PROFILE: Midtown Lunch’er “Alexi”
Every Tuesday I turn over the site to a different Midtown Lunch’er for his or her recommendations for the best lunch in Midtown. I think it’s pretty well established that I am not exactly the healthiest eater when it comes to lunching, but I am well aware that occasionally some of you like to eat healthy. Every once in awhile a brave healthy eater will step to the plate and recommend some places for those Midtown Lunchers looking for a less gut busting lunch. This week it’s Alexi, a health and wellness coach that doesn’t like Chinese food (stick a dagger in my heart!) but likes rice balls.
Name: Alexi
Age: 28
Occupation: Health & Wellness Coach (plus I have a blog), but my day job is Office Manager/Receptionist
Where in Midtown do you Work?: Zelnickmedia – office is near Bryant Park
Favorite Kind of Food: I love creative food that is healthy and made from whole foods but doesn’t compromise taste. Basically, anything fresh and full of flavor – from Ethiopian to sushi.
Least Favorite Kind of Food: Not a fan of Chinese, or anything fried
Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Midtown: The dolce vita hummus salad bowl from Crisp, with whole wheat pita – SO tasty. Rice balls from Oms/B (on 45th btw. Lex+3rd) are really good. I also love picking at Free Foods‘ food bar, and their fresh shakes are juices are great. When I need a major boost I get the Curious George with cacao nibs, banana, coconut and espresso. You can’t lose. And the raw vegan macaroons are to die for. If I’m feeling uninspired I’ll hit up Dishes for a salad (but recently I was elbowed in the chaos of a lunchtime mass so I think I’ll take a break).
“Go-To” Lunch Place You and Your Coworkers Eat at Too Often? My go to place is Free Foods; downstairs, quick, healthy and I like what they’re bringing to Midtown – they’re a little unexpected, I think.
Place(s) you discovered thanks to Midtown Lunch? I don’t search around too often because honestly, I like to bring my lunch to work. However I did discover Cafe Zaiya (41st btw. Mad+5th), which has wonderfully cheap rice balls.
If you could work anywhere (just because of the lunch) where would it be and why? I know it may sounds cliche, but: Italy. I spent some time living over there after college and I had never seen that sort of love of food before. I still dream about the fresh burrata.
Is there anything you’d like to ask the Midtown Lunch readers? I’d love to hear about more restaurants and eateries that focus on fresh, whole foods! I think it’s important to focus on quality versus quantity. SO many places are all about stretching your dollar – which is great – but sometimes you have to stop and think of what that meal consists of and where it came from. After all, you want something that’s going to get you through the afternoon without a 3pm sugar binge!
But I like my 3pm sugar binge. And prefer not to think of where my food came from! (Especially when I’m eating from a street vendor.) And let’s not even talk about my love of Chinese food. Anyway… it’s good to have different viewpoints on the site… and FreeFoods is still open (and always crowded) so there are clearly plenty of people who share your opinion. Anybody have any healthy recommendations for Alexi and the silent minority of Midtown Lunch’ers looking for this kind of food? Put them in the comments.
And as always if anybody would like to be next week’s Profiled: Midtown Lunch’er (or know somebody you’d like to nominate), email me at zach@midtownlunch.com.
Posted: 11:45 am, September 29th, 2009 under PROFILE: Midtown Lunch'er.
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63 Comments
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Sadly, for a healthy lunch I usually turned to falafal with tons of veggies and hummus… but you’d have to like fried balls.
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FREAK OF THE WEEK
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How can someone dislike an entire cuisine? Especially one as diverse as ‘Chinese.’ This doesn’t make any sense to me. Maybe it’s American-Chinese that, more often than not, is some of the unhealthiest food out there, but authentic Chinese is a different story. Also you can ask for food to be steamed instead of fried.
Like if you were to go to a chinese restaurant down the street and ask for chicken and broccoli steamed w/o sauce would you still hate it b/c it’s ‘Chinese’? See how absurd that sounds?
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She doesn’t really seem to be into the whole ‘midtown lunch’ thing.
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You aint’ a lady boy.
Oh no.
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I was going to call you ‘Hot’ but then I saw you didn’t like Chinese food. You are thence forth ‘Luke-Warm’.
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Yeah, China is huge and has tons of variety. It’s like saying you hate American food. Have you tried things like congee, noodle soups, steamed dim sum, steamed fish with ginger and scallions, poached chicken with ginger and scallions? The list goes on.
