Vince,
You can walk 'east' towards South Street Seaport. The food court is set up 'mall' style. Nice views of the Brooklyn Bridge and Brooklyn.
If you' re walking to Chinatown, just walk into the first place you see on Mott Street. The dumpier the better. ^
If you do a search of this forum, you'll find loads of interesting details on New York.
Welcome to Flyertalk.
Dan