Breads Bakery

18 E. 16th St, NY, NY 10003

Rating: 3 - Feeling Good
Visits: Once in a while
We don't eat at Breads Bakery for lunch all that often, despite their incredible array of baked goods. The eating space can be a crowded and hectic. But once in awhile it's worth going for the delight of the Tunisian sandwich. The spiced tuna on their fabulously fresh bread is pretty to die for.

Old Town

45 E. 18th St, NY, NY 10003

Rating: 2 - Super Happy
Visits: Often
Who doesn't love a lunch of spicy chili and grilled hot dogs on toasted split buttered buns. Ok, maybe vegetarians, pescatarians and vegans, but if you're not one of those then you must get yourself to Old Town for a hot dog. The added benefit is that during the day it's super quiet and calm. The sunlight filters in through the front windows barely illuminating old creaky wood and a patina of cigarette smoke and beer.

Ennju

20 E. 17th St, NY, NY 10003

Rating: 3 - Feeling Good
Visits: Often
Often when we're looking for easy peasy, we'll head down to Ennju for a salmon skin don bowl. It's probably our favorite version of the bowl craze, the layers of taste always hit the spot. Ennju's seating leaves a little (I mean a lot) to be desired, but today it was fairly quiet and not that hectic, so win win.

al Vicoletto

9 E. 17th St, NY, NY 10003

Rating: 3 - Feeling Good
Visits: Becoming a regular
Al Vicoletto is becoming a new regular spot for us. It's charming in a way that reminds us of European cafeterias, light and airy with a reasonably priced diverse menu. We both had the half sandwich/ half soup combo today. For $12 it's a good, not heavy, lunch.
 

Saigon Market, with Brigid

93 University Place, NY, NY 10003

Rating: 4 - Just Fine
Visits: First time
We'd never been to Saigon Grill, one of those Asian mainstays of the Union Square area so it seemed like a fun idea to meet Brigid for lunch in the new incarnation, Saigon Market. The grilled pork chop was precisely what I expected, which is to say slightly too sweet for my tastes, but still tender and nicely grilled. The real surprise were the pickled vegetables accompanying the pork chop. They provided the perfect counterpoint to the sweetness. I wouldn't say we'd rush out to go again but we wouldn't be opposed to eating there again.

City Crab Shack

10 E. 16th St, NY, NY 10003

Rating: 4 - Just Fine
Visits: First Time
In a brilliant move City Crab takes over the old Chat n Chew and becomes a more low key version called City Crab Shack. I say brilliant because the former vibe of southern soul food was easily transformed into seafood shack with probably very little effort. We could hardly tell what had changed from before to now. The oysters were lovely but the fish and chips, or rather the fish, was bland.

Union Fare, with Michelle and Gigi

7 E. 17th St, NY, NY 10003

Rating: 4 - Just Fine
Visits: Second Time
Union Fare has quickly become the 'hood's go to cafeteria. With a large seating area and options ranging from poke bowls to pizza made to order, you can see how appealing that combination might be. We grabbed some poke bowls and installed ourselves in a little table towards the back and stayed there for hours, nary a soul bothering us. Great place to catch up with old friends and new babies.

Barn Joo, with friends

893 Broadway, NY, NY

Rating: 3 - Feeling Good
Visits: Regularly
Our book club friends, George and Bill, met us at Barn Joo for lunch, along with Nancy, for a fun lunch of bibimbap, summer plans and miscellany. We all ordered the bibimbap, per usual, but George went out on a limb and had the spicy momil, a cold soba noodle dish, topped with sashimi that looks divine, as you can see here. He said he could eat it every day, it was so nice. Something to try next time!

Rafiqi's Food Cart

North-West corner of Union Square Park

Rating: 2 - Super Happy
Visits: Regular Rotation
There are several things we can never say no to - all Asian food, fresh donuts, Pio Pio and street gyros. There is something so tantalizing about paying $4 for a warmed, soft pita stuffed with spicy, salty grilled lamb and garnished with a mess of lettuce, tomatoes and onions. I love asking for a little bite of hot sauce, because everyone's interpretation of "medium spicy" varies so greatly.

