Midtown Lunch

Throughout the past couple of months while office workers trickled back into the Financial District after the hurricane, and others took extended holiday vacations, Tacos Morelos continued parking in its regular spot at the corner of Wall & Pearl streets. Their tacos got a thumbs up from me, but I was curious about their sandwiches and headed over for a torta.

Read more »

I’ve had my eye on the Fishing Shrimp truck, which has shown up in Midtown and also one day a week in Soho while otherwise parking in Brooklyn and other parts of Manhattan. The truck’s premise is simple – fry a couple of types of seafood and serve them in a basket or sandwich, with fries if you choose. It’s nice that they didn’t try to throw in some other influence (cough, cough, Korean food) as many trucks do to varied success. But if you’re only serving fried seafood, you’d better do it well.

Read more »

The food truck situation in the Financial District has been in flux since many parking spots have been taken up by emergency vehicles and generators. That means many regulars, like the Tribeca Taco Truck which has regularly been rat Water & John, have been forced to find new locations in the neighborhood, or just park in Midtown for the time being. They returned on Tuesday after an absence and I happened to walk by as I was figuring out what to eat for lunch. I’ve already tried their tacos and a chorizo burrito when the truck used to park in Soho (they now have a cart on Broadway btw. Prince & Spring). It turns out they’ve upped the price on some of their burritos, but the $5 options are a great deal.

Read more »

Ladies and gentlemen, I think I’ve found my new cheap go-to source of Indian food in the Financial District. I decided to revisit what’s now the Desi Chef On Wheels truck (initially called Desi Food On Wheels) and I was so glad I did. Yes, the food comes off of a steam table, but the women who serve it are so nice and the food I’ve tasted has been so nicely flavored that I just want to keep going back again and again. The truck’s offerings lean heavily in the vegetarian direction, and while I loved the daal I had on my first visit, the fish curry I tried on the second visit was tasty and equally cheap.

Read more »

Note: I wrote this before hurricane Sandy messed up the Financial District and its lunch options. And because I’ve been unable to work at my office due to lack of phone or Internet service I haven’t been able to confirm if this truck has continued to park in its usual spot. If nothing else, you get to read about a pork sandwich.

After a couple of failed attempts at catching Tacos El Idolo in its spot off of Whitehall St., (usually on Pearl St. but I think they’ve been on Bridge too), I finally caught up with them late last week after spotting a crowd of be-suited guys waiting on the sidewalk. The menu is similar to the Tacos Morelos truck that parks at Wall & Water everyday, but if you work at the bottommost reaches of the Financial District, Tacos El Idolo is the closer option. While I was tempted by the tacos (as I always am), instead I ordered a cemita and was not disappointed with what I got. Read more »

Last week’s cooler weather brought out the sweaters and also a lot of hearty seasonal specials at trucks and other lunch spots. Wafels & Dinges took the opportunity to add to its savory side with the winter addition of the corn waffle with either meat or vegetable chili along with some toppings. But would this $7 concoction be more of a lunch than one of their regular sweet waffle concoctions?

Read more »

Back in May after the Bob & Jo Truck started parking in the Financial District one day a week, I had a bulgogi sandwich that had a lot going for it, but was marred by too-chewy baguette. I haven’t been back because there are about a million other trucks hitting the area these days that consistently serve delicious food. On Tuesday (when the truck parks on Hanover Sq.), although the siren song of the many taco trucks crowding the lower FiDi was strong, I instead headed to Bob & Jo where a line of people was ordering rice plate after rice plate. Perhaps trying a baguette sandwich at a Korean food truck had been too risky a venture and the meat over rice was where it was at.

Read more »