Midtown Lunch

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 »

If you’ve been at the South Street Seaport and made it past the giant Christmas tree and throngs of confused-looking tourists, you may have noticed and/or smelled the food stands. I was unaware that these existed, and at first they seemed pretty boring with one selling crepes and another various kinds of drinks including hot chocolate. Then you will see a big round stand with a round grill and buns hanging in the middle, and realize that you can get a delicious sausage while gazing at the Christmas tree.

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If the thought of paying $10 for a sandwich and some chips pains you, then avert your eyes because Fresh Salt is not for you. The restaurant is on Beekman (btw. Front & South), part of a cluster of eateries at the South St. Seaport. While I was under the impression that it was a grab and go-type lunch place, it’s more of a sit down affair unless you want to get your food to go.  Several of you profiled lunch’ers have recommended this place but it’s just far enough off the beaten path that I tend to forget about it. The good news is the food is good – but you’re probably going to pay more than you’d like for the privelege of dining among cobblestones. Read more »

The words “healthy” and “soul food” would probably send shivers of terror down many people’s spines, but these things no longer surprise me. It seems like every new place opening in or near the Financial District is trying to make their food healthy-sounding. And this is what you get from Soul Daddy, a new restaurant at the South St. Seaport, begat from a reality TV show, that we first showed you Tuesday. The restaurant takes soul food, puts it in a space that is reminiscent of Chipotle, and tries to let you eat lunch without having a heart attack afterward. Fair enough, but how does it taste?   Read more »

If you watch reality TV shows involving food you may have heard of America’s Next Great Restaurant. Since I don’t, it came as a surprise when I saw that the winning restaurant, Soul Daddy, was simultaneously opening three locations yesterday including one on Front St. at the South St. Seaport. There’s nothing I like better than having my lunch destination handed to me. Click through for a look at the “new home cookin’” menu. Read more »