Midtown Lunch

It was by chance that I discovered Pisillo, the new Italian panini shop on Nassau St. (btw. Fulton & Ann). The menu is simple with a roster of sandwiches and not an Italian-American park in the bunch. In fact, there aren’t any hot options at all, only cold cuts, cheese and a few vegetable toppings. You also won’t find any mayo or marinara sauce. These are all good things.  Read more »

New menu items keep popping up at A-Pou’s Taste cart and some of them are so different that I feel the need to try them. When I walked by the other day, there was a sign for a new dish called “brown meat sauce over rice” next to the ones for pork chop over rice and shrimp fried rice. What I was picturing in my head and what I got were pretty different, but the dish wasn’t like anything I’d eaten before.  Read more »

When Saffron Thread Indian opened on Chambers St. (btw. Broadway & Church St.) they touted their kati-type rolls, and they were indeed delicious and filling. The thing most people order here is the $9 lunch combo, and as I discovered you get a boat load of flavorful food for the price.

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There’s a Thanksgiving sandwich hiding on the menu year round at Lenny’s – that sandwich and salad chain that seems to be trying to keep pace with Potbelly Sandwich Shop‘s expansion in the Financial District and Tribeca. For now there are two locations in the FiDi, with three more planned in Battery Park City, and on Pearl St. and  Park Place. I’ve never eaten at a Lenny’s but plenty of you seem to, and I was curious how their turkey sandwich would fare compared to others I’ve tried from places that aren’t chains. Surprisingly, it was pretty damn good.

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In case you didn’t get the memo, Clarke’s Standard now has combo meals. That means you can go into the location at Maiden Lane & Pearl St. and order by number if you so desire, but since this is not McDonald’s it might be best to actually say the name of the thing you wish to eat in a combo. Before, you had to shell out more than $10 for just the sandwich or hot dog if you wanted fries on the side. Now you can get two of those things plus a fountain soda in a “Butcher’s Combo” for less than $10 before tax. It’s a wise move, and in my opinion a good deal.  Read more »

When I saw a man handing out food on Nassau St. next to Nicky’s Vietnamese Sandwiches, I thought I was going to get a little free banh mi action. Instead, I discovered that a place called Pisillo Italian Panini had opened next door with a super-focused menu of only sandwiches. There are 25 varieties with fillings such as prosciutto, salami, tuna, sopressata, fresh or smoked mozzarella and various spreads and toppings it’s a bit like Alidoro in that there aren’t any parm sandwiches or other Italian-American concessions made. Prices range between $8.50 to $11.90 and note that it’s cash only. As always, if you eat there, let us know how the food was in the comments!

Pisillo Italian Panini, 97 Nassau St. (btw. Fulton & Ann streets), (212) 227-1304

I’ve eaten sushi from a drug store, surprisingly good sushi, and disappointing sushi from a place with sushi in its name. However, I’d never eaten a sushi crepe before so when Tous Crepes opened its doors with this item on the menu I decided to sidestep the long list of more conventional iterations. What happens when you substitute rice for a buckwheat crepe? Find out straight ahead.  Read more »