Midtown Lunch

There aren’t too many options for Latin food downtown other than Sophie’s Cuban and a few other places that are mostly out of ML price territory. West Side Coffee Shop on Church (at Canal) at first looks like a regular diner or coffee shop like the Roxy, but it is so much more. And even if you’re completely starving, I guarantee you can get enough food here in a single lunch to feed a small family. Read more »

Tribeca seems to be a magnet for a certain type of bakery/ lunch spot hybrid, especially the farther north you go in the neighborhood. That’s why I wasn’t too surprised when Birdbath Bakery opened the latest in its continuing expansion of “green” stores on Church St. (at Thomas) late last week. I had been meaning to check out the SoHo location that opened not too long ago, strictly for the chicken cilantro sandwich which had been recommended. But thanks to my procrastination, I didn’t even have to take the subway! Find out what a “green” bakery looks like, after the jump.

Read more »

There’s been a conversation in the forums over who serves the best wings in the city, and lo and behold, Mudville 9’s name was tossed around. The beer-centric bar on Chambers St. (btw. Church & W. Broadway) is packed at lunchtime with people gnawing on wings and eating the occasional burger. Oh, and when I was there nearly everyone was also enjoying an adult beverage. None of this screamed “we serve amazing wings,” but the only way to find out was to place an order and get my hands dirty. Read more »

There is a row of restaurants on Church St. that tend to be frequented by cab drivers, and you can add New Shezan (btw. Duane & Reade) to that list. This Pakistani/Bangladeshi steam table place seems to be popular with all sorts of people, judging by the crowd there for a late lunch. Like all of the others (Bangal Curry, Taste of Tandoor) and Pakistan Tea House, which is directly across the street, this one is no frills. They apparently have regulars, as I witnessed the girl who had dished up my food head out the door with a bag, which she handed through the passenger window of a cab. Hey, sometimes you want McDonald’s and sometimes you want goat. Read more »

Walking into the newish Takahachi Bakery on Murray St. (at Church) is a little bit like sensory overload at lunchtime. You could compose whatever kind of lunch you want, basically, even if it’s just buying a bunch of cookies and baked goods. I had already sampled some sweets from there when they opened back in June, but I hadn’t gone for an actual lunch. This time I was after a sandwich and something sweet but as I am not immune to the impulse buy, ended up with something of a three-course lunch which was OK because I still came in under the ML $10 limit. Read more »

I’ve been on the lookout for cheap sushi downtown that doesn’t come from a grocery store…or Duane Reade. So when I grabbed a menu from the gritty-looking Shinjuku  on Church St. (at Park Place), I got all kinds of excited to discover they had a lunch special that was pretty damn inexpensive at two rolls plus salad or soup for $7.25. Clearly this was worth investigating. Read more »

It came out last week that the Bon Chon Chicken location on Chambers St. had been cast out by the company for using unapproved sauces. This leaves the larger John St. location as the only one downtown, and that might be for the best based on my experiences at both locations last week. The Chambers location was still called Bon Chon and prices and everything seemed the same. I decided it might be worth a look at what they’re serving there since that location has never gotten an ML review, and I also revisited the John St. location for some head-to-head Korean fried chicken comparison. Read more »