Dominick's Italian Sausage - Whitehall and Bridge

On my first visit, I ordered a cheesesteak and was sent to wait on the sidelines with the other cheesesteak-eaters while the sausage sandwiches were prepared. I felt a little ghettoized, particularly when the cook said "sorry, guys - this is a sausage stand not a cheesesteak stand." Perhaps you should think about changing that sign, buddy. OK, I decide that maybe I'll order correctly on my next visit, if I'm allowed back. Aside from me, the clientele is 100% male, perhaps because, in addition to the meat-heavy menu, the line for the cart is situated over a particularly wide-meshed subway grate. My heels got stuck about 12 times before I made it to the front of the line. The colorful banter between the cook (who is NOT Dominic) and the customers is a little too manly for me too. My cheesesteak "with everything" was sprinkled with bright orange "cheddar" (not cheese whiz), bbq sauce, hot sauce, peppers, onions and mushrooms. For such a variety of ingredients it tasted surprisingly bland. A few bites in the center had a good sauce-cheese-veggie ratio and were pretty satisfying, but nothing too special. (Report from 3 hours later: my stomach is achy and rumbling and my fingers still smell like cheesesteaks, in spite of repeated washings.)

Ravioli King cart - Nassau and Cedar

Ugh. The fun of buying your lunch from a cart is watching its preparation. This cart is the equivalent of a vending machine, its metal slots stuffed with premade heros and pastas. I opted for the eggplant parmesan sandwich, which was ridiculously large and flavorless. The bread had the texture that you might expect bread from a vending machine to have, soft on the outside (the overmicrowaved kind of softness), stale and dry in the middle. Inside the bread was a little bit of tomato sauce, a tiny bit of tasteless cheese, and thin slices of overbreaded eggplant. I'm not allergic to carbs or anything but this is ridiculous. Only recommended for lunch if you move heavy objects or run marathons for a living. The only saving grace of my lunch was the setting - I found a nice shaded bench in the Trinity Church courtyard.

Mexican cart, Nassau and Cedar

Could this really be a Mexican street food cart in the Financial District? The limited menu of burrito, quesadilla, nachos or enchilada tamped down my excitement a bit... then I noticed that the signage looks a little too manufactured and standardized to be homemade...then I noticed the kicker - signs that say "no lard" and "no pork." No thanks! My "enchilada" was just shredded chicken scooped into a flour tortilla, topped with bright yellow liquid nacho cheese sauce! I ate it anyway, then I felt like I swallowed a brick. In my dreams a Red Hook vendor or a Sunset Park restaurant like Rico's or Tacos Matamoros will open a taco stand down here. But for now, if you want a burrito it might be worth waiting 3 hours at Chipotle.

I love Franny's...

And not just for those perfectly blistered crusts. Franny's attention to sourcing their ingredients locally and organically really pays off in the taste department. Appetizers of farm fresh vegetables have such bold, explosive flavors - usually enhanced by crunchy sea salt, generous pours of delicious olive oil and dashes of artisanal vinegars. The vegetables really sing and are the highlight of meals there. On one recent trip with a couple of friends, we had a beautiful salad of dandelion greens, nectarines and huge strips of guanciale; the tastiest squash dish I've had all summer - just thin, wide strips of yellow squash and zucchini, dressed with lots of lemon juice, olive oil, pine nuts and parmesan cheese; a salad of heirloom tomatoes, all perfectly ripened and gorgeous shades of rose, red, yellow and green, with thinly sliced marinated cucumbers; and a slice of the pork and beef terrine with toasted buttered bread. (Yes, the four of us managed to put all that away and still eat four perfect pizzas - everything is just so incredibly tasty that it's hard to stop. I actually hoped that someone would order the blackberry gelato for dessert, but I didn't want to admit it. I went home satisfied and happy anyway.)

Financier - Stone Street

The mini-chain Financier is a good reliable option for a quick lunch in the Financial District. I'm usually disappointed in the sandwiches, which sound great on the menu but end up being dry and a little bland (though still better than most sandwiches around here). My favorite option is the ratatouille and goat cheese tart. On a good day, the pastry is fresh and flaky, the ratatouille is chunky and garlicky, and the goat cheese crust is warmed all the way through. Sometimes the crust is a little stale, the ratatoille is lifeless and mushy, and the goat cheese is cold in the middle. On the good days, this is a crazy delicious lunch - what with that topping of a half-pound of warm, browned goat cheese, how could it not be? The atmosphere at Financier is much more charming than most of the dingy spots down here, with the black and white tiles, those cute woven bistro chairs, and a beautiful array of pastries. A good place to meet a friend for lunch, especially a friend who thinks your "Wall Street street food" project is really gross. The pastries are beautiful and are definitely good, created with care in the French tradition, a world away from the ubiquitious Starbucks variety. In this area, they win hands down - best place by far for an afternoon coffee and pastry. Compared to the wider world, I don't think they're winning any awards, but Financier is the best thing going down here.

