PROFILE: Midtown Lunch’er “Andrew” (aka the Guy Who Ate the Walgreens Sandwich)

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 Andy the blogger behind Wined and Dined, and the first person to show me up by eating the Walgreens Sandwich. Judging by his comments below, I feel like I made the right decision. I figured you’d want to know more about this ML hero (or suicidal maniac, depending on how you look at it I suppose…)

Name: Andy

Age: 33

Occupation: Attorney/Food Blogger/Food Daredevil

Where in Midtown do you Work?: 55th between Park & Mad (home of the 100% Halal & Healthy Food, aka Cart with the Greek Salad, Papa Perrone’s Pizza Truck and the best hot dog stand in Midtown)

Favorite Kind of Food: Steak, shaved truffles (could have used some to mask the taste of that freakish bulkie burger), burgers, bbq, french fries of all varieties, spicy thai, smoked salmon, bacon and corned beef, fried zucchini sticks, plus I’ve been eating these low-fat donuts lately called ‘holey donuts.’

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Olives, tofu, anything at overpriced diners like Burger Heaven, pre-packaged sandwiches, anything bland, sardines, anchovies, anything with the name Beantown on it.

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Midtown: Pasta bar at Fresco on the Go (on 52nd btw. Mad+Park), greek salad with spicy grilled chicken from my man at the cart on 55th and Park, the $8.50 sesame chicken lunch special at Fusia (56th and Lex… not to be confused with Fusha or the other Fusia on 2nd Ave), mexican falafel from Crisp (on 3rd Ave. & 43rd), grilled chicken salad at Houston’s (or is it Hillstone?) and the off-the-menu chicken fingers there- which are insanely good, a Carnegie Deli corned beef sandwich split 3 ways with co-workers (like Serious Eats: New York did with the Carnegie pastrami), alambre and carne asada tacos from Pampano Taqueria (3rd Ave. btw. 49+50th), and the southwestern chicken wrap at Pig n’ Whistle on 3rd (btw. 55+56th).

“Go-To” Lunch Place You and Your Coworkers Eat at Too Often? Chop’t which I’m thoroughly sick of, City Market Cafe on 55th, Pret, Stale and Farty Soups, Pig n’ Whistle on 3rd, Europa Cafe and my co-workers continue to eat at the Cosi on 56th despite the fruit flies and the horrendous service (I haven’t been since ’06.)

Place(s) you discovered thanks to Midtown Lunch? El Rey del Sabor Cart on 60th & 3rd (me and everybody else), Crisp, Biryani Cart (on 46th & 6th), Jamaican Dutchy Cart (on 51st and 7th), Olympic Pita (on 38th btw. 5+6th) and Walgreens (yeah, thanks alot)

If you could work anywhere (just because of the lunch) where would it be and why? San Sebastian (Spain). Because, in the words of travel and food writer John Carlin, it’s “where every local bar is a culinary heaven and Michelin stars grow on trees.” Because of the Pintxos (Basque equivalent of Tapas). Because of the Wine. And because la comida (the name for the midday meal) lasts between 3-4 hours.

Is there anything you’d like to ask the Midtown Lunch readers? I love spicy food. What is the best and spiciest Midtown Lunch dish you’ve had? Phaal curry anyone? Oh yeah, and why is the Midtown version of a restaurant never as good as the original location, i.e. Peking Duck House, Brick Lane Curry, Nobu 57, etc.

Ma "Paul" Tofu @ Szechuan Gourmet, Midtown

The ma po tofu at Szechuan Gourmet (on 39th btw. 5+6th) is easily the spiciest thing I’ve had for lunch in Midtown. Lake….of….fire. Although I haven’t take the phaal curry challenge at Brick Lane Curry Too. Has anybody else? El Rey De Sabor’s habanero steak is pretty spicy too, if you let the guy go all out.

Got a spicy recommendation for Andy? 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

72 Comments

  • W&D the entire point of a late night Kebab is to soak up the booze not the health giving properties of the ‘meat’.

    And @ 3am in Chelsea(The real one) there’ nothing like the look on the conceirgeface as you try and open you flat door with a fork from the kebab vendor.

  • It is readily apparant why a professional psychologist like myself would be fascinated by this site.

  • If you’re in London, get a beigel.

  • Sam’s famous hot sauce is the bomb (I like the original better than the single barrel one)!!!

    So is El Yucateco. The best place to buy it is at Tehuitzingo Deli. They have the motherload there (and big bottles, not the normal small bottles they have at other stores) and its cheap too

  • Andrew,
    I want to shave your truffle! Leave me a message on AIM.
    While the fat man is away we can talk about my new troj vib touch. Do they have those in Midtown?

