Backyard Chicken- Financial District

I'm rarely in the Financial District during business hours- a detail which has segregated my desire to try Backyard Chicken, from my reality- until last week! A bit groggy, I decided to stay home to sleep. In nursing myself back to health, comfort food seemed appropriate. Roasted chicken is a good alternative to chicken noodle soup, right? Kind of like having a rice crispy treat for breakfast, because it's made from cereal?



For six dollars, you are given 1/4 of a roasted chicken with two sides and lemonade. For fifty cents more, you can get an additional side (you won't need it, unless you're sharing). I chose the mashed potatoes with gravy and mac n' cheese- if you're going the comfort food route, you might as well go big with the carbs. The mashers could have been creamier, but the edition of dill was a pleasant surprise. The mac- not too greasy and reasonably flavorful. However, the chicken, wasn't anything to write home about. The meat was dry (that's pretty hard to do when you leave the skin on, which they do in their preparation). My pug was much less discriminatory.


Images: Midtown Lunch

Bahn Mi- Financial District

New York Magazine has named Ba Xuyen's sandwich among the best in the five boroughs. Given that it's practically in Timbuktu (Sunset Park, Brooklyn), I've settled few Chinatown alternatives. Not to continue to encourage my laziness, but I was actively excited about a Vietnamese sandwich shopping opening on Pearl Street, a stone's throw from my apartment, in the Financial District.

Cement floors, a cheap grand opening sign and fake grape vines hanging from the ceiling set the stage. A good thing, in my opinion. The sandwiches are double the price of the shops in Brooklyn and Manhattan Chinatowns, but that is expected given the neighborhood. Among the classic menu choices (ham pate, chicken, etc), I requested the pork. The massive grinder came with the traditional elements: pickled carrots, cilantro, thinly sliced jalapeno, cucumber, mayo and pate. The pork was decent, a bit firm, but flavorful. The sandwich really can't compare to those in the grungy shops, but it's an agreeable alternative when you do not have the afternoon to travel.




Image: Roadfood.com

Please do not forget my chop sticks.

"Don't toss those!" I snagged the extra chopsticks from the table as Vadim cleaned up our Thai take-out. "No seriously, GO-Sushi always forgets to bring me chopsticks when I order from seamless."

He raised his brow slightly.

"Yesterday, they actually remembered right? But when I pulled them apart, one broke. So I'm trying to eat with one short, jagged stick, one long. I eventually gave up and tried straws-"

"STRAWS?"

"Well, yea-"

He continued to ejaculate, "Wait, WAIT, I'm picturing you with straws."

"Hey! So that didn't work...so I grabbed a fork. Which of course was more like doing surgery. I finally gave up. I used my fingers. A coworker turned to me and said, 'Oh don't worry, the other day they forgot my chopsticks and I was painting the wasabi on with my finger, putting the ginger on. Dipping, licking.' "

"That's pretty good."

"Well, yea- but seriously...I have to take a break from sushi, I keep getting lectures about mercury poisoning and how I should have some lasagna or something, from a man with a vowel at the end of his last name."

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!!)