PROFILE: Midtown Lunch’er “Caryn”

Every Tuesday I turn over the site to a Midtown Lunch’er for their recommendations of places to eat lunch in Midtown. Today, it’s Caryn (she’s the one on the right), a Technical Project Manager who’s looking for a good sandwich to take to the Mets game…

Name: Caryn

Age:
Kid At Heart

Occupation:
Technical Project Manager

Where in Midtown do you Work?:
Madison & 50th (but soon to be moving to Tribeca)

Favorite Kind of Food:
Anything ethnic

Least Favorite Kind of Food:
Boring and predictable. That means, Au Bon Pain, Hale & Hearty Soups, etc.

Favorite Place to Eat Lunch in Midtown:
I am torn between the falafel or schnitzel at Kosher Deluxe and the Indian Food Express cart (vegetarian) on 52nd & park. I could probably live on both.

The “go-to” lunch place you and your co-workers eat at too often: The deli on 49th between Park and Madison. the default dish tends to be udon.

Place you discovered thanks to MidtownLunch: Indian Food Express cart , Kosher Deluxe, Sophie’s Cuban, various bi bim bap permutations, Sukhadia indian buffet, cheap sushi specials after 4pm in Rock Center, the hamburger place in the Parker Meridian.

Dream job location, purely for lunch purposes?: i’d like to work in the Village, so I’d have access to the dosa cart, Mamoun’s falafel, the soy burger dinner at Dojo, Grey’s Papaya and anyother endless list of cheap delicious eats available to me. Plus good Indian would be a short walk away.

Anything you’d like to ask the Midtown Lunch readers? What’s the best place to get to-go sandwiches to take to the baseball game after work? The boyfriend still works in Midtown so he’ll still probably be on sandwich duty. It needs to be sturdy, cheap, fresh and delicious – and available after 5pm, since we’re not going to buy sandwiches at noon to eat at 7pm.

 

My favorite sandwiches in Midtown are still at Milant Gourmet Deli on 39th btw. Lex+3rd.  But if your boyfriend works on the West side of Midtown, and you love falafel (which it seems like you do)- I have got the best recommendation for you…

 

While most people were BBQ’ing, I spent my Memorial Day stuffing my face at Azuri Cafe on 51st btw. 9th+10th Ave.  Lunch’ers have been recommending it on this site forever, but I haven’t written about it because it’s outside the Midtown Lunch’ing boundaries.  Plus, I’ve always thought, “Do I really need to walk all the way to 10th Ave. for falafel?  There’s a million falafel sandwiches to be had in Midtown.”  Well, I can honestly say it’s worth it.  I don’t know what this guy does to his sandwiches, but it’s the Kosher equivalent to crack.  They’re also open until 8pm every day except for Friday, when they close early for the Sabbath.  I think one day I’ll get around to giving it a full write up… it definitely deserves it.

Do you have a sandwich recommendation for Caryn?  Just post it as a comment below…

And, as always- 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.

10 Comments

  • I think I mentioned it before, and we are stretching the Mid-Town boundaries, but I think Milano’s Gourmet on 34th between madison and 5th, closer to 5th makes the best sandwiches. Get there closer to 12pm then 1pm to get the best cuts. The roastbeef, very rare, on Semolina bread is one of my fave mid-town sandwiches.

  • You finally got to the Azuri cafe! Good for you, Zach. I like Madeline’s Cafe that just opened up on 56th between Lex and Third, but I’m not the hugest sandwich guy. It might be a bit far for her to, but the N transfers to the 7 at queens plaza, so it’s easy to pick up the ride to Shea.

  • Park Italian on 45th b/twn 5th & 6th. BEST sandwiches around. Although, I don’t think they are open past lunch time, so it won’t fit your take-to-the-ballpark criteria, but still worth a mention.

  • I agree on Park Italian – their sandwiches are incredible, both the cold, and the hot (especially the chicken parm hero). Plus you feel like you are stepping into a scene from The Sopranos.

  • I can’t believe I work right there and haven’t heard of Park Italian before. I’ll have to check it out tomorrow.

  • OK, this doesn’t qualify for freshest – but Metro Deli on West 45th (19 W 45) cuts the price of their sandwiches to $4 after 3 p.m. I picked up a few for an evening baseball game and was happy with the sandwiches.

  • another ditto on Park italian. just had their chicken parm hero yesterday. kept telling myself i’m not going to finish it, but it was too tempting not to and shovelled down the whole thing.

    also, azuri cafe guy has been called the Falafel Nazi. he’s pretty serious about his falafels. and i’m really glad that he is b/c they’re just that good

  • Just tried the Park Italian chicken parm. There is nothing “heroic” about it. Totally average. The disappointment is mind boggling.

  • Thanks, all. The boyfriend works right near GCT, so going west is a little out of our reach for a quick grab before getting on the 7. We were kind of hoping for something in shouting distance. I know about the transfers and how far the 7 runs – but we’re doing this 2 times a week (or more) and barely get out of work in time to get on the train and get to the game before first pitch. So waltzing west or down to 34th street is dead out.

    But I am *so* going to Azuri the next time I’m uptown. :) Maybe I’ll start a “tribeca lunch” blog. this area could use the help.

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    Hey, no comments about Azuri? The world needs to know and needs to ensure that Zach keeps his promise of a review. OK, so it’s OOB, but, as I said, you mentioned it and the world now needs to know!

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