Today we want to highlight some good lunch spots we’ve discovered recently in New York.  These are all counter service places where you can get a quick bite on the go, and they’re pretty reasonably priced.  They also represent a wide variety of different foods, and we enjoyed what we got at each restaurant so we wanted to share these cool spots as recommendations.  Almost everything we had was vegetarian – though we do have one image of meat here, as a warning – so there’s plentiful options for delicious food at these three spots.

Let’s start in Manhattan:  we first decided to try Simò Pizza over in Chelsea, which specializes in quick-cooking Napoli-style pizzas.  Each pizza is individually-sized, so we decided to get two and split them.  This one is the Tre Gusti, which is three pies in one – it’s a margherita pizza on the left, a pesto and pecorino pizza on the right, and in the middle is a white cacio e pepe, made with both mozzarella and pecorino cheeses.

We also got this burrata and pomodoro pizza, topped with arugula, garlic, and basil.

And we finished up with some pistachio-dipped cannoli.

If you head directly east to the East Village, you’ll come across Rowdy Rooster.  As you might be able to guess from the name, this place specializes in chicken – specifically, fried chicken in the style of Indian street food.  But because India is home to such a large population of vegetarians, there’s also veggie options on the menu.  Miriam was able to get this vada pao, made with a fried potato patty with a spicy chile and chutney sauce, all on a potato bun.

But Cyril definitely wanted to try the chicken, so he got a Big Rowdy, made with a piece of spicy fried chicken (you can choose your spice level – he went all the way to a 4), plus a yogurt mint sauce and pickled onions.

And we also split an order of the fried eggplant pakora.

Now if you want to go over to Brooklyn, you can find Mission Sandwich Social in a storefront in Williamsburg.  They’ve got a fairly extensive menu of San Francisco-style sandwiches made on the city’s famous Dutch crunch bread – and not only do they have several vegetarian options, but you can also make some of their meat-based sandwiches into vegetarian versions by asking them to swap in tofu, eggplant, or Beyond Chicken.  So we decided to get two sandwiches and share them:  first, here’s the Vegan Barbacoa, made with Beyond Chicken tenders doused in hot sauce and chili powder, vegan chipotle mayo, lettuce, tomato, onions, and jalapeños.

And here’s the vegetarian Four Horseman, with Beyond Chicken (instead of a regular chicken cutlet), sharp provolone, barbecue sauce, ranch, lettuce, and tomato.

And for your viewing pleasure, here’s a close-up of that Dutch crunch bread.

It’s pretty amazing that in a city filled with high-end, world-renowned restaurants, you can also find some pretty great and unique cheap eats.  Wanting a quick and less expensive meal doesn’t mean you have to settle for fast food – there are so many interesting local options all over the place.  We got to try some Indian street food, some pizzas, and some sandwiches from the opposite coast.  We really enjoyed hunting down all these places and choosing some good things to eat, and we hope we’ve inspired you to try these spots or search out some good food for yourself.