Midtown Lunch

Looking back through all of the lunches I consumed in 2013 made me wonder, once again, how I am not morbidly obese. There was BBQ chicken lo mein, pizza with bacon and jalapeños, cheese steaks, fancy hot dogs, and one uncooked lunch that I’ll talk about later. All in all it was a great year for lunching downtown, and we gained options like Jersey-style subs, Philly-style hoagies and Japanese curry.

While digging through all of these lunches, there were several that stood out and I whittled them down to 10. You’ll find those straight ahead, along with an honorable mention and a bonus spot for perhaps the most memorable lunch I’ve eaten in my tenure as editor of this site.  Read more »

The popular Luckyim Thai cart seems to have finally found a spot they’re sticking with after being ousted from the plaza along Liberty St. The cart has settled into the SW corner of Hanover Sq. and Water St., right next to the 2013 Vendy Award rookie nominee Mamak cart. The fans seemed to have followed Luckyim Thai as there’s a line every time I walk by, so get there early if you want your pad thai fix.

Food carts are not welcome here either.

You know what sucks? Going to eat at a specific cart and finding that they are nowhere to be found. It’s doubly frustrating because, unlike many food trucks, most don’t use Twitter to update their location mostly because they work to stay in the same place every day.

Now that my little rant is over, you’d probably like to know where all of the carts that were parked on Nassau St. between Liberty and Cedar went. As of late last week all but the smoothie cart were booted from their new spots, after previously being forced to move from Liberty & Broadway when an inanimate object (aka, a Citi Bike rack) moved into their spots. The good news? Many of the carts have found new spots or are scouting locations. Read more »

The Luckyim Thai cart had a rough past couple of weeks. They, along with at least four other carts, were ousted from their spot on Liberty St. at Broadway by the installation of a Citi Bike rack. After a day or two, three of the carts moved around the corner to Nassau St. (btw. Liberty & Cedar), and I decided to go try another dish from Luckyim Thai.

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Two weeks ago some of the carts in the plaza on Broadway between Liberty and Cedar streets came to park in their usual spots, only to find there was one of the new Citi Bike stations there instead. The Biryani House cart relocated across the plaza, but a few others that park on Liberty St. were left wondering where to go, and asked the Street Vendor Project for help.

It looks like the 99% Vegetarian, A-Pou’s Taste and Luckyim Thai carts have moved to the other side of the building to Nassau St. between Liberty and Cedar. No word on whether this is a temporary or permanent relocation, but at least now you know where to find some of your favorite carts.

There haven’t been many new interesting additions to the cart scene at Broadway between Liberty and Cedar streets lately. Last week Lunch’er Jeff wrote in to say that a new option serving Thai food had appeared next to the A-Pou’s Taste cart. A Thai food cart?! I’m on board with any cart offering food that’s more exciting than halal street meat.

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