Midtown Lunch

There are a couple of trucks selling southeast Asian foods these days, including Mamu Thai Noodle. The truck has been parking at one of the lots near the World Financial Center in Battery Park City at least one day a week and based on the line when I stopped by on Monday, you all are happy to have a Thai option in that part of downtown.  Read more »

A nice-looking halal cart called Three Pyramids has popped up near the corner of Hanover Square and Water St. It proclaims “No Pork On My Fork” on the side, and seems to offer the standard meats over rice options. Also: chicken wings for $6. Have any of you eaten at this cart yet?

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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• Finally, a reason why so many fast-casual lunch spots open in the FiDi. [DNAinfo]
• Alfanoose has moved (with bonus kitten pics!). [Tribeca Citizen]
• Jerry’s Cafe closes, maybe due to construction. [Grub St.]
• A behind-the-scenes look at Vendy nominee Nuchas. [SENY]
• Oh Jesus, there’s a new pastry hybrid on the loose. [Eater NY]

When plans to check out a food cart went awry the other day I was left in need of a lunch in West Soho. That was when a sign outside the pedestrian-looking Jazzy’s Deli at Varick & Charlton streets lured me in. This otherwise generic deli offers specialties like bibimbop and bulgogi, but also, the more rare Korean-style fried chicken. Surprisingly, the meaty wings and drumsticks were better than I though they would be.  Read more »

Ever had a craving for a burger and some mandoo? ‘Essen appears to be making that combo possible with its location coming to Varick & Vandam streets. It looks like this place for “fast slow food” already has a location in Midtown, and while it’s similar to all of the other generic delis out there, it will be offering burgers, salads, chicken sandwiches and mandoo in one convenient location. So it’s about one notch above all of the other generic delis in the area.

If you are a long time reader of this blog, you might have noticed that I kind of like spicy food. A lot. When I ordered a sandwich from the Route 66 Smokehouse pop up on the Elevated Acre (above 55 Water St. btw. Old Slip & Coenties Slip) I was not expecting an assault of pepper so crazy that my nose was running the entire time I was eating. That being said, I think with a couple of tweaks we can get a little excited about the food at the forthcoming Route 66 brick and mortar.

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