Doyer's Vietnamese

Let's be honest, the sketchier the joint looks in Chinatown, the better (and usually) more wallet friendly the food is. Throw in year-round Christmas decorations: approaching perfection.

We ordered delivery tonight:

Timing: roughly 20 minutes to Wall Street during peak dinner hours.

Taro Smoothies: Cool and refreshing. Expected flavor and consistency.

Spring Rolls: Flavorful, engaging texture and well matched to the dipping sauce.

Grilled Beef and Rice Noodles: lean meat with crunchy peanuts.

Lemon Grass Chicken and Rice Noodles: hearty and satisfying.

Both rice noodle dishes concealed a delicious bed of basil, mint, braised carrots and cucumbers. We are both satisfied. I was unable to finish my dish without sharing with my Pug.

Photo: GO NYC

More on Doyers: Yelp.

Midtown Lunch, Toasties.

I must report! I finally jumped on the Toasties train for lunch. Admittedly, I'd turned up my nose a few times at the cafeteria-esque look of their hot (non-self serve) buffet...It just smells like, I don't know, old gravy? Due to a recent boycott on PAX, I was picking up a few sandwiches for the CEO this afternoon. I glanced up from barking my orders and corrections to see the "Alice."

Fresh shaved turkey breast, creamy brie, thinly sliced Granny Smith apples and spinach on seven grain bread. DE(yes ephmasis)licious! And hearty- I still have half saved for later. My only complaint is the the bread suspiciously stuck to the roof of my mouth- in that wonderbread sort of way. Perhaps I will request a baguette next time.

Mr. Falafel, you're good- just not that good.

For whatever reason, I remember Mr. Falafel being better than it is-

Perhaps it is because I was ravenously hungry the first time I partook- Either that or it has something to do with how much better Fatoosh is in comparison.

I ordered in: The Falafel Platter # 3 (comes with hummus and babaganoush) and the Fried Eggplant appetizer. The Tahini was missing something- lemon?

The pita seemed to be stale, and on par with a grocery store quality product. One menu item that Mr. Falafel offers that surpasses Fatoosh- is the homemade rose water lemonade. It's a lovely compliment to the spice of the food.

Otherwise, when ordering Middle Eastern salads and pita, I'm going to have to urge folks to stick with Fatoosh. The ingredients taste much more fresh, and are more intrically prepared. I would also recommend the falafel at Fatoosh over that of Mr. Falafel. I cannot speak for the lamb at Mr. Falafel, but it's decent at Fatoosh.

Let's be honest though- when ordering a Gyro, street carts are the best (40th and Broadway- ask for the lamb!!)