Midtown Lunch

Since we (OK, I) don’t do a happy hour segment on the site, I don’t go to very many of the drinking establishments downtown. This is kind of a shame since we have some very dirty and very classy places that are probably serving good food. A few of these bars do lunch specials that fall in the ML price range and I also kind of forget about them unless I happen to repeatedly walk by a signboard advertising a decent lunch special and then actually go check it out. This was how I ended up at Jim Brady’s on Maiden Lane (btw. William & Gold). The bar specials had called out to me too many times to resist. Read more »

Anyone who works in the vicinity of Wall St. is probably familiar with the Hot Soup Cart that’s parked on the corner of Pearl. Chris had tried two of the soups there last winter and was smitten enough with the offerings to change his opinion about soup. My first trip to the cart when it was down on Broad St. was not quite such a success. But hey, I’m all about second chances so I headed back to the cart the other day when I wasn’t feeling so hot to see if I had just caught them on a bad day the first time. Read more »

In what may have been the quickest turnaround of making a sandwich shop into a taco one, Toloache Taqueria opened last week on Maiden Lane (btw. Gold & William). This was a big deal for lunch’ers in the Financial District because we are barren down here for good tacos and tortas.  I was there during their first real day of service, because someone had to eat fancified Mexican food for research purposes. Read more »

As all of you know we in the Financial District (OK, and Tribeca) are severely lacking in really awesome Mexican food. Sure, there are decent places like Tajin or The Bigger Place, but other than that it’s just sad generic deli burritos and Chipotle. That was why I was so excited to see Caliente Mexican Grill open on an obscure corner of Trinity Pl. and Thames. One early adopter didn’t have the best feedback on lunch there, but I forged ahead anyway with a co-luncher to see whether they were cooking anything authentic. Read more »

I know it’s strange to head up to Chinatown or Little Italy to eat at newish Bluebird Sky instead of eating at one of the million cheap Asian or Italian places there. But this cafe on Baxter (btw. Canal & Hester) came highly recommended by lunch’er Mark and also lured me in with its promise of a muffuletta listed on the menu. And since it’s right by the Canal St. subway stop I decided it was time to if their sandwiches were up to the task of being my lunch.  Read more »

I don’t know about you guys, but whenever I’m trying to decide what’s going in my belly for lunch I rarely crave chicken specifically. But when the combo Ranch 1 & The Original Soupman opened on Pearl St. and Hanover Square. I had to go check it out because after all, it is Zach approved. I happened to go on the day of the monsoon last week and broke two umbrellas in pursuit of my chicken lunch, but I would have to say it was kind of worth it. Read more »

It’s that time of year when there are days (like yesterday) that you just want to hunker down for lunch with a hot steaming bowl of soup. The recently-opened Nicky’s Vietnamese Sandwiches on Nassau St. (at Ann) said they would be serving pho and have delivered on that promise. This is the only place I’m aware of in the Financial District that you can get the Vietnamese noodle soup, and it’s nice to not have to hop on a train up to Chinatown when the craving hits. Read more »