Lunch List
New Haven is full of good food, but not a lot of it is located anywhere near my office, nor is very much of it affordable on a regular basis. Based on the criteria below, here, by popular demand, is a list of acceptable lunch places within a quick walk of the Yale campus. Please note that not all of these are great -- this is a list for when I am (or you are) bored of the usual suspects.The (delicious) Usual Suspects
Roomba burrito cart (which has the best burritos I have yet tasted on the east coast, hands down. Five bucks.)
Zaroka's Indian lunch buffet
York Street Noodle House
Places I Would Eat Every Day If They Weren't So Expensive/Slow/Bad For Me
Sahara (so much better than Mamoun's)
Soul de Cuba
Bar
Louis Lunch
Gastronomique
Judies
Pot-au-Pho
Bentara (their lunch special is actually affordable)
Miso (ditto)
Union League (ditto ditto)
Yankee Doodle (this is one of my favorite restaurants IN THE COUNTRY, but I can only handle a cheese, a pig, and a grilled donut once every six months or so.)
Decent Everyday Food
Gourmet Heaven
That random pizza place on Broadway
Au Bon Pain (it Pains me to say it, but the soup is actually... memorable)
Educated Burgher
Ivy Noodle (this is not in the same universe of goodness as York Street, but the Sesame Hot Oil Wontons are really, really good)
Cosi
Thai Taste
Bangkok Garden (this is not as good as Thai Taste)
Mamoun's
Book Trader
Atticus
Copper Kitchen (their macaroni and cheese special is good on a rainy Friday)
Chow
Yorkside Pizza (the spinach pie and the greek salad are both enormous and tasty)
Quiznos CLOSED
Vito's Deli
East Melange Noodle Bar (home of UNAGI DUMPLINGS!)
Places I Have Not Been To For Lunch (Or Otherwise, In Some Cases) But Which Show Promise
La Piazza CLOSED
Istanbul Cafe
Pacifico
The Anchor
Sandra's
Hot Tomato's (they have a burger + beer for $5 special on Tuesday nights, people! Spread the word!)
Cafe Bottega (for the gelato)
Ciao Bella (ditto)
Zinc
Royal Palace
Places I Refuse To Eat, Period
CLAIRE'S CORNER COPIA (Claire and her ilk are the reason for all of the negative associations people have with "vegetarian food")
and her evil sister restaurant, BASTA (At which she serves meat. Why?)
Rainbow Cafe CLOSED, PRAISE THE LORD
BULLDOG BURRITO (why any sane businessperson would attempt to compete with Roomba is beyond me)
The Whole Enchilada (ditto)
Bruegger's Bagels (dude, those aren't bagels)
Cafe Adulis (I can't deal with the clammy injera bread)
Lalibela (ditto)
And there you have it. If I didn't mention your favorite place, let me know so I can go try it out.
posted by Mrs. Delicious @ 6:53 PM
7 Comments:
Did you leave off Seoul??? Also, is Pad Thai (on Chapel) still there? It used to be called Phucket (supposedly pronounced Poo-Kay, not Fuck-It). It was very tasty. And it was tastier than Bankok Gardens, which always had a long wait. So we'd say, "Long line at Bankok Gardens? Phuck-et!")
-Sol
Sadly, Seoul no longer has a lunch menu -- and I totally cannot spend $20 on lunch! So it is off the list, despite being a delicious place to eat. Even Union League is cheaper than that at lunch!
I've never been to Pad Thai/Phucket -- their "Pan-Asian Fusion" slogan always put me off. But I will give it a try now that you've recommended it.
Let's not get me wrong. I hate Claire's with all of my heart and would no sooner eat there than Rainbow Cafe BUT -and this is huge- their cakes are unbelieveably great. They must put heroin in the frosting. Heroin and butter.
I have not eaten at Quiznos is months. Not to diminish its status as reliably good and affordable, just wanted to set the record straight. Also some omission comments: 1. Mediterranea 2. No mention of carts?! Med School, Biz School and the burgeoning Chapel Street scene (especially once warmer weather brings Funki Munki back)
Andy
The carts are great, but they are sooooo faaaar awaaaaay. By the time I get there, I have to turn around and come back.
I have never been to Mediterranea and so kind of forget about it -- maybe one special day you can ask me to lunch there?
All of this list business will be moot, of course, when Barcelona opens in a few months. We will all be eating three meals a day there, at least.
Oh -- also -- what on earth happened to the Funki Monkei cart? It disappeared even during the summer months, only to reappear at the Westbrook outlet mall. When it is around, it is great.
You're leaving out some greats:
Lalibela does an amazing, and cheap Ethiopian lunch buffet for $7 (try the green beans...so sweet)
Mediterranea, cheap, somewhat healthy, not too slow. Sadly, no longer close to my office in its the new location.
Chow, the little Zinc. Chocolate steamed buns. That's all I feel I need to say.
P.S. Anna Liffeys is not a great lunch place. You need to drink when you eat there.
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