Hidden under there somewhere is a single beef meatball.

You'd think the city had reached its meatball saturation limit. Following in the footsteps of the Meatball Shop -- which itself has sprouted branches -- there are plenty of places now willing to make you a premium meatball sub with exemplary cheese on good bread. Someone had to come up with another formula. Now they have.

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The laminated place-mat-cum-menu at Izakaya Dodom Pa

There are certain storefronts in NYC that seem haunted. Restaurant after restaurant opens in the space only to be closed a few weeks later. Like the corner spot at West Houston and Varick streets that has hosted three restaurants in as many years. And 71 Clinton Street.

First, in December 2010, it was Patate Fellows, with a Japanese fried chicken focus, then in late May 2011 it was rechristened Hachember. Two weeks ago, the LES hole-in-the-wall was born again. This time as Dodom Pa.

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Lauren Shockey

The famous spicy fish taco

Transplanted West Coasters were pretty pumped when Wahoo's Fish Taco opened its doors at 333 Park Avenue South (212-466-3330) a few weeks ago, its first outpost east of the Mississippi River. The fast-casual Cal-Mex chain dates from 1988 and its branches in California, Hawaii, Colorado, and Texas soon developed a cult following for dishes like the Maui Bowl and the fish tacos, plus its low-key vibe that depicts skateboarding and surfing culture. With high hopes, we popped in to sample the goods, but left rather underwhelmed.

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Turkiss rocks two twirling doner cylinders, not one.

Yatagan, near the corner of Bleecker and MacDougal, was for over a decade the city's foremost purveryors of doner kebab, the Turkish mystery meat cooked in a vertical rotisserie, and sliced flamboyantly with a giant sword into a pita or platter. It's the cousin of Greek gyro and Middle Eastern shawarma.

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Lauren Shockey

Laffa bread filled with chicken shawarma

Looks like the owners of the recently opened fast-casual Mediterranean spot the Hummus and Pita Co. (585 Avenue of the Americas, 212-510-7405) had the Chipotle concept in mind when figuring out the plan for their new eatery. First you pick your protein (falafel, vegetarian salads, gyro, shawarma, chicken, steak, or taboon chicken or steak, ranging from $4.95 to $8.95), then stuff it into a pita, laffa, bowl, or platter, fill that with hummus plus an assortment of other hot and cold salads, top that with raw veggies, and sauce the whole shebang with a condiment. Needless to say, there are countless permutations here to get your Mideastern lunch fix.

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Figuratively speaking, David Letterman blew the chain in Macy's (or maybe we should say Marshall Field's) window.

The city has seen a recent influx of fast-food chains from other places, the most recent being Steak 'n Shake, specializing in the elemental combination of hamburgers ("steak," in hype parlance), french fries, and milkshakes. The city of origin is Chicago, as with the recently arrived Potbelly. The place is located at the north end of Times Square, next door to the Ed Sullivan Theater, where Letterman is taped. Almost two weeks ago, just as it opened, David Letterman -- ever the Midwesterner -- shamelessly touted the place in a lengthy comic segment.

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Lauren Shockey

The Schnipper Classic Burger

The Shake Shack in Madison Square Park has its die-hard fans, but unlike at the other locations around the city, when the weather gets frigid, patrons are kind of screwed. Sure, there are heat lamps, but it's just not as fun eating a burger with your coat, hat, and mittens on. A reasonable alternative, however, has presented itself. Schnipper's Quality Kitchen recently opened its second New York City branch in a cavernous, 4,800-square-foot space at 23 East 23rd Street (212-233-1025), selling, much like Shake Shack, burgers, fries, and shakes, plus sloppy joes and macaroni and cheese.

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Lauren Shockey

La Churreria's namesake

Jesús Manso has opened a narrow storefront next to his Mulberry Street branch of Socarrat Paella Bar called La Churreria (284 Mulberry Street, 212-219-0400), which, as the name implies, sells churros -- the long sticks of fried dough often served with small cups of hot chocolate for dipping. We stopped by recently for a quick lunch, and while the churros were decent, it was really the tasty sandwiches that made us want to return for more.

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Lauren Shockey

The classic banh mi from Xe May

It was only a matter of time that the Korean taco trend evolved into the banh mi taco trend, right? Well that's what Alan Woo and Davis Ngo are banking on. They've just opened Xe May on St. Marks Place, which specializes in both modern takes on Vietnamese sandwiches and corn tacos filled with banh-mi-esque ingredients. Always one to welcome a banh mi to the block, we stopped in for a quick lunch.

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Why does my East Village hot dog look like an abstract painting?

Twenty-four hours ago, Japadog -- a Vancouver hot doggery with one store and four carts -- opened its first American outlet on St. Marks between Second and Third avenues. It specializes in sausages (not just hot dogs!) dressed with a predictable series of Japanese toppings, including shredded nori, grated daikon, miso paste, teriyaki sauce, and bonito flakes.

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