You should give Korean food a try. There’s lots that you can eat that are on the healthy side. Most of the Korean restaurants in your hood are located on 32nd and 35th Street between 5th and 6th Ave. And South Indian items such as dosas are lighter fare. I usually go to Curry Hill, but Minar also carries some South Indian specialties.
And while I’m not a fan of it, Pump on 38th has stuff that you would probably enjoy. They even have baked falafel.
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Oh, fresh and whole foods? Why not try Whole Foods? =) It’s actually much cheaper to go there for lunch than ‘Free Foods.’
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Real Chinese food is really healthy. This is especially the case for home cooked food. You’ll find whole steamed chicken and fish. Also, most of the veggies are either Blanched dark leafy greens or stewed melons. Sometimes there are lightly sauteed greens. Nothing is really ever deep fried. I would think the only unhealthy part would be all the white rice.
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Picture? :up: No Chinese or Fried? :down: Raw vegan macaroons and Free Foods? :FAIL:
I agree with wich above–this isn’t a ML’er at all. But I agree with Zach too–it’s good to have diverse views here. And I agree with myself for agreeing with both of these people. (But I don’t agree with ALexi’s eating preferences.)
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No chinese? No fried? That’s Horrible! She’s missing out on two great worlds. Oh well. More for the rest of us. And you can eat chinese food with brown rice. More and more places are serving it for the health-conscious. And instead of delicious stir-fry, they offer steamed dishes instead.
As for fresh and healthy, I’d probably do Crisp or Pret if I need variety from the Streets or cafteria fare.
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Yeah, China is huge but since all the people look alike doesn’t the food all taste alike?
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“I don’t search around too often because honestly, I like to bring my lunch to work.” – FAIL. Your best bet is Whole Foods or moving to LA.
Nice pic. I bet you got (ahem) “elbowed” quite a bit when you lived in Italy. Now let’s get back to talkin bout street meat…
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Give her a break, she is a health and wellness coach..whatever that means.
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As a Chinese person, I can tell you that there’s a million crazy shit I want say to someone who doesn’t like Chinese food. But since Zach goes out of his way to find these midtown lunchers, maybe I’ll refrain from going all apeshit on this. Just know… woman, I got words for you, and they’re all unkind.
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ITS A TRAP.
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Jesus. Alexi, good luck with this bunch. My quinoa-eating, hippie ass is behind you though! The only suggestion I have for midtown lunches is the same as mamacita’s: falafel. Maoz, though? pickled baby eggplant!! That’s the best I can do.
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F.Y.I. There are plenty of places in the city to get fantastic fresh Burrata. ‘Ideal Cheese’ on 1st Ave between 51st and 52nd gets burrata shipments bi-weekly (wrapped in leek greens to indicate freshness). I know one of the days they get it is Thursday, I used to buy it all the time for heirloom tomato salads. Go early on Thursday and it will rival the ones in Italy…
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Bland. Boring. Colorless. White bread. Dull. Pallid. Unadventurous. Not worthy of breathing NYC air.
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Damn, you people are protective of your chinese food. Speaking of, I think I will go get some.
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The best things in life are fried and or free.
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What’s up with everyone crawling up this girls ass because she doesn’t like Chinese food?
“Well you never had the pork buns from this little cart on the sidewalk outside the Great Wall?” Who friggin cares! This ain’t Beijing Lunch. It’s a NY centric food site. So I think we can safely assume if she doesn’t like Chinese, it’s the meat-centric, mostly fried, gloppy, American-ized version we all know and tolerate.
Sheesh.
What a bag a jerks we got going on here.
It’s no surprise why I’ll NEVER be a midtown luncher.
Danny: Grow up. Some of us think Chinese food mostly sucks. Big time. That’s our right.
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BTW, as a person who eats way too many Johns’ burgers and chicken parms, I think her call for more healthy ideas on this blog is spot on. Cheap crap is easy to find and a lot of the healthy options are pricier.
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I have the same wariness about Chinese food. Went to a Chinese buffet last night and they had the most delicious all green Chinese greens that I rarely see. I ate two servings but boy was the oil overdone on it. Ate the duck after scraping away the fat. Ate snow crab which is plain with no oil. I had none of the fried stuff except for one shrimp which I took one bite of …too much greasy breading so that was all. But all in all a buffet with high quality food
If Chinese home cooking is less greasy then so be it. What’s in the restaurants is and it just isn’t buffets
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…goodness we’re all credit crunch today…
im off to the potkiln.org…….toodles.
