I did really like Yushi’s rice bowls that have perhaps more inventive vegetable and protein options. Still, sometimes when the weather is super hot as it has been lately the thought of eating a big hot bowl of rice and meat sounds about as appealing as doing my taxes so that’s when either sushi or zaru soba comes in and I stopped by Niko Niko to check out their version of the latter.

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The lineup of quick service restaurants is about to grown on Fulton St. with something called GRK Fresh Greek opening between William and Nassau streets. This joins Crisp, Chipotle Five Guys, Financier and Hale & Hearty and is across the street from Texas Rotisserie & Grill. They have a Web site that simply says “coming soon,” a Facebook page and freshly-minted Twitter account, which says they’re bringing us “a new take on classic Greek food” in “fresh flavors like you’ve never tasted.” Guess  we’ll just have to wait and see when the paper comes down and a menu materializes. Let’s all hope it’s something equal to or better than the generally awesome Pita Press over on Cedar St.

GRK Fresh Greek, Fulton St. btw. William & Nassau

There aren’t a lot of Latin food options in Soho or Nolita other than La Nueva Conquista on Lafayette and a couple others in areas in the outer reaches of the neighborhood. If you want to sit down and eat your Cubano in a restaurant for less than $10, the options are even more grim, and Cafe Habana on Prince St. (at Elizabeth) offers that with prices that are gentler than most eateries in this area. In addition to the sit down part of the cafe, there’s the Habana To Go takeout shop next door on Elizabeth St. which you will probably not want to linger in since it’s not air conditioned, but it’s good for grabbing a sandwich or burrito and eating on a bench out front or somewhere that’s not 90 degrees.

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The growing cluster of biryani and kati roll carts at Broadway & Liberty was the only mobile source of these items until Biryani House launched a second location on William St. That left those of you in the other parts of the Financial District at a loss or at least stuck with regular chicken or lamb over rice options. Indian Biryani Delights perhaps sensed a need for some spiced meats in one of these holes and opened a month or so ago on Water St. btw. Maiden & Pine right next to the A-Pou’s Taste cart. Judging by the line and speed of service from the two young guys working the cart, you Luncher’s have been keeping them busy. It turns out that they’re serving some top notch Indian-spiced street meat and rice. Read more »

Apologies for once again writing about a food offering at Duane Reade, but after a surprisingly strong showing from the sushi counter at the Wall St. flagship I figured some people are viewing this drug store chain as a viable lunch option. They are slowly overtaking the Financial District with a giant new store opening on Broadway btw. Wall & Pine in part of the space that used to house Borders. A step inside immediately shows they’re really pushing the food here with a build-your-own salad bar, coffee bar and frozen yogurt/freezee station. I assumed the fro-yo was by-the-pound like most other places but to my surprise when I went to pay I discovered it was a set price for the two different sizes. This, of course, means you can and should cram as much into that cup as possible while still being able to get the lid on, which I tried to do yesterday.

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A stroll down Fulton St. yesterday showed a bunch of construction on the street and some scaffolding on the sidewalks. Spotted amid this mess was papered up plywood emblazoned with cupcakes, and lo and behold Baked By Melissa is bringing its confections to the block between Dutch and William streets. We already have Crumbs in the Financial District, and this new cupcake shop is just up the street from a Financier, but I’m betting people (aka, tourists) will be seduced by the tiny cupcakes Baked by Melissa offers, even if they are kind of a rip off.