Midtown Lunch

When last we visited Roti Mediterranean Grill on Pearl St. (at Cedar), it was a soft opening, the food was free, the lines were long and I was undecided as to whether I liked this place or not. That was back in May, and since then, every time I’ve walked by there’s been a line out the door (or they’ve been closed. That’s seemed to happen a lot too), and that’s a lot to say with so many lunch options on the same block.

So, I decided to actually purchase some food this time and see if it was better than what I got when they were doing staff training. My thoughts on healthified street cart fare straight ahead.

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Today Roti Mediterranean Grill officially opens at the corner of Pearl St. & Cedar in the Financial District (their Web site says at 10:30 a.m.), but myself and many other Lunch’ers got a sneak preview on Friday when they were doing staff training.

There was an intimidating line out the door, but it went really quickly which bodes well for opening day. But what about the food? If you want meat and carbs, and to eat somewhat healthy food, you might want to check this place out.  Read more »

You can get items such as the above when Roti Mediterranean Grill opens on Monday. Tip of the hat to Lunch’er Daniel who sent in the tip that the latest chain spot at Pearl St. & Pine is doing employee training today and over the weekend, and will open on Monday (no word on what time, but we will update when we find out). The place is a Mediterranean take on what seems like a million variations of lunch spots where you choose a rice plate, pita sandwich or salad with a choice of protein or vegetables, etc.

Look for a review early next week and view this another option when the line at Chipotle down the street is a little out of control.

The restaurants on Pearl St. had a rough go of it after hurricane Sandy, but when I walked down the stretch between Broad St. & Maiden Lane yesterday it’s a bit of a mixed bag. Signage was up for a new lunch spot on Pearl at Cedar, but others are closed due to structural damage from the hurricane, or for more mysterious reasons.

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Yet another chain will be making inroads in NYC, with Roti Mediterranean Grill planning to open at Maiden Lane & Pearl St. in January of 2013. There are already locations in Chicago and Washington D.C., and guess what? It’s a build-your-own lunch model involving pita, laffa, salad or rice with various meats, vegetables and sauce options a few pre-configured options. This isn’t too surprising since the chain was started by a former Chipotle chairman. They hope to open 10 to 12 new locations in NYC in the next couple of years and the Financial District seems to be a starting point for ambitious chains with Potbelly and others like GRK and Hot Clay Oven having similar ambitions. I don’t know, I guess this is better than getting another salad place, but what do you Lunch’ers think of getting another build your own lunch chain?