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I don’t have anything against someone wanting to be healthy at all. Being an open minded foodie, I try to try everything, including vegan and ‘healthy foods’, so to speak, that this ‘ML’er’ is claiming that she eats.
BUT, I can’t get down w/someone dismissing an entire cuisine, it just shows a massive amount of ignorance on their part. Especially one that is known to be pretty healthy. At least with the Thai hater dude, he went out of his way to try some Thai after we told him the error of his ways. Imho, this poster just feels like they saw a nice opportunity to promote their blog.
I think that being a ‘health & wellness coach’ she can, at least, do a little more research so she can better assist those looking for her help. Not everyone who wants to be healthier needs to drink smoothies or eat 2 lbs of lettuce everyday.
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I think all of this negativity can be cured with some warm lemon water, deep breathing and stretching..
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@Formz: Hilarious comment.
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Clearly Alexi, our featured ML’er, likes to torture herself by coming to this site to look at what she can’t or won’t eat….I wonder if she is vegetarian? From the look of her, my guess is she probably is. Definitely not a ML’er. This is kind of a shill ML profile. A little disappointing this week…
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1. This is not the first poster with a blog. Who doesn’t have one? And who cares if she does? Somehow this woman is the person for whom having a blog is some kind of pejorative? That’s bull. Selective suspicion, anyone?
2. I really don’t like Chinese food. But I eat some parts of it. But shorthand, am I supposed to say “I generally dislike Chinese food. However, I do like sweet and sour chicken which are just really chicken fingers with some sweet sauce, and general Tso’s chicken, while not an authentic chinese dish, has the sweet/fried/fat/meat combination I like, and those pork buns at Wu Liang Li are awesome…”
No. Thats absurd. It’s nit picking and it’s hypocritical because we ALL use shorthands that express meanings, shorthands which would fail on microscopic examination. It’s a linguistic necessity for conversation to flow.
So I just say I don’t really care for Chinese food.
Doesn’t make me ignorant or anything else. It means that particular combination of food and preparation methods that result in what Americans call Chinese food, I really don’t like.
Or: I don’t like Chinese food.
When the F did not liking some kind of food be “an error of one’s ways?” This foodie culture is just so obnoxious.
I like ketchup on hot dogs, mustard on burgers, Ruffles chips on a ham sub, I’ll never try monkey brains, I hate broccoli but wish I liked it, love Thai but I hate seafood and curry so it limits my choices there and I think most chinese food sucks. Whatever. Who cares? No one should but me. Those are all my unique choices and tastes. You can jam my face in the best pad thai in the world, but I’m still gonna hurl on you when I come up for air. You’re not gonna show me any “errors of my ways,” that’s for sure.
All this telling everyone what they are supposed to eat and how is just the most odious thing on blogs like this.
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MikeNYC as always if anybody would like to be next week’s Profiled: Midtown Lunch’er (or know somebody you’d like to nominate), email zach@midtownlunch.com
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Alexi is obviously someone who struggled with what they ate and her body self image. Through her struggles she managed to overcome negativity (probably externally and internally) to reach a happy medium where she feels most comfortable. Her lifestyle may not work for everyone (perhaps more MDL followers than most), but it manages to work for her and keeps her happy. All she’s doing is sharing what she has learned along her way to achieve her happy medium. For some, that happy medium may lean the other way to all-you-can-eat Chinese buffets or taco challenges at the local taqueria.
Dismissing Chinese cuisine is purely ignorant. But considering what kind of exposure most people have to Chinese food isn’t entirely blasphemous for a health nut. Even if you happen to find an authentic Chinese restaurant, most aren’t going to be ordering a traditional meals like I grew up eating: LOTS of vegetables and controlled portions of meat. Most people always order tons of fatty meat and the fried fatty goodness of cheap Chinese. Even after gorging myself on dim sum, I am a little disgusted with what I ate . . . till an hour later. Even authentic Mexican food isn’t all queso and enchiladas. A lot of it is fresh vegetables. She probably just hasn’t been around a lot of like minded people as her with exposure to authentic Chinese food and its more healthy options.
Anyway, my suggestions are if you want to stick with your healthy lifestyle is to keep bringing your lunch to work. But don’t forget to check out Murray’s Cheese Shop in Grand Central for quality foods. I really don’t know much else other than the Pump and Energy Kitchen. My lifestyle is probably completely opposite yours.
Who’s looking at her clavicles? Look at that bowl of shrimp!!!!
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So im guessing she never ate street meat??
Whoever said Korean- YUUM!!!!
Mamacita- falafel is my healthy food too!
