Midtown Lunch

On certain days when I have a little extra time on my hands for lunch, I like to venture a little farther than normal for food, and in most cases that usually means Chinatown. And when that intersects with wanting spicy food, the Sichuan variety comes to mind. That’s what led me to Famous Sichuan on Pell St. (btw. Doyers & Bowery). Once I got there I discovered perhaps the greatest lunch deal I’ve found yet, in an area of the city known for its dirt cheap food. Read more »

The first Five Guys in the Financial District opened last weekend, and I went to check it out on the first day they were inundated with office workers. Also, I must confess that I have never eaten at Five Guys before (I know, I know) so I was really excited to see what all the hype was about. And really, who even needs an excuse to eat a burger and fries for lunch? Read more »

It came out last week that the Bon Chon Chicken location on Chambers St. had been cast out by the company for using unapproved sauces. This leaves the larger John St. location as the only one downtown, and that might be for the best based on my experiences at both locations last week. The Chambers location was still called Bon Chon and prices and everything seemed the same. I decided it might be worth a look at what they’re serving there since that location has never gotten an ML review, and I also revisited the John St. location for some head-to-head Korean fried chicken comparison. Read more »

I’ve been meaning to get down to Zigolini’s on Pearl (at Coenties Slip) for a while now, but mostly the heat has prevented me from wanting a hot, carb-filled lunch. Then one day a lunchtime craving for pasta hit, and after dismissing the Ravioli Fair cart and a couple of other nearby options, I decided to hoof it down there to see theirs was any good. Lunch’er boomshanka had long ago suggested the eggplant parm from there as a go-to lunch, but once I saw the line for sandwiches, I was even more dead set on getting pasta from the much shorter line next door. The to-go portion of the restaurant in split into two separate rooms, so make sure you’re in the correct line so you don’t wait forever and then realize you’re about to get a sandwich instead of a burger or pasta. What pasta creation did I end up with? Find out after the jump.

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I had one of the weirder lunching experiences I’ve had in the Financial District at the recently-opened Vietnamese Sandwiches on Pearl St. (btw. Pine & Wall). Some of you had weighed in with reports of  long waits and mediocre sandwiches. With Baoguette in the general vicinity, a branch of Nicky’s Vietnamese Sandwiches about to open, the Banh Mi Cart, and Chinatown not too far away that doesn’t make this places’ chances of survival too great. What it does have going for it is slightly better prices than the competition and you get a free soda until the end of the month. So, what made this such a strange lunching experience? Find out after the jump. Read more »

I’m going to preface this post with the fact that no, I didn’t grow up in Austin, Texas, or anywhere in California, and therefore am not an expert by any means when it comes to “authentic” Mexican food or even Tex-Mex. I’ve eaten some delicious tacos in New York from both street vendors and brick and mortar places and mostly liked what I got. Also, I grew up eating bastardized Mexican food in the Midwest, where your plate automatically came with rice, shredded lettuce and refried beans, and flour tortillas are the default. When I stepped into The Bigger Place on Warren St. (at W. Broadway), the interior reminded me of those restaurants I grew up eating in. The place was packed at lunch, though, which is always a good sign. Read more »

If you remember, at the beginning of June the C&H Halal on the corner of W. Broadway and Chambers St. was in a public beef with Plein Sud, the fancy French restaurant on that same corner. To recap: Plein Sud wanted the cart to move because it was there 24 hours a day and creating garbage on the sidewalk. In response, those working at the cart covered one side of it with neon poster board calling the restaurant “gangsters” and saying they weren’t moving. Well, it’s more than a month later and both the restaurant and cart are still there. I decided to stop by not only to get an update on the situation but also to do a little multi-tasking and check out a chicken and lamb over rice combo. Is the food worth the fight? Find out after the jump. Read more »