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 Naomi a Market Researcher and self proclaimed “fat kid” who likes banana sushi rolls.

Name: Naomi

Age: 23

Occupation: Market Researcher

Where in Midtown do you Work?: Rock Center’ish

Favorite Kind of Food: String beans, red peppers, spinach, cheese, blueberries, grapes, dark chocolate, sushi, falafel, fro-yo, cheesecake, Thai, Indian, Greek, Mexican… oh I’m sorry, was I just supposed to just name one?

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Capers, olives, dill, anything pickled that isn’t a pickle, beets, zucchini, certain sea creatures (urchins, jellyfish and swordfish, to name a few), animal organs, tofu, Korean food and ham. Oh, and Jell-O… I just don’t trust the stuff.

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Midtown: I’d say I probably have one place to go for each kind of ethnic cuisine, however Cafe Duke (on 51st btw. 6+7th) is always a convenient option — although the excess of choices can be very overwhelming (and expensive). Burger Joint in the Parker Meridien (on 56th btw. 6+7th) is where I go when I crave something greasy — which may or may not be after a late night out — but if you want to get a booth you had better go armed with a strategy. On that same block there is a restaurant called Topaz Thai that I just tried last week. It offers a satisfying pad thai lunch special for $7. La Bonne Soupe on 55th St. offers the most delicious French Onion soup around and has a nice, cozy atmosphere. Havana Central has great Cuban food (try the seafood paella), and Two Boots is usually my office’s pizza place of choice. Oh, and I would be lying if I said I didn’t have a Cosi card… those Signature salads add up!

“Go-To” Lunch Place You and Your Coworkers Eat at Too Often? It’s not exactly “go-to” since we order delivery, but Toyama Sushi makes some of the most phenomenal sushi rolls I have ever tasted. I’m personally a fan of the Dynamite and Banana rolls, but they also have great maki lunch specials, which happen to be relatively inexpensive. Also, I am pretty sure market researchers as a whole have a slightly inappropriate hankering for Daisy May’s BBQ… (and yes, I did just use the word “hankering.”)

Place(s) you discovered thanks to Midtown Lunch? I now tell everyone visiting New York about the Halal cart on the SE corner of 53rd St. and 6th Ave — gotta love that red sauce! I also tried Aoki sushi (on 48th btw. 7+8th), which is a great place to go for lunch, but I usually stick to Toyama and order delivery. I’ve also been meaning to try Taam Tov (on 47th btw. 5+6th) and Moshe’s Falafel (on 46th btw. 5+6th) cart but that hasn’t happened yet…

If you could work anywhere (just because of the lunch) where would it be and why? I can honestly say that there is no place I would rather be during lunchtime than in Manhattan. Where else can you have your pick of sushi, Cuban sandwiches, pizza, crepes or Indian food all within a five-minute walk?

Is there anything you’d like to ask the Midtown Lunch readers? I’m looking for healthy food options — after all, it’s the first week of 2009 and I’ve got some resolutions to attend too…

Well… I’m sure nobody will be surprised to know that I am against food resolutions, but I’m sure alot of you have resolved to be a little healthier (for at least the next month or two).  So, I’ll let this one slide.  Got a recommendation for Naomi?  Feel free to put it in the comments.

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