Midtown Lunch

I only ate at The Pump Energy Foods once out of curiousity while training for a marathon last year but never went back. It wasn’t terrible, it was just bland and unmemorable. The whole chain has now changed its name to Dig Inn Seasonal Market and new signage went up on the location at Pine & Pearl streets. They have a new menu designed by “a guy who beat Bobby Flay on Iron Chef America” as their Web site will remind you every chance they get. It also looks sort of bland and unmemorable, but if any of you think I should actually go check it out, let me know in the comments.

Tip of the hat to Lunch’er Mike who sent in the above photo of the second downtown location of Roll & Go. The chain is bringing its $1 pizza to Canal & W. Broadway after opening a location in the lunch-barren area of Broadway & Franklin back in May, much to the glee of cheap lunch seekers and office workers. Their slices aren’t terrible and the price is right ($1, no tax!) so its a welcome addition to the area.

Soho is pretty barren in terms of carts or restaurants specializing in falafel, unlike other parts of downtown this site covers (OK, mostly the Financial District). There are a couple of generic street meat carts scattered around, and others like Taim Mobile and Crisp On Wheels make stops once or twice a week but that’s about it. Maybe that’s why everyone got excited when Ba’al Cafe & Falafel opened on Sullivan St. (btw. Spring & Broome). And after eating there twice, I really wish whoever owns this place would expand to the FiDi.

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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 Nancy who works in the middle of three neighborhoods with plenty of food options. Just don’t expect her to ask for extra mayo. 

Name: Nancy

Occupation: Advertising art director

Where you work: Canal & Varick

Age: Younger than the San Gennaro Feast

Favorite kinds of food: I prefer Asian food over American but I do love a good steak, great BBQ and lobster.

Least favorite foods: Anything with mayo or eggs, so egg salad tops the list.

Favorite lunches downtown: This neighborhood is great since we are so close to Tribeca, Chinatown, and the newly named “Hudson Square” which is growing in lunch options. I go to Pecan in Tribeca for their soup (butternut squash) and salad (chicken quinoa) lunch combo. When heading to the library on Leroy St., I hit Better Being Underground  (btw. Hudson & 7th Ave. South) for the Nuyorican wrap or Slumdog Millionaire press sandwich. Everyone in the ‘hood loves Alidoro on Sullivan (btw. Spring & Prince) and I usually order the Frugoletto sandwich. For $5 pho, I go to Nha Trang on Centre St. (at Walker) but if I’m not up for a walk through Chinatown, Mekong on King (at 6th Ave.) has tasty, though more expensive, Vietnamese. Mooncake Foods on Watts (at 6th Ave.) is close by and I love their salmon.

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