City Kitchen Will Bring Dough, ilili Box, and Ippudo to Times Square Next Month

Times Square lacks some serious lunchtime game, but things will get a bit better on March 5. Row NYC, a hotel on 8th Avenue at 44th Street, is set to open City Kitchen, a 4,000-square-foot food market with residents like Fany Gerson's doughnut heaven Dough, Luke's Lobster, Lebanese fast casual concept ilili Box, Gabriela's Taqueria, which will offer breakfast tacos, and more. When things heat up, there will also be a seasonal Wooly's shaved snow stand.

But, given the Arctic temperatures these days, the most exciting operation may be Kuro Obi, an Ippudo-run counter offering three ramens with "tori paitan" (a chicken and pork stock), and a small selection of beer. The outlet will be the first to give diners a pass on one of Ippudo's cardinal rules — no takeout — allowing visitors to carry the soup back to their desks.