Midtown Lunch

It’s hard finding sushi lunch specials downtown that are the right balance of quality and price. Often you pay $8 to $10 and get two skimpy rolls with an iceberg lettuce salad or cup of miso soup, and you’re hungry again in an hour. Or you just have to break the $10 barrier so you’re not in search of a snack right after lunch. I’m happy to say that if you work within walking or delivery distance of Sun Cafe on Reade St. (btw. Broadway & Church), I think you’re going to be happy with the size and price of the sushi rolls you get.

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Following in the footsteps of grilled cheese, barbeque and Japanese rice balls from Smorgasburg vendors, Yuji Ramen is bringing a test kitchen to the second floor of the Whole Foods at Bowery and E. Houston from March 12 to May 12. The ramen maker used to draw large lines at Smorgasburg, and then at a shop in Williamsburg before that shuttered. Yuji is now trying to raise money via Kickstarter to open a restaurant serving its mazeman, or dry ramen, pictured here from their Twitter. What will they be serving at Whole Foods? Find out straight ahead.

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The opening day of Go Go Curry on John St. (btw. Nassau & Broadway), the Japanese chain with more than 50 locations world wide, was a bit of a mess. I discovered when I got in line that they weren’t doing take out on Monday and you could only get the 55 cent deal if you had a good hour to wait to eat in the small space that has only a few tables and a counter along one wall. Instead, I went back on Tuesday when you could get your food to go, and to my surprise found you could get any medium size curry for $5 – a special running through Feb. 28. The staff was still working out some kinks, with a wait of about 20 minutes for food and a cash only policy, but after I finally got to eat my pork katsu curry, it was totally worth the confusion and waiting.  Read more »

In case you missed our post from last week, Go Go Curry is expecting to open its new location on John St. (btw. Broadway & Nassau) on Monday at 10:55 a.m. If you’re one of the first 555 people in line you’ll be able to pay in change 55 cents!) if you get a single size curry. Otherwise, you’ll still pay less than $10 unless you have a hunger that can only be sated by a Grand Slam.

I feel like the closer the proximity to all of the touristy sites along Broadway in the Financial District, the more generic the generic deli. Cafe Tomato on Fulton St. (btw. B’way & Nassau) has bucked that trend for awhile by offering noodle soups and a smattering of Korean food, but until last week I was unaware that they have a whole separate counter clear in the back devoted to these foods.

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It seems it’s been two whole years since I’ve written about Takahachi Bakery which sits quietly on Murray St. (at Church) baking up all kinds of Japanese-inflected goods both sweet and savory. They also have sandwiches, salads and soup some of which I’ve already tried, but when I stopped in recently I was drawn to the hot case which has little lunch boxes containing a sandwich that’s heftier than it looks and a little side of some sort for $8.25. I was mighty pleased with the meaty, gingery beef concoction I grabbed. Read more »

Ever since Sushi by Bento Nouveau (which is now called Bento Sushi) remodeled its store at Broadway & Cortlandt St. I’ve been going there more frequently, mostly for udon soup or one of the protein over rice dishes. The other day when a craving for sushi hit I couldn’t be bothered to go to a restaurant and wait for food so instead decided to go check out Bento Sushi’s pre-made maki rolls. The place is constantly busy which is a good thing since the sushi you grab from the refrigerated case is likely to not have been sitting there long in frigid purgatory (where good sushi rice goes to die). I grabbed a sushi combo on one visit and later went back for a California roll. Sadly, it looks like the hot items are the way to go here rather than the sushi namesake.

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