Union Fare Gastrohall

7 E. 17th St

Rating: 4 - Just Fine
Visits: First time
Haven't heard much buzz for the newly opened cafeteria style food hall, Union Fare, though it was a bustle today with lunch goers. We skipped the poke line, the pizza and tacos and headed for burgers in the back. M. thought her $6 cheeseburger was decent enough to have again though I had it without cheese and won't try that blandness again. Similarly the onion rings had no flavor, but the french fries at least were decent. The pizzas looked tempting and we may try them next time.

al Vicoletto

9 E. 17th St, NY, NY 10003

Rating: 3 - Feeling Good
Visits: Just started going
Here's a nice place to put on your lunch list for when you want slightly nicer than takeout but not fancy white tablecloths - al Vicoletto. We discovered it a couple months ago when the line for Laut was out the door. What makes it especially sweet is the openness of the dining room but also that all the panini's are $10, the pastas under $15 and if you really want to splurge on skirt steak, that will only set you back $18. The chicken paillard is a bit light all on its own, but the pasta we had last time was pretty satisfying.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies from City Bakery

3 West 18th Street, New York, NY 10010

Rating: B - Above Average
Visits: Once in a while for dessert
We don't really get why this place continues to be so popular. And the last few times the place has smelled like a wet mop. No matter, their cookies are good, and today the oatmeal raisin is better than usual, thanks to its extra oaty crunchy chewy texture.

Old Town

45 E. 18th St, NY, NY 10003

Rating: 2 - Super Happy
Visits: Often
We love Old Town. Our meal of hot dogs and chili is also pretty much the precise opposite of the meal we had at Haven's Kitchen the day before.

Rosa Mexicano

9 E. 18th St, NY, NY 10003

Rating: 4 - Just Fine
Visit #: 2
In brief: Two years later we decide to give Rosa Mexicano another shot at better service. And it was totally fine. 
Nothing unusual to report, nothing spectacularly good or bad. Just a fine lunch of fine fish tacos. Though they have gotten rid of any lunch specials so there's that.

Nanoosh

111 University Place, NY, NY 10003

Rating: 4 - Just Fine
Visit #: 1
In brief: Nanoosh runs a bustling lunch business at its University Place location though we didn't have to wait too long for a table. 
M. likes the Mediterranean ground beef wrap so I had the same. It's tightly wrapped, ringed in lettuce and hummus, and comes with a small side salad. Very lovely day for a lovely lunch.

Ennju

20 E. 17th St, NY, NY 10003

Rating: 4 - Just Fine
Visit #: 8
In brief: We venture out of the comforting salmon skin bowl into new territory. 
M. has been wanting to try the curry at Ennju for awhile now and I thought maybe I could assuage a fried chicken craving with some katsu. The bowl comes with an overwhelming egg covering the entire ginormous portion of rice so it didn't exactly fulfill what I was looking for, but the tastes were pretty nice. I don't think I realized before how large the portions are at Ennju. Hopefully next time we will be in the mood to share something. I will be happier coming here when the weather really turns to spring and heavy jackets aren't competing with the already limited space left to the tables and chairs.

Rainbow Falafel

26 E. 17th St, NY, NY 10003

Rating: 4 - Just Fine
Visit #: 3
In brief: There have been sadly one too many eat-in-the-office lunches around here lately. Trekking through rain and snow for a lunch out is not that bad, but it's the bitter chill that makes us want to stay in next to the hissing steam radiators. 

Homes Kitchen

22 E. 21st St, NY, NY 10010

Rating: 2 - Super Happy
Visit #: 16
In brief: Homes is reliable but sometimes they are better than usual and sometimes less so. Today was better than usual.

When their sauteed string beans are good, they are REALLY good - as good as we've had anywhere and today they were right on. We also had a third diner with us, so we didn't have to choose two out of our three favorite dishes. Just all around good lunch today, Yay!

Republic

37 Union Sq West, NY, NY 10003

Rating: 4-Just Fine
Visit #: 4
In brief: We both wanted to order something else, but it was just too cold not to get soup noodles

I tried the wonton noodle soup today for the first time and wondered why I hadn't ordered it before. The broth was a bit on the too sweet side, but aside from that, I found it refreshing and it's a nice change to have glass noodles in your noodle soup. This one might become my new go-to dish here.

Ennju

20 E. 17th St, NY, NY 10010

Rating: 3 - Feeling Good
Visit #: 7
In brief: A little bland this time around, but the kara age is a great lunch at Ennju to add to our usual order of salmon skin don. 
A long time ago someone ordered the kara age and it was really good, but we had kind of forgotten about it until yesterday's cold wet weather had us wishing for something a little more warming than the usual salmon skin don. We split a small plate of cucumber salads and a huge plate of the kara age (fried chicken) and even though it was on the bland side, we walked out feeling pretty satisfied with ourselves.