Midtown Lunch

Every Tuesday I turn over the site to a different Midtown Lunch’er for his or her recommendations for the best lunch in Midtown. This week it’s Jill, a photo editor who loves meat, but not “organ meat”.

Name: Jill

Age: 40

Occupation: Photo Editor

Where in Midtown do you Work?: Rockefeller Center Area

Favorite Kind of Food: Italian, Indian, Mexican, Japanese

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Honestly? Organ Meats. I can’t even sit at the same table as someone who is eating tripe. It’s just gross.

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Midtown: Del Frisco’s (on 49th btw. 6+7th) for the steak, chateau potatoes and the outrageously huge slice of lemon cake; Pam Real Thai (49th btw. 9+10th) for the vegetable red curry and spring rolls; Hallo Berlin cart (54th & 5th) for the currywurst combo; Ruby Foo’s (B’way & 49th) for the veggie sushi and chicken pineapple rice; Sosa Borella (8th Ave. btw. 50+51st) for the roast beef sandwich or the steak salad; Le Bonne Soup (on 55th btw. 5+6th) for the salad/soup/chocolate mousse lunch special; Poseidon Bakery (9th Ave. btw. 44+45th) for the spanakopita, baklava, and cherry cheese strudel; Two Boots (Rock Center) for a Cleopatra Jones slice (OK, two slices); Burger Joint (55th btw. 6+7th) for burgers and fries (although my true burger love is the ridiculously expensive burger at 21 Club. It’s amazing.); and I love that chicken from Popeye’s! (40th btw. 7+8th)

“Go-To” Lunch Place You and Your Coworkers Eat at Too Often? Mi Nidito on 8th ave and 51st street. It’s a bit more expensive than, say, Chipotle, but the ingredients are so fresh and they use tons of veggies in the soups and burritos. There’s a bar menu with a soup/combo special for $8.99 or $9.99, but I usually go with PKs black bean soup or my special favorite, the very spicy chicken tortilla soup. Years ago when I was feeling like I was coming down with a cold, my boyfriend at the time brought me some of Mi Nidito’s chicken tortilla soup. Turned out we got engaged that night. We started calling it the proposal soup. The next time I ordered it for delivery, we told that story to the guy and, along with the order, he sent a little bottle of champagne. It was very nice.

Place(s) you discovered thanks to Midtown Lunch? Jamaican Dutchy (51st & 7th), Sapporo (49th btw. 6+7th), Hallo Berlin Cart

If you could work anywhere (just because of the lunch) where would it be and why? Domestically: somewhere in Maine. I could never tire of eating crab rolls or lobster rolls and blueberry pie. Internationally: a farm in Tuscany would be great for simple, incredibly fresh italian lusciousness. and Buenos Aires or Paris because I like to eat a huge steak and drink red wine in the middle of the day.

Is there anything you’d like to ask the Midtown Lunch readers? Yes! I’ve been craving a fried fish sandwich. Is there a great one in midtown? Also, any shabu shabu restaurants nearby? And, lastly, what’s the best crab dish in midtown?

I don’t know about great one, but my favorite fried fish sandwich (once again) is after the jump…   Read more »

This was posted in the comments on Friday about Milant, the sandwich shop that has been plagued by quality questions since they spent much of the past few months closed:

Before the “renovations,” I had been going to Milant at least once a week. No longer. On Wednesday, 8/27, I returned to Milant and ordered a sandwich and soup. Also purchased two “buttercrunch” candies to bring home for my wife. She wound up saving her candy to eat on Thursday. Last night, she opened the cello to discover the candy teeming with bugs. Definitely not from our home. Utterly disgusting. A complaint has been lodged with health dept.

Ouch. I had lunch there last week and thought my sandwich was good, but have always been skeptical about that candy in the window. We’ll see how effective Health Department Complaints actually are.  If you noticed Milant closed this week, email me at zach@midtownlunch.com