Midtown Lunch

I know there are many of you who love Potbelly Sandwich Shop, and I have some good news for you. After an “oven warming” on Monday and Tuesday, according to the sandwich chain’s Twitter feed, that would logically mean the store at 280 Broadway (btw. Chambers & Reade) will be opening later this week. I’ll keep you posted when that day/time is posted. That means you can get A Wreck with some of those delicious pickled peppers without heading down to the Financial District.

We are short on non-Starbucks coffee options in the lower part of Tribeca and most of the Financial District, so the news yesterday that the Aroma Espresso Bar at Church & Barclay would be opening at 10 a.m. today was more than welcome. I’m not sure if this location will have the same sandwiches and breakfast items with a Middle Eastern bent (the chain’s based in Israel), but the menu online looks pretty great with shakshuka and a halumi sandwich represented. If any of you stop in today, let us know what the scoop is in the comments.

I know many of you have been waiting for the opening of  Bon Chon on John spawn, Kortako, on Nassau St. (btw. John & Fulton) which was pushed back due to Department of Health inspection delays. When I walked past on Friday there was an unexpected line out the door, and it turned out they were giving away free food during a soft opening (and you guys can apparently sniff out free food!). I grabbed a menu and confirmed that they were opening today at 11 a.m. but didn’t have time to stand in the growing line. I’ll give you a full report later this week, but you can take a look at the menu after the jump.

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If you work in the desolate part of Tribeca on or near Broadway (or around City Hall), you may be happy to hear that you’ll have another lunch option in the near future. Lunch’er Danielle sent in a tip that Chipotle has a store coming soon to 281 Broadway btw. Chambers and Reade, in the bottom part of the above building that’s under construction and covered in scaffolding. According to Chipotle’s Web site, it will be open until 10 p.m. so it’s another option if you don’t want to eat at Checkers around the corner.

The lunch options in Battery Park City have gotten remarkably better since I took over Downtown Lunch’ing duties for this site and it looks like more options are on the way. A friend who works in the neighborhood sent along an updated list of places coming soon and they include the already-announced Blue Smoke barbeque that will also awesomely have a bake shop, a place called Beans and Greens that will sell salads and sandwiches, Harry’s Italian and Wei West Restaurant , an Asian-fusion restaurant to the extreme that will have Japanese, Thai, Chinese and Korean. I’m not sure how many of these will be within DL price guidelines, but I don’t think anyone will complain about more lunch options without having to cross the West Side Highway. Photo courtesy of Serious Eats.