Midtown Lunch

That giant kosher place Milk Street Cafe that popped up in the old Mangia space on Wall St. (at William) nearly a year ago is opening its doors tomorrow. They’re having a ceremony and giving out free cookies and coffee from 10 to 11 a.m. and will be open for lunch afterward. Regular hours are 6:30 a.m. until 9 p.m. except for Fridays when they close at 3:30 p.m. Based on a press preview a couple of weeks ago it looks way better than most generic delis down here and should be a great destination for all you vegetarians out there.

Those of you who work way down in the Financial District often complain that your eating options aren’t that great, but to that I say, have you noticed how many trucks park down there these days? On a recent day, within a two-block radius there was the Cevap Truck, Souvlaki GR, Big D’s Grub and a frozen yogurt truck. I was trying to decide which to eat at and then spotted Moshe’s Falafel which showed up downtown a couple of weeks ago after disappearing from midtown, and hasn’t looked back. A guy working at the truck told me they’re parked in that spot at Hanover Sq. & Water every Friday, but it seems like they’re there every day. Read more »

In between the spam and invitations to things only loosely-related to food sometimes I do get worthwhile e-mails. I recently got one from a downtown lunch’er that opened my eyes to how much it must suck to keep kosher in the Financial District and try to find a good meal. The person was asking where to go for a kosher lunch in the bottom part of the FiDi. I was stumped because while there’s the Kosher Luncheonette (and Milk St. Cafe coming to Wall St.) there really aren’t many options at all (that I’m aware of), especially if you want to actually sit there and eat. Pita Express on Ann St. (btw. Nassau & Park Row) was one of the places I came across, and the mix of Israeli and Middle Eastern food sounded good. Plus all of their sandwiches are under $10, and so I figured I would find out if this place was any good.

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I like exploring downtown to find promising places to eat, but I always prefer to follow a good lead. I was absolutely starving at 11:30AM on Friday, and so I followed Lunch’er Matt’s suggestion and my stomach’s desire for a hearty meal down to Kosher Luncheonette on the corner of Fulton Street and Cliff Street.

Matt recommended the falafel, so I got myself one of those, but as I was voracious – and so that I could give you guys a better sense of what Kosher Luncheonette has to offer – I also got a kasha knish and a bowl of tomato rice soup.

That morning I think I could have gnawed on a shoe and been happy, but even in that state I could recognize that Kosher Luncheonette’s food was not only far better than a shoe but was really good on its own right. My falafel was good, but the other food was even better, and I’ll be heading back to Kosher Luncheonette regularly for my lunchtime Jewish comfort food needs.

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