Midtown Lunch

Every Tuesday I turn the site over to a Midtown Lunch’er for their recommendations of places to eat Lunch in Midtown.  You might recognize this guy’s name because he has posted 56 pictures to the Midtown Lunch Flickr Photo Group.  His photos are responsible for tipping me off to french fries in the Pick-a-Pita, Mandler’s on 8th Ave., and the new Sophie’s Cuban sign on 40th, just to name a few.  We’re losing him to a job in the Bronx in a few weeks, but before he goes- here are Josh Bousel’s picks for the best Midtown Lunch’ing:

Name: Josh Bousel

Age: 28

Occupation: Web Designer/Developer (and host of the newly launched “Meatwave“)

Where in Midtown do you Work?: netomat, Inc on 38th btw. 8+9th ave.

Favorite Kind of Food: Anything conducive to bringing on a sudden, deadly heart attack, with a particular fondness for bbq, fried chicken, and hamburgers.

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Seafood. I used to be a terribly picky eater, and although I’ve overcome most of my food aversions, I can’t get over my distaste for seafood. It should be said that I also hate salt water, but love the beach, go figure.

Favorite Place to Eat Lunch in Midtown: Neither of these places are technically in the “Midtown Lunch” boundaries, but I love the Kansas City Ribs at Daisy May’s (11th Ave. at 46th St.) and the chicken or beef empanadas at Empanada Mama (on 9th Ave. & 51st). I’ve never actually had a lunch there, but Burger Joint is at the top of my list as well.

The “go-to” lunch place you and your co-workers eat at too often:  I tend to eat alone because I like to get whatever food I’m in the mood for, and I also don’t eat at the same place very often. My co-workers seem to like Guy & Gallard and Metro Cafe (I’m also guilty of going to these places too often when I first started working in Midtown). Chef Yu (36th & 8th Ave.) is another popular one in my office.

Place you discovered thanks to MidtownLunch: The Kati Roll Company (46th btw. 6+7th). My first time there I made the mistake of only getting 1 and had to go back for dinner for another to fulfill the cravings they induce. Also, the new Popeye’s on 40th (btw. 7+8th).  I never found the one on 34th up to par.

Dream job location, purely for lunch purposes?: I just accepted a position at the Bronx Zoo, where I’ll be working close to Arthur Ave and I’m pretty excited about that. Otherwise I’d go somewhere with great BBQ… Memphis, maybe?

I hear ya when it comes to BBQ in Memphis.  My favorite BBQ of all time, plus how you can be next weeks Profiled: Midtown Lunch’er, after the jump…

Hands down, the best ribs I’ve ever had were in Memphis at a place called Corky’s.  Until that point, I just assumed that ribs always had sauce on them.  Not in Memphis… their specialty is Dry Rub.  You can get ribs with sauce (or even commit the cardinal sin of putting sauce on your dry rub ribs), but why deny yourself one of the greatest rib experiences of all time.   Unfortunately it was before I took pictures of everyting I ate, so all I have is this picture from their website:

It’s actually a chain, with locations in ten states (the closest ones to NYC being in Lexington, Kentucky and Knoxville, Tennessee)- but don’t hold the chain thing against them.  They are a genuine Memphis institution, and I can honestly say the ribs I had at the one in New Orleans, were just as good as I remembered them being at the one in Memphis.  The onion loaf is pretty damn good as well!

With Josh leaving, there will be a big hole to fill in the Midtown Lunch Flickr Photo Group.  Help out by taking pictures of your lunches and posting them!!!

If you have any Midtown Lunch news or you’d like to be next weeks Profiled Midtown Lunch’er, just email me at zach@midtownlunch.com.