Minar Indian Restaurant

After venturing out to the Post Office around lunchtime, I was lured into a cafeteria-style Indian restaurant offering 10 different dosas - basically I can't turn down any food if it's encased in a delicious, starchy wrapper. And I'm glad I went to Minar - the dosa was top-notch, tasty if a little on the soggy side in places after my trek back to the office. The potato-and-pea filling was solid, but the real standouts were the coconut chutney on the side (could eat a cup of that) and the sambar. Man, the sambar - super-flavorful, savory, and with a slow-building burn that set my scalp pleasantly sweating. And at $5.95 for the masala dosa ($7.25 for the paneer, which I plan on trying in the future), an excellently economical and filling lunch.

Great Burrito Mexican Fast Food Restaurant & Pizza

At first blush, a hole-in-the-wall lunch place with not just tacos and pizza but also pitas and "Italian Heroes" on the menu is not going to be a winner. But going on a recommendation from a friend, I decided to give Great Burrito a go and am glad I did. In addition to tacos, the Mexican side of the menu (where I'd advise you stay) also features burritos, tortas, quesadillas, tostadas, sopes, enchiladas and huaraches. Meat choices go from chicken, steak, chorizo, to pork carnitas and al pastor, lengua and "a la casa" (chicken, beef and pork together). For the first test-run I went with one chicken taco and one each carnitas and al pastor.

The tacos (at $2.50/per) were big enough that two would've sufficed, but I'm glad I tried all three. Each was complimented with raw onions, cilantro and a salsa particular to the taco, and each featured very nicely differentiated marinade. The al pastor was savory and a little sweet, pork meltingly delicious and tender. The carnitas were spicier and had a nice pepper edge to the flavor, while the chicken was oddly but nicely definitely marinated in soy sauce (in part, at any rate), and nicely charred. Served with a wedge of lemon (not lime) each, washed down with a Jarritos Mandarina, a truly excellent lunch. Definitely worth a return trip, or worth stopping by if you work in this part of town or find yourself here around food-time.

Tasty Hand-Pulled Noodles

Wandering around Chinatown on a chilly Sunday afternoon, I stumbled into the (vaguely recalled as recommended) Tasty Hand-Pulled Noodles, and am glad I did. Unadorned entirely, with a short menu (about a dozen choices of noodles either in broth or fried, with a few supplementary appetizers and dumplings), the food was simple and perfectly delicious.

Roast duck with hand-pulled noodles in soup was intensely flavorful, with tender bits of duck hacked alongside the fresh noodles and tender greens in a rich broth. The cucumber salad to start was spicy, savory and delicious, the tea was served in styrofoam cups, and the bill for two ran to <$20, with tip.

The place is tiny and fills up quickly, so going for an early or late lunch (I did the latter) is recommended.