Midtown Lunch

We have no shortage of carts selling falafel in the Financial District, but it’s a little hit or miss and often you get specimens that have been previously fried and are mushy, room temperature and greasy. After I reviewed the GoGo Grill cart’s pulled pork sandwich one of you suggested I check out their falafel. They have a fryer on the cart, which is always a good sign.  Read more »

Earlier this year, an unconventional veggie burger caught my eye. This city has a lot of crappy versions of them, but when Birdbath Bakery‘s earned the top nod among the city’s non-meat burgers I took notice. After all there is a location in Tribeca at Church & Thomas streets, and I can’t often get to my favorite source. The other day I stopped in to see if they had the burgers (I was told they don’t have them until close to 1 p.m.) and a pile of them greeted me behind the glass divider.

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I’m a big fan of the falafel sandwiches at Nish Nush on Reade St. (at Church), but I hadn’t branched out to any of the platters yet. There are a few platter options including falafel, shakshuka and hummus either plain or with various toppings. I decided on one of the topped hummus options, and provided you get some extra pita, it was enough for more than one meal.

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There are a couple of hip taco places in Soho, including Tacombi and La Esquina, both of which turn out some tasty meats and vegetables in corn tortillas. Sometimes you want a good deal though instead of paying $4 per taco and dealing with lines. On Tuesdays, Pinche Taqueria (Multiple Locations) has a deal where you get a free taco if you buy two which turns out to be a cheap and fairly filling lunch.

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Late last week I stopped by the bank just as a cart on the corner  of Greenwich & Murray streets outside was being readied to be driven away at the end of the day. That cart was BIA Best Food, and it had an intriguing menu that included biryani, chicken curry, teriyaki chicken, sweet chili chicken (they must really like chicken) and then there was dal for the low price of $4.

Carts are sometimes lacking in vegetarian options outside of falafel or vegetables over rice, and so I was intrigued that they had another cheap non-meat option. At only $4, it was a cheap gamble to take to see if it was any good.  Read more »

One of the last lunch spots to open after flooding from hurricane Sandy in the Pearl St./Water St./Coenties Slip area was OBAO at the corner of Water & Coenties. It reopened at about the same time as Zigolini’s and its various offshoots next door, bringing Thai food back to the lowest part of the Financial District.

I was curious if they had changed the interior or menu after the long closure and decided to stop in for lunch. While I would recommend getting your food to go (no air conditioning!), I was pleased with the amount of food I got in my express lunch special, and it was certainly better than the pho.

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When last week Lunch’er KD1005 commented that we should check out a cart being run by a former worker at the venerable Sam’s Falafel, my ears perked up.

For you see, Sam’s is one of the longest running carts in the Financial District serving some of the best falafel platters and sandwiches, and anyone who worked there must have absorbed some of that awesomeness. Sure enough, a visit to the two-month-old Yummy Fawl & Falafel cart at Church & Barclay streets yields a similar falafel platter but there’s no line.  Read more »