Midtown Lunch

Word came yesterday that the renovation of Pier 17 and the South Street Seaport by the Howard Hughes Corporation is set to include a large food market in the style of Italian mecca Eataly. There aren’t many details of what exactly this market will contain, but it won’t be focused on the cuisine of just one country. And I think we can safely say whatever food options that come can be considered a win for that part of downtown.

The South Street Seaport businesses are slowly coming back to life, but there are still many that are closed for good or still under construction. Along Front St. are many eateries that have managed to reopen. Some got lucky because they are raised up off the street, while others like Barbarini Alimentari struggled. News came that the dual owners had parted ways, but one opted to reopen Barbarini as Barbalu. The menu is somewhat the same with reasonably-priced sandwiches and more expensive pastas. They had good food before and I had faith that the sandwiches would remain tasty. I was right.

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It’s summer and when it’s hot outside sometimes a room temperature lobster roll sounds like the only thing good to eat, besides ice cream. The problem is if you go to the Red Hook Lobster Truck, Luke’s Lobster or any other place that serves seafood stuffed into toasted hot dog buns, you’re going to pay $15 or more for the privilege.

But! As we’ve discovered at Luke’s, sometimes the other seafood rolls are both cheaper and tastier (or as tasty) as the lobster variety. With this in mind, I hit up Red Hook Lobster’s kiosk at the South St. Seaport’s Smorgasburg pop up and sampled their shrimp roll. I was not disappointed.  Read more »

The South Street Seaport has never been particularly hip, unless you consider clipper ships the hot new thing. There were some reliable lunch spots there though that have been sorely missed since hurricane Sandy decimated the area. A few places that were on higher ground have reopened, but the area is still largely a work in progress.

The other day I had some extra time on my hands and headed over. The lure was the 10 Smorgasburg vendors that have set up stands on Front St.through October, alongside a bar in a shipping container.  Read more »

Some of you may be familiar with the New Amsterdam Market which brings together different vendors selling food and other items on Sundays underneath the overpass on South St. by the Seaport. You’ll be happy to hear that this Thursday some of the food vendors are doing a special lunch at the Pier 16 Marginal Wharf (that’s at South St. & Fulton) from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. that involves some places we would normally have to take the subway to enjoy. If you’ve ever thought how awesome it would be to have lunch involving Porchetta, Lonestar Tacos, Black Tree Sandwich, People’s Pops, La Newyorkina or Luke’s Lobster in one convenient location now’s your chance. P&H Sodas and Pushcart Coffee will also be on hand for your beverage needs.

Last year shaved ice purveyor Wooly’s Ice went home a winner for best dessert at the Vendy Awards. The cart was in ML Downtown territory last year – first starting next to the 1 Centre St. kiosks and later moving up to Elizabeth St. This year they’re on the move again and starting today will be parked for the summer season at the South St. Seaport, right at Pier 17. Danny Che from Wooly’s gave us the low down on some changes to the cart’s ices and some other information. They were expecting to be up and running by the beginning of May but as often happens there were some unexpected setbacks which is probably fine because it hasn’t exactly been warm enough to crave icy treats. Straight ahead for what you can expect to help you deal with the heat this summer.

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There are a lot of places over by the South St. Seaport that I forget about until someone reminds me, and Meade’s Bar is one of those places. It’s on an obscure corner that’s currently blocked by construction, and on the same block as a bunch of other cafes and a delightfully divey bar with equally cheap lunches and decoration consisting of bras. Last week Lunch’er Robyn mentioned her love of Meade’s burger with blue cheese, and a look at the bar’s menu showed a few of the sandwiches could be had for less than $10, including fries, salad or rice. That’s a bargain not often found in or near the Financial District. Read more »