Midtown Lunch

At this point, I think I’ve tried most of the kati rolls available in the Financial District, at carts or brick and mortar shops. Some singed my hands with hot oil, while others were a more expensive revelation. Mostly I was looking for a happy medium between salty street meat and greasy paratha.

I still hadn’t tried the kati rolls at Shafiq’s Halal cart on Broadway at Liberty St. where I had a decent plate of chicken biryani soon after they started parking on the plaza. Believe me, it was hard to resist the lure of shrimp and fries or mini egg rolls on Shafiq’s sort of random menu, but I did.

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Is an $11 hoagie cheap? Via Grub St.

• Bill’s Bar & Burger will open for breakfast first. [Eater NY]
• The roots of a chain coming to Tribeca (yes, it’s salad). [NY Times]
• NY Mag has dropped its somewhat cheap eats list. [Grub St.]
• Crafts are out, fro yo and overrated cupcakes are in at the Seaport. [DNAinfo]
• Take a look at ‘wichcraft’s summer sandwiches. [SENY]

Food carts are not welcome here either.

You know what sucks? Going to eat at a specific cart and finding that they are nowhere to be found. It’s doubly frustrating because, unlike many food trucks, most don’t use Twitter to update their location mostly because they work to stay in the same place every day.

Now that my little rant is over, you’d probably like to know where all of the carts that were parked on Nassau St. between Liberty and Cedar went. As of late last week all but the smoothie cart were booted from their new spots, after previously being forced to move from Liberty & Broadway when an inanimate object (aka, a Citi Bike rack) moved into their spots. The good news? Many of the carts have found new spots or are scouting locations. Read more »

I realize Super Linda on W. Broadway (at Reade) has been open for some time, and they began serving lunch soon after. A look at the menu at first wasn’t promising with all of the tortas more than $10, and a single taco running from $3.50 to $5. That did not sound like a good deal.

But then they added a taqueria lunch special for $10 which nets you two tacos from their full lineup along with rice and beans. Now this sounded like a lunch.  Read more »

Not as hyped as the cronut: Still delicious. Via SENY.

• Whoa: Is Chick-fil-A coming downtown? [Grub St.]
• Nolita has a gelato shop with a Brazilian twist. [Diner’s Journal]
• A guide to Francois Payard’s macaron ice cream creations. [SENY]
• Whole Foods gets in on the mobile food craze. [Tribeca Citizen]

There’s one thing you’re probably not going to find at one of the salad chains: Lettuce tossed with a dressing tasting strongly of fish sauce.

That’s what I like about Mooncake Foods (Multiple Locations) – that you can order something like a salad, and be surprised at the flavors you get, and likely for less than at a chain place.

It’s been hot out lately, and thus, I’ve had to rethink what I eat for lunch as slamming a giant burger or meaty sandwich doesn’t sound too awesome when it’s 90 degrees. Thus, the Asian salad comes into play as you can often get filled up, and for less than $10.  Read more »

We got a serious coffee shop in the Financial District when Blue Spoon opened on William St., but those of you in the bottom part of the neighborhood have mostly had to settle for the chain places.

Word is that Bluestone Lane Coffee will bring Australian-style caffeinated beverages and food to 30 Broad St. in August or early September after opening a first location in Midtown East. The company will carry a rotating variety of roasters and teas, along with snacks from Balthazar, Bondi Bikkies (Aussie style cookies) and Downtown Cookie Company, as well as something called the “signature house-made avocado smash.” Personally, I’m in favor of any coffee source that doesn’t end in “bucks.”