Midtown Lunch

There are a lot of lunch places that try to make you seem like a better, more healthful person by eating there and it’s rare I step into these places. However, I’m not above trying a place that proudly declares it’s organic and serves food that just might make me live an extra day if there’s some intriguing reason to. When I saw a post about the Katchkie Truck, permanently parked in the lot behind City Winery (site of this ML’s Fifth AnniversaryParty!) I was intrigued. They’re open five days a week for lunch and the menu sounded simple and tasty, with all of the food coming from an organic farm upstate that also sells at farmers markets and has a catering company in the city. Lots of greens and grains straight ahead.

Read more »

If you like bar pies and work or live in Tribeca there’s good news. Eddie’s Pizza is going to have a cart parked at Greenwich & Reade streets starting next week selling the same bar pies, heroes and salads that can be found at their truck, including the $10 lunch special. The cart will be there Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. It’s part of the growing fleet of carts from Eddie’s that they first debuted at the ML Fifth Birthday Party back in June, and part of a trend as it’s becoming increasingly difficult to find street parking for food trucks.

The arsenal of decent lunch spots in the World Financial Center keeps growing, and the latest addition is Casa Masa, a kiosk outside by the marina next to Fatty Snack, Ed’s Lobster Bar and Quality Burger. Despite being a side venture from the people behind burrito chain Blockheads, the menu is restricted almost entirely to tacos and when I stopped by during prime lunch time the other day there was no line. A clump of guys was waiting to mark down what tacos you wanted on a little checklist sheet that you give to the cashier and within about two minutes I had my three tacos and was on my way. But how were they?

Read more »

The closet-sized Urban Lobster Shack was once our only source of takeout lobster rolls in the Financial District. Then a couple of months ago beloved Luke’s Lobster opened basically right around the corner, and although the styles of their rolls are different I thought it was worth checking back into the originator to see what they were doing to keep up with the young upstart competition. It turns out they’ve added a new roll to their arsenal. Read more »

As I was headed to lunch yesterday I spotted a truck I hadn’t seen before parked behind the Desi Food Truck on Hanover Sq. It turned out to be Valducci’s Pizza and after a look at their Twitter feed it seems they’re an offshoot of a Staten Island pizza place and the truck is simply back on the streets after a long hiatus. But hey, it’s new to me! I was going to buy a slice, but just as I was about to do that a guy emerged from the truck with a pizza pan full of samples. Straight ahead for what a mini-slice looks like.

Read more »

I would guess about 99% percent of people who eat lunch at Bennie’s Thai Cafe on Fulton St. (at Gold) get something off the cheap menu where the food is dished up off a steam table with a scoop of rice. But what if it’s hot outside and the thought of eating a hot plate of Thai food doesn’t sound appealing? That’s when I turn to their salad menu because they’re the only affordable Thai place down here doing authentic dishes like larb and selling it at ML-friendly prices. And if you don’t like traditional salads that try to trick you into eating vegetables, this may be for you.

Read more »

The lowest part of Manhattan doesn’t have many lunch spots that I would term “whimsical” but I think I’ve found the closest thing at Cosmopolitan Cafe’s soda fountain on W. Broadway (at Chambers). It’s a tiny space, focused on the soda and ice cream fountain in the back but they also serve amenu entirely under $10 consisting of crepes and a few daily specials like a burger and sandwiches. Look for the smiling ice cream cones on the scaffolding next to the entrance – and don’t get it confused with the pricier cafe around the corner on Chambers. Read more »