Shela's Pot, St. John USVI

St. John is one of the most beautiful places on earth, but the food generally sucks. Everything - all of the vegetables and even alot of the fish - is flown to St. Thomas from far, far away, then shipped on a boat to this tiny island. Thank the stars for Shela's Pot, a little stand in the square right in front of the ferry dock in Cruz Bay. A lunch plate from Shela's is about $15, but for that you get a meat or fish and about 25 side items. I don't even know what all she piled in there, but some things, like the rice and peas, cabbage salad and cornbread stuffing, were delicious. (Other side dishes, like the canned veg-all, not so much.) The fried fish, served whole, was fresh and flaky. It had been covered in a cornmeal coating, then fried, then stewed in tomatoes, peppers and onions - definitely the best fish we had all week. Topped with a few squirts of her homemade hot pepper sauce, this yummy lunch fortified us for another tough day at the beach.

Alex's Greenmarket Feast

My genius husband cooked up some greenmarket goodies: wild mushroom bruschetta, fresh corn kernels sauteed in butter and tossed with cilantro leaves and sea salt, penne with fresh tomatoes, garlic and basil, cucumber dill salad, avocado, cherry tomato and basil salad, and homemade strawberry frozen yogurt with wild blueberries. And some champagne. Inspired by our massive cookbook collection - recipes from Alice Waters, Patricia Wells, Jacques Pepin and Richard Olney.

Southern Soul Barbeque, St. Simons Island, Georgia

Unfortunately, I did not get to sample much on this brilliant menu...We pulled in to Southern Soul in-between meals for a "snack" of a shared pulled pork sandwich and a side of fried green beans. Yes my friends, fried green beans. There is some kind of mad genius loose in this kitchen. We grabbed samples of the five different bbq sauces, ranging from a thin, yellow, mustardy vinegar-based one to a thick, sweet deep reddish-brown tomato-based one (all were wonderful) and, in the parking lot (no seats at the BBQ), dug in to our sandwich, piled high with perfectly tender smoky pork, and those unbelievable green beans. Holy crap. They were coated with a crispy, cornmeal crust and, I can't believe I'm saying this, but BETTER than french fries (ok, better than 99% of french fries). The bean is somehow still a little crunchy after its time in the fryer, a perfect complement to the texture of the cornmeal coating. Wow. And to top it all off, we washed it down with a Nehi peach soda - very exciting, and as tacky, artificial and supersweet as you might imagine. Nehi peach was my after-school-snack drink of choice, since it went so well with my Slim Jim - both of which I procured almost daily for a number of years at the Suwannee Swifty convenience store in Camilla, Georgia. I haven't seen one of these in forever, and I hear they're hard to find now. Good thing family visits will bring us to St. Simons for many years to come. (www.southernsoulbbq.com)

Red Hook Ballfields

What hasn't already been said about the Red Hook vendors? I want to swim in watermelon agua fresca, and I would die happy with a chorizo huarache in my hand...or hands - it actually takes two to hold one of those monsters. The huarache is a taste extravaganza, starting with a thick, spongy and greasy corn tortilla, filled with refried beans, chorizo (or pork or steak or chicken), piled with hot sauces, cheese, lettuce, tomato, cilantro and probably some other things I couldn't see. The chalupas start with a corn tortilla, dipped in a big vat of oil, fried on a griddle, then topped with salsa verde, chicken, beef, and pork (3 chalupas in a an order), lettuce and tomato. Since Alex was the 400th person in line at the huarache stand, I traveled down the row of vendors and picked up a cool, refreshing ceviche appetizer for us to share. The mixto was full of shrimp, octopus, calamari, fish and red onions in a broth of coconut milk and lime juice. The perfect light snack when you're waiting for a 12,000 calorie huarache.

Veronica's on Front and Pine

I admit I'm not making any discovery here - Veronica's, which serves West Indian fare similar to Shirley's, was a finalist for a Vendy award. I can confirm that all honors are much deserved, and this is the best downtown cart I have tried so far. I made the mistake of going too late - while I was in line, they ran out of callaloo, mac and cheese, and curry chicken. I had the only things that were left - curry goat with rice and peas and pumpkin. The goat was meltingly tender and fatty without being greasy, with extremely well-balanced spices. The rice and peas were tender and seasoned, and the pumpkin had a sweet tangy flavor. The menu is similar to Shirley's, but with all the flavors are magnified and so much more complex. If this place were closer to my office, I just might eat here every day. I walked a block over to the river, sat on a wide comfy bench and ate while watching a parade of strange little US Navy boats speed down the river and listening to squawking seagulls blended with the whirr of helicopter traffic.
Each small entree comes with a choice of 1 starch and 1 vegetable - if only she had some of those homemade drinks like the ones at Shirley's cart!

Express Lunch Halal - Whitehall at Pearl

The chicken and rice was underspiced, and I came across a few too many pieces of bone and gristle. The white sauce/hot sauce combo didn't provide much of a kick. What is the connection is between all the Express Lunch carts? The menus are identical but the tastes vary dramatically.

