PROFILE: Midtown Lunch’er “Justin”
Every Tuesday I turn over the site to a different Midtown Lunch’er for his or her recommendations for the best lunch in Midtown. Being that Broadway pretty much occupies much of the Western boundaries of Midtown, it’s surprising that it has taken this long to get someone who works at a theater. Meet Justin, a theatre manager who claims to live right on the edge of excess…
Name: Justin
Age: 31
Occupation: Theatre Manager
Where in Midtown do you Work?:Jujamcyn Theaters – 44th b/w 7th & 8th
Favorite Kind of Food:Food at the margin of excess. The best local cooking plays with the limits of what is reasonably tasty and even edible: deep-fried, fat-laden, sugar-filled excess. Good pizza, good fried chicken, “Thai-style” spicy yums, good sugary baked goods are New York cuisine at its best.
Least Favorite Kind of Food: Too much of a good thing. At the margins of excess, it is really easy to go too far and screw things up. Greasy pizza, flaccid, sketchy shawarma, Japanese curry that kicks around your system for a few days: these are few of my least favorite things. There’s only so much glaze a donut can take.
Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Midtown: (West side, represent! These places may be “out-of-range” by Midtown Lunch standards, but the first two offer delivery)
– Wondee Siam I (9th & 52nd) – Yum Kor Moo Yang (BBQ Pork Yum)
– Island Burger (9th & 51st)- Capo San Lucas Salad (with the chicken)
– 99 Cent Fresh Pizza aka “dollar pizza” (9th & 40th) – Slice of pizza
The “go-to” lunch place you and your co-workers eat at too often: Green Symphony (43rd b/w 7th & 8th) – “Healthy” buffet-style joint with soups, sandwiches and a design-your-own-salad station. This place is definitely a step above the buffet places I got used to downtown, but it’s inconsistent and pricey. We go here 2x+ a week.
Place you discovered thanks to Midtown Lunch: Five Guys NYC. I had no idea.
If you could work anywhere (just because of the lunch) where would it be and why? I like John Burdett’s descriptions of the street food culture on Soi Cowboy in Bangkok.
I’ve never read any of John Burdett’s books (Bangkok 8, Bangkok Haunts), and I’m pretty sure Soi Cowboy is known more for its prostitution (and gross tourists) than its good eats- but I too am a fan of the street food of Thailand. In fact hearing the word soi can only remind me of Kaow Soi, a Chiang Mai curry noodle soup, with no relation to the street in Bangkok (soi just means ‘side street’), one of the best things I had while visiting Thailand a year ago. A photo after the jump…
I think this is the second time I’ve posted this photo… but oh well. Some things are worth returning to. I have found Kaow Soi in a few Thai restaurants in NYC, but not surprisingly, none have lived up to the version eaten at the Chiang Mai night market.
9th Ave. is hands down the best place in Manhattan for Thai food (Pam Real Thai, Wondee Siam, Yum Yum Bangkok, and more)- but it’s a little outside of Midtown Lunch’ing range, and with Yum Thai (on 44th btw. 6+B’way) gone, there is no longer a strictly fast food/take out Thai food option in Midtown. If anybody knows of a place (especially one with Kaow Soi), the comment lines are now open…
And as always, if you want to be the next Profiled: Midtown Lunch’er, or you’d like to nominate somebody in your office, email me at zach@midtownlunch.com
Posted by Zach Brooks at 8:51 am, January 15th, 2008 under PROFILE: Midtown Lunch'er.
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22 Comments
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I was so excited about your blog when I found it on the real thai website.
The best one that I found was on the street during the Loy Krathong Festival in Chiang Mai. I didn’t even know what it was, I just sat down and pointed to what people were having and just helped myself to the selection of garnishes. I went back the next night and haven’t found anything as good since. I keep dreaming about it and don’t even know if I would ever find these people again since it was a street festival and not an actual restaurant.
Thank you for the Chili Thai and Pam Real Thai recommendations. I will have to check them out.
I did see the Thai article in the Times a few weekends ago. I need to plan another trip soon, maybe this summer….
While that dolla pizza spot is a great place to be offered discounted pornography and to also be, as they say, “stuck fo’ yo’ papuh,” I highly recommend Z Deli (8th Av between 48th and 49th) for dolla pizza. The clerks will smile, yet look suspicious and murmur, giving a hint of possible terrorism with no actual proof. On the way out, while passing the internet station, you’ll see mousepads with American Flags, Statues of Liberty, and whatever else will overcompensate for the murmur. Tell them, “Not too hot!”, or you will burn yourself with the thousand flames of Damian’s wrath.