Midtown Lunch

A couple of weeks ago I noticed that Dominic’s Truck was parked in the same spot every day on Whitehall (nr. Water) serving cheese steaks and Italian sausages and that’s about it. I asked you lunch’ers if it was worth a shot, and you said yes (although not if it’s a long hike). On a day when a nice greasy lunch that would likely give me heartburn sounded good, I headed down to see what Dominic was cooking up and just how much his food would set me back.

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I don’t often venture over to the edges of Tribeca because it’s mostly full of restaurants so far out of the ML Downtown price range that it’s laughable. But a couple of weeks ago I was doing a little online digging to see if there were any decent BBQ spots downtown, and a place called Cornerstone Grill on Greenwich (at Duane) was mentioned. Sure enough, when I walked over I spotted an awning bearing the glorious words “chicken and ribs.” Was I even in Tribeca anymore?

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I was a little bit excited when someone posted in the forums asking if anyone had eaten at a place called Sabor de Mexico on Trinity Place. Was it a restaurant? A cart? A truck? The possibilities were wide open! But then I walked over and discovered that Caliente Mexican Grill on Trinity (at Thames) had just changed its name. Case closed.

Every once in a while I get a strange urge to go into one of those chains that promises to feed me food that’s supposed to be bad for you, but that they’ve somehow transformed into a healthy lunch that will make me a well-oiled machine. I’m usually I’m a well-oiled machine because I’ve just eaten a greasy gut-bomb for lunch, not because I’m so full of lean protein. One of these chains is Energy Kitchen and although I’ve walked by the Nassau St. location (btw. John & Fulton) countless times I’ve never gone inside. Was it the “Nothing Over 500 Calories” emblazoned on the door that scared me away? Maybe. When profiled lunch’ers Charlene and Kate said they went there, and specifically mentioned the bison cheese steak wrap, I took notice. And further research turned up a bunch of commenters in midtown saying they chose this wrap over The Pump’s version of street meat. I mean, could this bison cheese steak thing actually be good for its advertised 474 calories?

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I’ve been burned by most of the Thai restaurants I’ve tried in the FiDi, but yet I am optimistic that maybe one of the places I haven’t yet tried will blow my mind. One of those places was Lemongrass Grill on William (at Maiden Lane), and after I discovered they had no lunch special I kind of wrote the place off. But then a craving for Thai hit me and I decided to take a walk up the street to see what they offered for the ML budget. Read more »

The last couple of times I’ve been in the lower part of the FiDi there’s been the Dominic’s truck selling Italian sausages and (more importantly) cheese steaks on Whitehall (nr. Water). I haven’t tried it yet, and I thought I’d throw it out to you guys to see if anyone can tell me it’s worth eating at. In other words, is it worth venturing past the Trinidad & Tobago Cart and All American Diner I & II Truck parked nearby?

I don’t know about all of you, but normally when I want Indian food I don’t head to a place that’s a transplant from Long Island and touts how healthy its food is. In Soho the options are somewhat limited for Indian food options at ML prices (other than Lahore Deli), and Hampton Chutney Co. on Prince St. (btw. Crosby & Lafayette) is also one of the only places nearby that serves dosa. I was a little leery that the attempt at making my food healthy would sacrifice flavor, but I headed there anyway to see if it was Downtown Lunch worthy.

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