Halal Food - Beaver and Broadway

No sign, no menu, just a string of blinking blue lights-in-a tube. The lady in front of me asked for hot sauce and white sauce - the chef doused her chicken, then honked a little bicycle horn right over the dish.. "and it's done!" he proclaimed. Then he military-marched over to his van, saluting his customers the whole time and kicking his legs straight out in front, grabbed a bag of sliced onions and marched back to his station. He has the usual spiced chicken and lamb, and offers a choice of spicy rice and plain yellow rice. I spotted two small pyrex bowls on a burner shelf and asked what was in them - one was lamb meatballs in a spicy tomato sauce and one held fava beans, also in a spicy tomato sauce (i think this is foul?). He recommended the meatballs which he said he made himself that morning, with spicy rice, white sauce and hot sauce. I didn't get a horn honked over mine- maybe that's only for the regulars? The pillowy, mild meatballs were definitely enhanced by the hot sauce - not too much flavor on their own, maybe owing to a lot of filler, but all in all a satisfying, tasty lunch. Later I tried the chicken and rice, and found it to be much better than all the competition. The chicken is marinated longer, with a stronger spice mix, the white sauce is tangier, the vegetables are fresher - and the chef sprinkles every dish with love, or a horn honk.

Express Halal - Maiden Lane at William Street

Chicken was flavored well, nice spice blend and a hint of cilantro in the sauce and a few chunks of green pepper. With extra hot sauce and "white" sauce, the chicken was tasty, but salad was a sad pile of wilted lettuce with a few pieces of tomato. I know this is obvious, but rice really is the only choice here. Also, he was out of lamb - not sure how often this happens. All the ice had melted in the drinks cooler, so I had to stick my hand deep into some yellowish water teeming with tiny bits of trash to pick up a beverage. I ate in the dirty little park outside Zeytuna. Not the most successful cart experience.

Continental Halal - Beaver Street near Broadway

My chicken and rice with white sauce and extra hot sauce had tons of spicy, peppery, curry flavor. One bit of chicken had a big bone in it and there were a few pieces of gristle but mostly it was juicy and delicious. The yellow rice was pretty well seasoned. My lunch buddy D. ordered a lamb gyro, and praised the juicy, spicy lamb. Also, there were bits of lamb stuck to one of the dollar bills I was handed in change for my ten. Bonus. We ate outside on a bench in Bowling Green Park, home to lots of Peregrine falcons. (Seriously, there's a plaque and everything.) I'm definitely going to try Continental again.

Shirley's - Whitehall b/t Pearl & Bridge

This cart, emblazoned with the flag of Trinidad, is right in front of the building where I work. There's always a line, so I thought I'd go on the late side for my first visit. Wrong move. By the time I got to the front of the sluggish line, the only choices left from the extensive menu were curry goat or vegetarian special. I was all excited for roti (available only on Mondays and Thursdays), but Shirley told me she usually runs out by about 12:45. She said to come at 12 on Thursday if I want roti. I opted for the vegetarian special and a homemade ginger beer. After I had the first bite of veggies, taken from right in the middle of the pile of hot sauce, I appreciated the sticky sweetness of the ginger beer. A little too sweet on its own, even with the strong ginger bite at the back of my throat, but a perfect foil for the hot hot sauce. The vegetarian special is a pile of chunky tofu, green beans, chickpeas, a little cabbage, and a few pieces of carrots over rice, with a lot of hot sauce on top. The veggies are quite cooked, not especially fresh (some are canned), but with all the hot sauce they were pretty tasty.

When I finally made it out early enough to snag a roti, I watched Shirley carefully lay the huge, slightly greasy, yellow pancake (perfectly browned and kept warm in a little red igloo cooler) down in the styrofoam container, top it with two pieces of curry chicken (on the bone - a leg and a thigh), a few potatoes and a handful chickpeas in a mild curry sauce (also a little greasy), and squirt a generous stream of hot pepper sauce on top. She folded the roti pancake over the juicy mountain of chicken, but there's no way you could pick up this thing. A knife and fork are required. My carefully balanced forkful of the bread, chicken, sauce and veg was spicy and full-flavored, with a little hot sauce kick. My lunch buddy from work, D (whose parents are from Trinidad and Grenada) says that he prefers a more mobile roti like his mom makes, one with boneless chicken, goat or shrimp so it can be picked up and eaten like a wrap. I'm sure I too would prefer his mom's roti, but no such luck today.

I copied D and ordered a sorrel to drink, even though I had no idea what I was going to get. I expected it to be green and vegetal and strange, but as it turns out sorrel is made not from sorrel but from hibiscus, and it is delicious! The sweet fruity taste is balanced by hints of cinnamon and maybe nutmeg? I love this stuff! It is a little too syrupy, but perfect after the particularly spicy bites of roti.


Next time I tried jerk chicken with rice and peas. The rice was doused in a dark brown gravy, topped with a couple of pieces of chicken, a small scoop of veggies (broccoli, cabbage, carrots) and a squirt of hot sauce. The chicken was well spiced and supertender, just falling off the bone. Gravy just tasted fatty and didn't add much flavor. My problem with jerk is that it's spicy, but it's a little one-note - nothing to round out the spice (other than my sweet sorrel), so no depth to the flavor. I prefer the curry chicken here.