Midtown Lunch

Here’s a confession: I’ve always wanted to eat at the Pearl St. Diner based solely on its sign. You just don’t find places with awesome neon signs like that anymore. Plus, whenever I walk by its location on Pearl (at Fletcher) it always looked packed with a diverse crowd of people and it just seemed like a good place for solo dining. On one of our many recent days of gross weather, I headed over because clearly eating outside was not going to happen and there aren’t a ton of places in the FiDi to have a sit-down lunch within ML price guidelines. Off I went with visions of greasy diner food dancing in my head. Read more »

It is definitely hearty, carb-filled food weather but I have grown tired of the options down in the Financial District. Sure, there’s the Hot Soup Cart when something warm sounds good, but I’ve found that hit or miss, and I can only eat the pho at Nicky’s Vietnamese Sandwiches so many times before that too becomes boring. This is when I look for an excuse to head to Chinatown and I found that with a Serious Eats post on the food at Bo Ky on Bayard (btw. Mulberry & Mott). The shrimp rolls looked like something that needed to be consumed (by me), and I am always OK with noodle soup in its many glorious forms. Read more »

As you readers of ML Downtown may have noticed, there aren’t a lot of “lighter” things like soup featured on here. It’s not that I’m purposely trying to omit liquid-based lunches, it’s just that they’re not that exciting (unless they’re pho, which is exempt from this bias). When I first went to Toloache Taqueria on Maiden Lane (btw. William & Gold) to try the tacos I saw they had a couple of interesting soups on the menu. Since it’s been freaking cold outside I figured it was the perfect time to try their version of pozole. Read more »

It’s rare that a new truck hits the streets under the ML radar, but that was the case with Big D’s Lunch Truck. It parked in the Financial District last week serving its Korean fusion food of tacos and grinders although from its previous Twitter posts it seems they’ve been parking in Long Island City most of the time. The truck joins others like Korilla BBQ Truck and the forthcoming Kimchi Taco Truck (which is supposed to start serving food today). I was excited about Big D’s Korean-fusion grinders so I headed out to see what they were adding to the increasingly crowded field. Read more »

Every once in a while I’ll get an e-mail telling me about a place to eat that I’ve never heard of, but it’s usually something out of ML price range and/or out of bounds. Last week I got a note from lunch’er James that made me actually want to go to the edge of Soho for lunch. Here’s what he had to say:

I just wanted to point out Tauro Restaurant, which is situated on 284 Hudson Street.  This is a great find for someone who yearns for heaping portions of rice and beans, mofungo, and various other Latin specialties.  I usually opt for the roasted pork (pernil), which is succulent and tender.  Rather than spend my money on Sophie’s, Tauro is laid back, but tends to get a little busy during peak lunch hours.  You come out of there satisfied, full, and ready to conquer the rest of the afternoon.  I’m working my way through their menu, but I always go with the Latin specialties rather than the American section of their menu.

What’s that you say? Heaping portions of rice and succulent fatty meats? I don’t know what it is about that dead zone near the Holland Tunnel, but I’ve had good Latin food in the area before and was willing to go out of my way to check out another option. Read more »

I had a plan for lunch the other day, but that quickly got derailed by the intensely crappy weather. (It’s the second time in two months I’ve had an umbrella destroyed while in search of lunch). The cart I was looking for was MIA and I ended up at Niko Niko on Pearl St. (at Wall) to dry off and eat something hot. The ramen soups sounded appealing, but something involving a bunch of rice sounded better. And I wanted that rice covered in Japanese curry and fried meat. Read more »

The thought of eating at most of the places in Little Italy is unappealing partly due to the crowds and partly because they try to lure you in with super cheap food that lives up to the phrase “You get what you pay for.” And I would rather not eat a giant plate of sub-par pasta in the company of tourists.

Acquedolci is on Grand St. (nr. Mulberry) not quite in the thick of Little Italy, but close. Lunch’er Danielle had recommended the shop, saying she and her office mates order delivery from there all of the time. I decided to head up there since I’m sure a lot of people working on the edges of Soho and Nolita eat in this neighborhood frequently. And I would be crazy to turn down an Italian sandwich recommendation. Read more »