  • Steve- One can only wonder if you are the same ‘Steve’ that posted this comment back on Dec 16th. If so, you should really just take the valium and shut the f up.

    Comment from Steve
    Time: December 16, 2008, 6:08 pm

    Zach — PLEASE remove all of the unnecessary/harrassing/useless comments here. It makes reading this blog very painful and unbearable. Thank you to all who have something constructive to say, but I truly cannot stand having to sift through all of the surplusage.

  • My entry in the Szechuan Gourmet division is the Hot Chili Blue Crabs. Holy crap, it’s like a plate full of peppers with some crab. I too work on W&D’s block (likely in the same building) and appreciate that he gives props to the good options here, while trashing the more numerous terrible ones.

  • Steve – how is it possible to call someone you don’t know a whore twice, and then apologize not to the person whom you called a whore, but instead to Zach, and then say “no disrespect”?

    This is a serious question.

  • DDR….to answer your “serious question” its quite simple pea brain…..i apoligized to Zach for the use of foul language on his site which was wrong to do on my part. I didnt apoligize to Mamcita cause her actions were that of a whore. Two completely different things. What part dont you understand???? (serious question)

  • @Steve- Seriously dude? You call my Happy Hour Correspondent a “whore” and then say “no disrespect”. I stupidly let you get away with it the first time… but repeating it is too much for me.

    I give you guys a lot of leeway to joke around, and let the comments police themselves in the hopes that I don’t have to start banning people, or moderating comments… but calling one of my writers (and best commenters) a whore steps over the line of good taste.

    Unless you know her, and are friends with her. Then it is ok. But you don’t. So it’s not.

  • That’s actually a pretty good explanation.

  • In most cases, douche bag is sufficient to describe people like Steve. But after being so mean to our lovable Mamacita, he has risen to the level of full on douche nozzle.

  • @Zach – Mamacita is actually my friend in the real world.

    @Steve: How much of an idiot are you? You do know that it’s really easy to figure out who you are and where you are posting from, don’t you dude? As Zach said, cut the crap or many of us will be forced to defend Mamacita in a much stronger way than this. Dude.

  • Steve – did Mamacita reject your advances? Seriously, why else would you call someone you don’t even know in real life a whore? You just assumed that she and W&D weren’t already aquainted and called her a name because, it seems, that you wanted her for yourself. When you discovered she had a significant other, your plan was foiled and your infantile mind conjured up the only punishment it’s capable of – name calling.

  • I invite guys with significant others out for drinks all the time. Women are allowed to have male friends in this day and age. It doesn’t imply that they, or I, am getting busy with them. The girlfriends/wives are always welcome to join.

    It is, under ANY circumstances, not okay to call a woman you DON’T know crude and vile names such as that. It’s disrespectful, and you deserve a swift kick to the balls.

    And last but not least, I don’t know anyone over the age of 15 who doesn’t like happy hour so that just makes you a weirdo or Mormon.

  • Well said Blondie…you’re getting cooler by the comment.

  • W&D,careful…remember Bossman.

  • @Wined & Dined if you want to know about DocChuck please see my profile. He is a felon. Internet stalker and mostly right out of his mind. Google DocChuck.
    He is famous:
    DocChuck was sentenced for ‘harassing communications’ in Baxter County Arkansas , He was harassing employees of The Baxter Bulletin; a Gannett Newspaper and an employee of First Federal Savings and Loan. He pleaded no contest in Baxter County District Court to a single misdemeanor charge of harassing communications. District Judge Van Gearhart entered a finding of guilty against DocChuck and sentenced him to 90 days in jail with all but 10 days suspended. City Prosecutor Roger Morgan brought reams of papers to the hearing that were allegedly faxes and printed copies of e-mail authored by DocChuck containing untrue, derogatory and profane statements directed at the victims or their employers. Morgan told the judge that DocChuck’s communications with The Bulletin had continued for more than seven years and had recently become increasingly personal and defamatory in content. After the third trial he fled the jurisdiction in the middle of a third trial to avoid going to jail again. It is all a matter of public records.

  • Zach, I think it actually is time to start moderating comments or banning posters. This is ridiculous. I can totally picture a lot of people getting turned off from being profiled for this freakin’ abuse. And it takes us away from the point of the blog which is to find good food.

    What I’m taking out of this is that if I ever set up a blog, I will definitely be moderating.

  • I said just this thing months ago and my post got removed for trying to talk some sense. So Boo take my advise trying to moderate kindergarten is a waste of time. On the Internet everywhere Doc goes it is like this. I often just X the blog out when I see his name on them. Today was no major news release this stuff is going on everyplace that dude goes to.
    I just ignore it when I see it. If you speak up you get silenced and they want hitshere or they would not allow it.

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