Midtown Lunch

As is customary here on Midtown Lunch, every Tuesday we’ll profile a different lunch’er and get their recommendations for places to eat in Downtown NYC. This week, Lunch’er Julian longs for the grub near his old apartment in Billyburg and searches for a decent taco near City Hall…

Name: Julian

Occupation: Public Health Advisor

Where you work: City Hall – William St. and Ann St.

Age: 24

Favorite Kind of Food: Neopolitan Pizza, Bahn Mi, Tacos… Also Egg Cream, Bacon-Wrapped Dates, Affogato (espresso+gelato).

Least Favorite Food: Tuna Salad

Favorite Lunches Downtown: Grilled Salmon Sandwich at Terrace Fish and Chips, Chicken Nicoise Salad or Chicken Dill Sandwich at Sandwich House, Ham and Swiss at Blue Spoon Coffee Co, Grilled Pork Papaya Salad at Doyers Vietnamese, Lunch Buffet at Taj Tribeca (formerly Indian Express), Caprese Panini and Afogatto at Zibetto, Soy Wings at Bon Chon.

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Every once in awhile, I get a craving to try some weird food. And by “weird,” I don’t mean “hey wow, man, when I mix my ketchup with mayonnaise, it tastes awesome” kind of weird. I’m talking rocky mountain oyster weird. I’m talking Spicy & Tingly Lamb Face Salad weird. And today, I’m talking Cow Foot Soup weird. Why do I enjoy this kind of thing? I don’t know. But I don’t think I’m the only one with this wonderful/horrific affliction, so that’s why I’m sharing this with you all today. The one thing I’ll promise you is that I won’t eat anything too disgusting. That is, unless it tastes really, really delicious. Enough of that, though. On with the story.

So I’d been going to Veronica’s Kitchen for a good long time now and it wasn’t until relatively recently (probably last spring) that I’d heard about a rival Caribbean food cart on Whitehall between Bridge and Pearl Streets.  Since then I’ve eaten here a number of times, though I’m still a loyal and frequent visitor of Veronica’s Kitchen.  I’m not here to tell you which one is the best one, only to share the goodness.  The dishes I’ve gotten have ranged from their rotis to their soups to their oxtail.  And it’s all been good, my friend.  There’s just something about Caribbean food that really tickles my fancy and I haven’t met one I don’t like. Not yet anyway.  To try an entice you to join the love, this time I decided to show you the jerk chicken and cow foot soup. Read more »

Blueberry Bacon Pizza, photo courtesy of Always Hungry NY

• A little bird at Always Hungry tells me that breakfast is the way to go at Pulino’s, and the small pies are under $10 [Always Hungry NY]
• Guss’s Pickles is no longer one of us. This is a sad day. [Grub Street]
• Great NY Noodletown gets shut down too [Fork in the Road]
• Tiny’s Giant Sandwich Shop is closed as well… no wait, it’s reopening… and that sandwich looks pretty good too [Serious Eats NY]
• With an oyster po’ boy like that, I wish I’d gone here for Fat Tuesday [Eating in Translation]
• If you’re feeling really lucky, Trattoria Cinque is giving away free lunches [Tribeca Citizen]

If there’s one place here in the Financial District that I can’t believe I haven’t been yet, it’s Cafe Hanover at 5 Hanover Square.   I have heard a LOT of buzz about this undercover Korean joint disguised as a generic deli and I always told myself “hey, you should go there next week.”  But things would come up, new places would come on my radar, and Cafe Hanover was being perpetually pushed back.  Well, my friends, “next week” has finally come and I’m happy to say I wasn’t disappointed. Read more »

I will start this review by confessing that I have never actually been to the beloved Pakistan Tea House. They may have the best Indian food on the downtown scene, but they’re a hike from my office, and I just haven’t made it up there yet.

What I do know is that I’ve got no use for Diwan-E-Khaas. I have to respectfully disagree with Daniel’s positive assessment of their food and say that nothing I’ve ever had there (and I’ve had a lot) has been very good, and some has been very bad. So I’m very happy to have a place like Ruchi around. Their food is neither awesome nor an amazing deal, but very good Indian food for under $10 is something this neighborhood needs. And Ruchi’s got that covered.

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As is customary here on Midtown Lunch, every Tuesday we’ll profile a different lunch’er and get their recommendations for places to eat in Downtown NYC. This week, Ilana makes me more jealous than any luncher ever before. I thought food blogging was a pretty sweet gig, but travel show host… damn…
Name: Ilana

Age: 30

Occupation: I’m a travel television host and I temp in NYC’s financial district in between gigs.

Where do you work?: When I’m not globe-trotting, I work on Wall Street.

Favorite Kind of Food: I typically love anything I can eat with my hands. I’m a sucker for pizza. Especially if it’s VERY Italian in style…thin crust, topped with olives, pancetta, fresh basil, and a perfectly cracked egg right in the middle!

Also, I’ll never turn down a classic South African meal of different game with pap and chakalaka or spicy Indian off a banana leaf.

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Lunch Salads. I’m so much more into savory taste explosions, rather than seeing how many different ways to blend vinegar, strawberries, and goat cheese into a new concept. It’s all very “ladies who lunch” and I’m much more of a try-anything-once kind of gal!

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