Midtown Lunch

Midtown is getting its Asian Chipotle and we have been waiting for our Indian version on Maiden Lane for a while now. Hot Clay Oven has been delayed so many times that I’ve lost count and I thought we might get a taste this week after a September and November opening dates came and went. Well, the owner says that due to the Thanksgiving holiday the opening is pushed back once again and it’s looking like Dec. 8 at the earliest. So I guess we’ll all just have to wait a little longer to taste this Indian fusion food…or you can just go to the actual Chipotle across the street and pretend.

The Indian fusion chain-to-be  Hot Clay Oven was expected to open on Maiden Lane (btw. Gold & Pearl) in the first couple of weeks in October, but that’s now probably not going to happen. The owner tells me that it is definitely opening in October, but likely toward the end of the month. Surprise, surprise, the opening is “a bit delayed by city permits and inspections.”

The Indian fusion place Hot Clay Oven that is intending to take over Manhattan, followed by the world, has put up signage on its first location on Maiden Lane (btw. Gold & Pearl). A peek inside revealed that there’s still some work to be done, but it looks on track for the early September opening. You can check out the menu now and decide on your four-step order for opening day. Update: A girl standing outside handing out menus today told me that they’re opening in the “first week or two of October.”

Indian-fusion restaurant Hot Clay Oven on Maiden Lane (btw. Gold & Pearl) has its menu up on its Web site, and it looks like it will be a sort of Indian twist on Chipotle, one of which is actually located across the street.  You choose an “entree” like a wrap, naan and kebab, or salad and then a protein, toppings and sauces. The windows were still papered up when I walked by yesterday, but it seems like it will be opening soon (complete with a grand opening sponsored by a radio station!). Update: They’re shooting for an opening in early September. Check out the four-step menu after the jump. Read more »

It looks like two new places are coming to Maiden Lane, one of which is also opening two locations in Midtown. Hot Clay Oven is bringing Indian food to 101 Maiden Lane (btw. Gold & Pearl). There’s no menu up on their Web site yet, but it does say that it will be the first of several locations in the city. I’m also intrigued by its tagline  of “really fine Indian food the American way.” What does that even mean?

The other place is Hello Pasta on the next block at 125 Maiden (btw. Pearl and Water). Its other two locations as of now have been spotted in Midtown and open at the beginning of June, and the downtown one is set to open at the end of that month. Apparently this is only the first step in the chain’s domination plans. We’ll see what the early word is from the lunch’ers to the north before passing judgment.

Both of these are on a stretch of Maiden Lane that’s crowded with other higher-end chains like Pret, Chipotle, Au Bon Pain, Just Salad and Hale & Hearty. I guess at least the area is sticking with a theme and running with it.