Lunch Break: Post-Hurricane Irene Eats
If you've managed to make it in to work and aren't brown-bagging your excess Irene supplies, try these spots to get your storm-addled system settled. By Yvo Sin.
Vandaag
103 2nd Avenue
New York, NY 10003
(212) 253-0470
vandaagnyc.com
A lunch menu that includes a seasonal pickle pot, smoked pickled sausage (pictured), and pickled oyster can only mean one thing: Scandinavian food, rich in the pickling tradition! The focus here is on Denmark and Holland, where you will find such delights as open faced sandwiches filled with mushroom and hazelnut terrine, gravlax, grilled bacon, duck confit, or pork rib, each accompanied by their own specially-picked complementary items. Try the bitterballen: slow braised oxtail croquettes with mustard relish, sure to make you go 'hmmm'.
Buenos Aires
513 E. 6th Street
New York, NY 10009
(212) 228-2775
buenosairesnyc.com/
Walk into Buenos Aires and be transported to Argentina: grilled meats are the focus at this steakhouse. The housemade chimichurri haunts many customers, who return time and again just to get more of the addicting parsley sauce, slathering it on just about anything that comes to the table. Dip orders of empanadas into the delicious garlicky concoction: carne, chicken, ham and cheese, and even caprese. Or you can use it for its intended purpose: the plentiful types of grilled meats you can order; chorizo, morcilla, sweetbreads, and just about every part of the cow you can imagine, grilled to perfection.
Pyramida
1402 2nd Avenue
New York, NY 10021
(212) 472-5855
See Also: NYC's Best Falafel Spots
Pyramida is a rather unassuming restaurant on a stretch of 2nd Avenue that is currently under construction, which makes it easy to overlook. You'd be doing yourself a disservice to ignore it though; there is a very nice and reasonably priced lunch menu, though the real star here is the falafel. Crisp, almost crunchy on the outside, yielding to a heavenly spiced, tender and moist center, the falafel are not to be missed. The lunch menu lets you get it as a sandwich or as a wrap, both $8.95 and coming with the soup of the day and your choice of beverage.
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Yvo Sin is the founder and head writer of The Feisty Foodie.
