Midtown Lunch

There are places downtown that specialize in Japanese curry, sushi and baked goods. Then there’s Hiroko’s Place which pointedly does not offer sushi, but instead zones in on the comfort foods including casseroles and a version of spaghetti featuring unconventional ingredients. Somehow, this works, and I discovered that this kind of food is well-suited to a blustery winter day.  Read more »

Working in Hudson Square can be hard if you don’t want to spend and arm and a leg on lunch. Options are mostly limited to chains like Pret a Manger, Dig Inn and Chipotle and I see too many people carting around bags from the latter.

I think a lot of people aren’t willing to walk a few blocks further down Hudson St. to Tauro Restaurant which seems to have at least prettied up its outside if not inside since I was last there. The best part? They have a steam table with several options and you can be in and out with your lunch in 5 minutes.  Read more »

When plans to check out a food cart went awry the other day I was left in need of a lunch in West Soho. That was when a sign outside the pedestrian-looking Jazzy’s Deli at Varick & Charlton streets lured me in. This otherwise generic deli offers specialties like bibimbop and bulgogi, but also, the more rare Korean-style fried chicken. Surprisingly, the meaty wings and drumsticks were better than I though they would be.  Read more »

Ever had a craving for a burger and some mandoo? ‘Essen appears to be making that combo possible with its location coming to Varick & Vandam streets. It looks like this place for “fast slow food” already has a location in Midtown, and while it’s similar to all of the other generic delis out there, it will be offering burgers, salads, chicken sandwiches and mandoo in one convenient location. So it’s about one notch above all of the other generic delis in the area.

There are a couple of hip taco places in Soho, including Tacombi and La Esquina, both of which turn out some tasty meats and vegetables in corn tortillas. Sometimes you want a good deal though instead of paying $4 per taco and dealing with lines. On Tuesdays, Pinche Taqueria (Multiple Locations) has a deal where you get a free taco if you buy two which turns out to be a cheap and fairly filling lunch.

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Some days, lunchtime goes awry and the place I want to go eat at is closed or no longer exists. The latter happened to me earlier this week, so when I walked past Peep on Prince St. (btw. Thompson & Sullivan) and remembered how good and cheap their Thai food was a couple of years ago I went inside to give the place a second go. You may know Peep as the place where you get an entree and appetizer for $8 or $9 at lunch, and this time my choices contained a win and a loss.

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It’s been awhile since I’ve eaten a good deli sandwich so when the opportunity presented itself to check out M&O Market & Deli on Thompson St. (at Prince), I took it. This place is an old school bodega with a deli counter hidden in the back, and that’s where you want to head. You’ll notice a board with the usual Boar’s Head options, but you may want to see what the house roasted special of the day is. Some days they do turkey, others pork loin or meatloaf, but when I was there is was a giant hunk of rare roast beef resting in the deli case. Read more »