Midtown Lunch

I haven’t been into Hot Clay Oven, the healthy Indian fast food place on Maiden Lane (btw. Gold & Pearl) but I noticed the other day that in addition to chai tea they also sell a bunch of soups. The offerings include an Indian chicken chili and sweet potato shorba and since it’s a block closer to my office than the nearest Hale & Hearty I might be trying this on a cold day when I’m feeling lazy.

It’s been a couple of months since Hot Clay Oven started serving its Indian-fusion version of Chipotle in the FiDi. You want a wrap made with naan? Or Indian meats on a salad? Or a fancy version of meat over rice from a cart? They have it all, plus mango lassi and booze. The only time I’ve eaten there was the first day of operation when they were giving out free food and the line was up the block. I wanted to check back in and see what the food was like when I had to pay money for it instead of freeloading.

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 I know you all like a good deal even outside of lunchtime, so here’s one for the Indian food and alcohol lovers. Hot Clay Oven, the newish Indian fusion place on Maiden (nr. Pearl) has a couple of happy hour specials from 4 to 7 p.m. for the month of February. You can either get buy-one-get-one free alcoholic drinks or a free mango lassi if you buy an entree.

If you were outside yesterday then you know there were sub-freezing temperatures ahead of the snow, but that didn’t stop you lunch’ers from freeloading! When I got to Hot Clay Oven on Maiden Lane (at Pearl) at about 12:45 p.m. the line was nearly to the end of the block. It later grew longer as people walking by couldn’t resist the siren song of free food. After about a 30 minute wait outside, I got inside only to wait 30 more minutes to order my food. This wasn’t because of a lack of organization, but partly because people cut the line and partly because of the sheer number of people waiting. See what I scored for my patience after the jump. Read more »

Way back in May of last year work began on the first location of Hot Clay Oven on Maiden Lane (btw. Gold & Pearl) and after numerous delays it’s officially opening next week. It’s supposed to be the first location of a chain with an Indian fusion menu where you can choose among a bunch of different items in a bunch of different forms, hence the Indian Chipotle label. There is a preview onTuesday from noon to 2 p.m. and 5 to 7 p.m. with free food. Wednesday and Thursday are soft opening days from 11 to 2 p.m. and 5 to 8 p.m. with half off everything. The store officially opens at 11 a.m. Friday, although I’m guessing everyone who reads this site will have taken advantage of the free/deeply discounted food before then.

A lot of you have probably been wondering like I have what the heck is going on with the Hello Pasta and Hot Clay Oven projects on the lower part of Maiden Lane. One is showing decidedly more progress than the other, so I figured it was time to check in on their progress. Sure, we just got Toloache Taqueria in record time, but it might be nice to have some pasta and Indian fusion thrown into the line up. Check out the potential opening dates after the jump. Read more »