Midtown Lunch

Ladies and gentlemen, I think I’ve found my new cheap go-to source of Indian food in the Financial District. I decided to revisit what’s now the Desi Chef On Wheels truck (initially called Desi Food On Wheels) and I was so glad I did. Yes, the food comes off of a steam table, but the women who serve it are so nice and the food I’ve tasted has been so nicely flavored that I just want to keep going back again and again. The truck’s offerings lean heavily in the vegetarian direction, and while I loved the daal I had on my first visit, the fish curry I tried on the second visit was tasty and equally cheap.

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A string of restaurants on the bottom part of Maiden Lane between Gold St. and Water St. remain closed after being flooded more than a month ago during the hurricane. When I walked down the strip yesterday, little had changed from a week ago except that Chipotle had reopened and was absolutely packed. There was work being done behind papered up windows at Potbelly, but otherwise, your favorite lunch spots remained dark with no signs of renovation.

Hot Clay Oven also remains shuttered due to massive flood damage, and a lack of power and gas, but there’s word about when they’ll reopen. You’ll also find some updates on other places that are now open or truck’s that have relocated, after the jump. Read more »

The Financial District is a strange place these days. Swaths of the neighborhood are still more full of generators and disaster recovery teams that functional buildings due to flood damage, but the areas on higher ground are business as usual. Fulton St. is one of those areas, with several new places set to open. Find out what and where two of these new spots are after the jump! Read more »

Curious about what trucks are downtown today? Well, take a look at the Twitter Tracker where Bob & Jo’s at Varick & King with a revised winter menu, Korilla’s at Varick & Vandam, and Sweetery’s at Hudson & King until 1 p.m. alongside Frites N Meats, Big D’s Grub’s at Hudson & Houston. In the FiDi, Wafels & Dinges is at 60 Wall, Rickshaw’s on Wall, Trusty Truck‘s debuting at Wall & Water, Morris Grilled Cheese is at Pearl & Front, and the WFC lot has Gorilla Cheese with a chorizo melt, Mexico Blvd. and Valducci’s. Calexico has chipotle-grilled tofu as a cart special.

Some days, lunchtime goes awry and the place I want to go eat at is closed or no longer exists. The latter happened to me earlier this week, so when I walked past Peep on Prince St. (btw. Thompson & Sullivan) and remembered how good and cheap their Thai food was a couple of years ago I went inside to give the place a second go. You may know Peep as the place where you get an entree and appetizer for $8 or $9 at lunch, and this time my choices contained a win and a loss.

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