New York Street Food

(photo from the summer)

I was near Union Square around lunch, and I haven’t been to Num Pang in quite a while.  Num Pang is a small storefront located at 21 East 12th st between University Place & 5th Ave, with a few seats at counters upstairs.  They are one of the main reasons we started an Honorary Street Food category.

For new readers who may not be familiar with Num Pang, it’s the Cambodian version of banh mi.  There are a few differences, but the quality of the food at Num Pang is usually so high, it appeals to lots of different people.

We’ve had just about everything on their menu, but still stop by when the need arises. We also want to see if anything new is on the menu.  Today we found 2 new menu items, one for veggies and one for carnivores.

There was a spicy organic tofu with a ginger-soy-honey glaze and leeks ($7 plus tax), which sounded pretty good.  But Today’s Lunch is grilled khmer sausages with Asian slaw ($7.50 plus tax), which they dub Brooklyn Bangers.

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I was in the Union Square area for an appointment and decided to stop by Rainbow Falafel for lunch.  They are in a tiny storefront with no seats on 17th St, a few stores in from Union Square.  We made them a member of our Honorary Street Food category in 2010, and wanted to check in again to see if things had changed.

Rainbow Falafel has excellent falafel, but they also have a big spit of chicken roasting behind the counter used for making chicken shawarma.  That was Today’s Lunch, and it cost $5.75.

I don’t often get dessert with lunch, but Rainbow Falafel has several types of fresh Middle Eastern pastries for sale that looked great.  The Bird’s Nest ($3) looked tasty, so I got one for after lunch.

Bird's Nest

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I was walking up University Place from 12th St to Union Square when I saw a new storefront called Sausage Inc at #106 (12-13 St).  If you know me, you know how much I love sausage, wurst, or and any kind of meat in tube form (as Anthony Bourdain so eloquently puts it).  Definitely had to stop in to check this place out.

If I remember correctly, this location used to be Wok To Walk, which I tried once and was less than impressed.  Sausage Inc sounds like it could be a great improvement.

They have 6 different types of interesting sausages, 6 types of sauces, some sides and condiments, and seating for no more than 8-10 people.  This could be another addition to our Honorary Street Food category.

Since it was my first time there, I asked the counterperson what she recommended, and she said a Farmer’s Sausage, which is chunky beef, bacon & herbs ($5.51 before tax).  I added an order of handcut fries ($3.22 before tax), then walked over to the sauces to put together a set to go.

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I saw a little item in the NY Times Tasting Table newsletter last week about a new little storefront near Penn Station called Shachi’s that serves authentic Venezuelan arepas and empanadas.  Now that’s something that will catch my attention!  We’re always looking for new places to add to our Honorary Street Food category, and Shachi’s, at 319 West 35th St (btw 8th & 9th Ave) seemed like a good candidate.

Inside the narrow space was one small table with 2 stools, but the menu looked really interesting.  There were 15 different arepas, 9 different empanadas, and 7 different entrees – and one of their lunch combinations is an arepa, an empanada and a soda for $9.  This sounded like a good choice for my first time there.

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(photo: Thrillist)

As we mentioned last week, one of our favorite places for lunch, Num Pang, has opened a 2nd location in midtown, at 140 East 41st st between Lexington & 3rd Ave.

They even have a couple of new items on the menu – which is a good thing, because I think I’ve tried every item on the menu in the Village!

The midtown menu has a new pulled chicken salad and grilled Khmer sausage sandwiches.  I’m really looking forward to trying the sausage sandwich, but everything I’ve ever had at Num Pang has been delicious!

Grilled coconut shrimp sandwich