Midtown Lunch

I can’t recall ever eating at Lenny’s, the sandwich chain that has a location on John St., but we’re about to get another one in the Financial District. A sign in a papered up window on Water St. between Coenties Slip & Broad alluded to the imminent opening. Is this better or worse than another Potbelly or Subway? Not sure on that one, but the sandwich-crazed among you should take note.

Word on the street, aka Twitter, is that Blue Spoon Coffee’s second location is opening Monday on William St. (at Platt). They’ve had a location on Chambers St. for a while, serving Intelligentsia coffee, breakfast items and hot and cold sandwiches and soup come lunch time. The location in the Financial District will eventually have a full menu, but for now we’ll have to settle for fancy coffee and baked goods. You can see the sandwich menu from the Tribeca location after the jump for an idea of what to expect.

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Last week we told you that signs had gone up on the new Yushi location on Pearl St. (btw. Maiden & Cedar). Since then they’ve taken the paper down from the windows and everything looks ready to go inside, which is good because they’re opening on Monday. This joins the location in the World Financial Center food court and one in Midtown, and furthers the creep of chain places from Maiden Lane.

Yushi,  Pearl St. (btw. Maiden Lane & Cedar), 4 World Financial Center, www.yushi.com

I was a little surprised to walk by the previously papered-up French Cafe Gourmand on Maiden Lane (btw. B’way & Nassau) this morning to see they were open and a couple of people were drinking coffee inside. I didn’t have a chance to go in and look at the menu, but a sign outside says they have coffee, pastries and sandwiches. You can expect a report soon, but I think we can all be happy with another place serving decent coffee and pastries that isn’t Starbucks.

I’ve only eaten at the Yushi in the World Financial Center once to try their healthy take on chicken katsu, but it wasn’t bad, so I was happy to see paper up in a window on Pearl St. btw. Maiden Lane and Cedar saying it was forthcoming. They’re known for their conveyor belt sushi and also have hot items and other Japanese fare in a fast food setting. The people at Niko Niko down the street probably are none too happy with this development as they have some of the same menu items. We’ll keep you posted when opening seems near.

I’d noticed paper went up in the windows of the small space on Maiden Lane between Nassau & Broadway that held a coffee shop and more recently, Baoguette, and yesterday a sign was up saying whatever was opening was hiring counter help and other staff. It turns out a place called French Cafe Gourmand is opening there, as I learned after cracking the door open to find a French guy sanding the floors. No clue what kind of food will be served, but I would be fine if they served good coffee since we’re severely lacking in non-Starbucks options in the Financial District. I’ll keep you posted on further developments or any clues as to the food that will be served.