Midtown Lunch

The novelty of grilled cheese from a mobile unit isn’t relegated to one truck, but now there are three of these things roaming the streets. Gorilla Cheese hit downtown back in May, drawing both lines and outrage at how much their small sandwiches cost. A while ago, Milk Truck started parking at Wall and William streets on Tuesdays and Fridays and in Soho one day a week. There’s also the Morris Grilled Cheese truck which parks in Brooklyn and other parts of Manhattan. If you’re not tired of reading about the multiple kinds of fancy grilled cheese yet, click through for a look at the sandwich I tried that involves the words “champagne pickled” and “Wisconsin gruyere.”

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If you were one of the people who got sad when the original Ray’s Pizza (no, really) closed on Prince St. btw. Mott & Elizabeth never fear because the replacement is not too shabby. The straightforwardly-named Prince St. Pizza opened just last week and specializes in square slices and rice balls. An inquisitive neighbor peppered the counter guy with questions while I was in there and I learned that they’re not messing around with anything healthy like salad. The lightest option you’re going to find is a thin-crust slice.

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Fancy sandwich shop Table Tales at the South St. Seaport has closed its Water St. location, according to its website, and is moving to Front St. between Fulton & Beekman. Tip of the hat to Lunch’er Deep for sending this along. I’m not sure if this forthcoming “sandwich shop and market” will be any different from what they were before but I’ll keep you posted since there were at least a couple of gems on the menu including this ugly yet delicious specimen.

As is customary here on Midtown Lunch, every Tuesday we’ll profile a different lunch’er and get their recommendations for places to eat in Downtown NYC. This week, we have Jillian who is a food blogger but works in the Financial District scrounging up lunch during the day.

Name: Jillian Nadell

Occupation: Graphic designer and food blogger at Eat Like a Lady (http://eatlikealadynyc.tumblr.com/)

Where you work: Wall & William

Age: 24

Favorite kinds of food: Mexican, Indian, Malaysian, Thai, Greek and good BBQ

Least favorite foods: Olives and oysters

Favorite lunches downtown: The Financial District is great for lunch. Most days I tend to be boring and stick to Pret A Manger, Chop’t or Hale and Hearty (Multiple Locations for all) both for financial reasons and my waistline. However, I’ve been spicing it up – no pun intended – with tandoori chicken salads from Hot Clay Oven (Maiden Lane & Gold), the “Indian Chipotle.” As for Zeytuna (Maiden Lane at William), they have the best variety and quality in terms of their hot bar and salad bar. And I think Koyzina (William at Cedar) makes the best sandwiches around. I usually have them make one with grilled chicken, pepper jack cheese, spinach and grilled onions with chipotle mayo toasted on their pumpernickel roll. Since I’ve been introduced to Sophie’s Cuban Cuisine (Multiple Locations) I find myself there more often than not. My favorite is the baked chicken with salad and rice and I cover the whole thing in their amazing green aji sauce (this stuff is “crack”). Toloache Taqueria (Maiden Lane btw. William & Gold) has the best quick Mexican food I’ve had in the city.  They have $3 taco Tuesdays and $7 burritos on Fridays, and I always go for the puerco. When I am looking to splurge or sit outside during the warm weather, I hit Stone St. btw. Broad & Hanover Sq., which really does have great food. Mad Dog and Beans has awesome Mexican food and the margaritas are strong. My favorite here is the quesadilla and their spicy guacamole. Adrienne’s Pizza Bar has some of the best pizza in the city. I like to get spinach and garlic or their pepperoni. Harry’s Café and Steak has the best steak sandwich I’ve ever had, Ulysses has the best cheddar and bacon burger and Smorgas Chef, a Scandinavian restaurant, has killer Swedish meatballs if you’re looking to do something different.

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