First "Rap Snacks," now this

The need for FiDi-convenient lunch spots may be dwindling as moribund Wall Street crumbles, but that hasn’t stopped these optimistic newcomers from setting up shop. Courtesy of a very special TONY reader, we bring you this non-earth-shattering, but no less tasty, downtown restaurant news. Holding on to something juicy? Let us know.

(1)  Farinella Italian Bakery, Pizza, Panini (90 Worth St at Broadway, 212-608-3222). Kinda looks cute, but I can’t tell if it’s going to be more of a lunch spot and nothing too special. But the owner says the ovens are special from Italy, and he will be using high-end flour and ingredients…basically not like a typical downtown lunch pizza-slop shop; he’s going for a more specialty-pie place, I think.

Also of note is the fact that he says that he’s a well-known rapper in Italy…the “RUN DMC equivalent.” I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing, considering Run-DMC hasn’t been cutting-edge hip-hop for the past 20 years. It’s slated to open in three weeks.

(2) Also there’s a place called Chinorico (275 Church St between Franklin and White Sts, 212-343-7390), which the owner described to me as a “Spanish-Asian tapas–wine bar–beer hall.” You can tell they can’t make up their minds. It opened on New Year’s Eve, and it’s supposed to open for lunch in about two weeks. I used to go there when it was called Neighborhood Deli, because they were reasonably priced and had a great steak and cheese with jalapeño. I didn’t realize that the owner was going to rip it down and open a real restaurant. It isn’t really too special looking, and they’re using crappy tables and chairs, but the bar looks kinda cool (includes a few interesting beers on tap) and the prices on the menu look reasonable.

It basically has the feel of a deli owner trying to open what he considers to be a swanky restaurant, without really understanding that the restaurant world is different than the lunchtime deli world. But what do I know?