Posts Tagged ‘120 Broadway’

Little Lad’s, Big Flavor

Tuesday, March 9th, 2010

little-lads

When I come to work the thing I really look forward to is lunchtime because I know I will be going to my favorite place. That place is Little Lad’s Vegan Restaurant.  I have been going to eat there since it opened in 2006.  Before discovering this place I used to eat at different salad bars in the area.

I didn’t even know about Little Lad’s until somebody told me about it.  It’s located on the lower level of my building, 120 Broadway.  Recently they put a sign in the lobby with the name of the restaurant, letting people know it was there, but before that if you didn’t know about it, it was hard to find.

I loved this place from the minute I walked in and felt right at home.  The people who work there are so nice and friendly and greet me by my name and ask me how I am when I walk in the door.  I am not a vegetarian or a vegan, but I love the food that they have.  I feel like I am eating a home-cooked meal.

They have a standard menu with sandwiches, veggie burgers and other things, but I love to have the buffet.  The price is a real bargain for what you get.  For $5.40, including tax, you get one plate and one bowl to fill with a choice of six hot dishes or you could make a salad from the salad bar or fruit salad with toppings such as granola and delicious sweet cream, which is vegan.  They also have a choice of two different kinds of soups.

What I love about it is that you never know what they will be serving.  Every day the food is different, which makes it interesting.  There are some dishes which are very popular, such as the macaroni and cheese.  The cheese tastes and looks like real cheese but it’s made from carrots and potatoes.  I don’t understand how they make it.  All I know is that it’s delicious.  I also love the butternut squash and the guacamole.

They also have an assortment of things for dessert such as fruit pies, cookies and something called Need’ems, which is hard for me to explain.  It is a little patty made from potatoes and other ingredients.  It looks like it is covered in chocolate, but it’s really carob.  They come in an assortment of flavors, two of which are orange-almond and peppermint.  There is something called Nice Creme which is vegan ice cream.  They also have different kinds of breads, rolls and crackers for sale and of course their famous popcorn, which comes in an assortment of flavors, but the most popular flavor is the herbal popcorn.

I would recommend that people try this place at least once and they might be pleasantly surprised just like I was.  The only negative thing I could say about it is that sometimes I eat too much because the food is just so delicious.

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Downtown by the Numbers

Tuesday, October 20th, 2009

Do you remember numerical series problems from elementary school? Things like: 2,4,8, __ What is the next number in the series? Why, its 16 of course (each number is twice as much as the prior one).

Well, here is another series that will really tease your brain: 280, 110, 100, 110, 17, 116, 2, 22, 120, __ What is the next number? And what is the series anyway?

I will answer the second question first. These are the building numbers of all the buildings I have worked in over the last 40 years. And they are all in Lower Manhattan. I never made it above Reade Street. Two of these buildings have undergone residential conversions; two were significantly upgraded by the City of New York and are occupied by city agencies. One is nearly entirely vacant and the building I am now in – 120 Broadway — is probably the finest of the bunch.

Over the last 40 years I have witnessed many comings and goings. Sloppy Louie’s and Sweets were the places to go for fish. They had very different personalities, but given their proximity to the Fish Market, they had the freshest food around. Alas, they are gone, as is, of course, the Fish Market itself. And while I am reminiscing about restaurants whose names start with S, the corner of Park Place and Church Street used to have two such restaurants, Schraft’s and Suerken’s. Schraft’s was a table clothed chain restaurant and Suerken’s was an old style- German bar and restaurant, opened in 1877 and closed 110 years later.

And I remember buying records out of wooden boxes on legs at the very first J&R store in the basement on Beekman Street. And then watching the empire grow all along the entire Park Row block, except of course for Weinstein and Holtzman’s Hardware store.

And one more establishment that I miss is the original Job Lot on Church Street; a destination for bargain hunters from all around. I am talking about a store, before it was ruined by expansion, that actually sold its merchandise from push carts and would have both a section of fairly stable merchandise as well as true odd lots that would come and go in an afternoon. I found that out the hard way when I bought mirrored switch plates for ten cents (yes, a long time ago). Unfortunately, I miscounted and needed two more, but when I went back the next day they were gone.

All by way of saying that this stroll down memory lane has been replaced by new destinations and adventures, many of which can be found by a walk down any of our historic streets or by using the retail directory on the Downtown Alliance’s Web site.

To return to the first question of the numerical series — what is the next number? — who knows? Will we move? Will I move? Maybe the answer is that this is the end of the series. Maybe not. We’ll see.

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Posted in Discover, My Downtown, Shopping & Dining | 2 Comments »