Midtown Lunch

There were rumors that La Nueva Conquista on Lafayette St. (at Spring) had shuttered, but I needed to lay eyes on this tragedy myself. The Dominican cheap eats institution leaves a hole in the Soho lunch scene that’s sadly void of affordable plates of fatty pork and rice. Yes, Chinatown’s a short stroll away, and I guess Cafe Habana can take up some of the slack in the roast pork department, but it just won’t be the same as standing in line with construction workers and restaurant deliverymen at La Nueva.

There’s a place in Soho where the ratio of well-dressed, impeccably-groomed office workers waiting in line is noticeably absent. Instead there’s a decidedly blue collar male crowd of truck drivers and the people who deliver your food from nicer restaurants in the area (I stood behind a delivery guy from Lombardi’s). That place is La Nueva Conquista – a Dominican food institution that Daniel visited waaay back in 2008. Judging by his pictures, this place hasn’t changed a bit except for a price hike to $9 for your meat over rice + beans lunch. He tried the catfish and goat stew but I was here for the roast pork which I’ve read about again and again but never had the chance to try.

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Midtown workers shouldn’t have all the fun, so to even the score, I’ve brought on Daniel Krieger as an official Downtown Lunch Correspondent to write up some of the tasty stuff you can get in the lower half of Manhattan. He’s a great photographer (ensuring good food porn), but more importantly he is a lover of cheap, unique and delicious eats (or as I like to call it- Midtown Lunch’ish food.)

La Nueva Conquista Restaurant has been in the same spot for 50 years and although ownership has changed hands over that time, the food and atmosphere have stayed pretty much the same. And almost as important, the prices have held steady as well.

Located on Lafayette street near the corner of Broome, you will find a long ass line during lunchtime containing mostly a latino population. When I first moved to NYC I lived in Washington Heights for 4 years and got quite sick of eating the same food all the time, as back then there wasn’t much variety uptown (not sure how much the hood has changed since I left). On occasion though, I get that craving of a hearty meal of yellow rice and beans; the kinda lunch that sticks to your ribs.

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