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@CheeeeEEEEseee one that only you an I will understand :(
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zach already asked. No friggin way. My non-existent self-esteem cannot handle this crowd. I’m waaayyy to dorky looking. I make zach look like Peirce Brosnan.
Plus I’d just say: Johns’ burger ten times, followed by a John’s chicken sandwich and be done.
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@MikeNYC,
Gonna keep it short. One, it’s true that perhaps the spirit of her comment is not interpreted fully/completely by the rest of us. However, most of the criticism comes from the idea that it would be absurd to to pan a whole genre of food when that genre is quite large and multifaceted.If you want the freedom to believe what you believe and have your choices, you must also allow us to have ours. You don’t like most Chinese food? Fine. It seems most people here dislike those who simply go about saying “I don’t like [insert something here]“. So if you want your cake and eat it too, let us eat ours.
If you don’t like the criticism people receive as profiled lunchers, then maybe you don’t read enough on Tuesdays. If Alexi is offended by the comments, it’s probably for the same reason.
So maybe you should grow up too, big boy.
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Cute ML’r doesn’t agree with your preferred genre of food = internet nerd rage!
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Speaking of Chinese, someone just called my office wanting to order chicken and broccoli. I should’ve taken his order. Or better yet, I should’ve directed him to this profile lol!
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@chris6sigma,
i can’t help it. i live in my parents’ basement and have never actually had a real conversation with a girl. oh and i wet my bed at night. nerd rage is what i do. -
Speaking of Chinese food: Dumplings are awesome and grub street has a big dumpling extravaganza.
http://newyork.grubstreet.com/2009/09/ming_tsai_picks_his_favorite_downtown_dumpling.html
Wherein we also learn that Rickshaw dumplings are on Tyra. How nice. MSNBC, Tyra, where else will we now see this unqualified and should have been disqualifed Vendy Finalist pop up?
Looks like those Vendy shenanigans are paying off for connected insider Anita Lo. As expected.
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Also, MikeNYC, this is a forum for street eaters, and all of the relevant forms of expression that term suggests. This is not a place for people who feel unfulfilled if they can’t get a table at the Waverly Inn or who think lettuce on toast points is a meal. This is an outlet for those who enjoy and are totally comfortable dashing down the street cramming a myriad of wild and unpronounceable ethnic foods down our gaping maws, who will travel to another borough when we receive a hot tip about a new food cart that’s set up shop in the far reaches of the city. It’s not a place for people who are afraid of food, who are unwilling to give in to the pure pleasure of eating things that may not be that good for you, but is some damn fine eating nonetheless. If you come onto a site like this and make yourself sound ignorant by slamming an entire genre of food (I mean really, suggesting that among a population of 1.3 billion not one of them is able to make non-Americanized Chinese food is an absurdity if there ever was one) and then crowing about the delights of raw vegan macaroons, then all you can do is brace yourself and take the consequences. Nothing says you can’t like raw vegan macaroons. But balance it with crap that’s bad for you every now and then, for God’s sake!
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I thought it was common knowledge…at least in NY metro area..that when someone says “I hate Chinese food” people automatically know they mean that joint on the corner where you buy your pork fried rice. That is the extent of Chinese food knowledge for most Americans. Its not meant to be slamming a whole ethnicity. ” I dont like Chinese food” has been a common phrase growing up here. And by no means is it meant to be racist or ignorant..at least to me.
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It’s not ignorant and it’s not dismissive, etc. Most cuisines use some ingredients very often. All it takes is disliking some of those key ingredients and viola!
Example: I dislike (most) Chinese food. But I really, really despise Indian food. I’ve yet to smell an Indian dish that didn’t make me feel sick.
Primarily, I hate, hate, hate, and sickened, repulsed and get a headache from curry.
Inevitably, the next thing every well intentioned foodie who wants to foist their own tastes on me and discount my own says, is “There’s lots of things that don’t have curry!” So off to the Indian restaurant I go. And equally inevitably is this:
1. I’m swimming in the disgusting smells of a hundred other curry dishes around me.
2. It’s so prevalent in Indian kitchens, and I’m so sensitive to it, that I can taste it in non-curry dishes. And I get sickened and repulsed.
and
3. Whatever non curry dish is presented to me repulses me also.
So, what, I’m not supposed to say “I hate Indian food” when every experience I have with it sickens me? Because there’s maybe some nice Indian sweet or pastry that I might like, suddenly I can’t say I don’t like Indian? That’s insane and simply not the way conversational english works. We generalize in agreed upon ways, because you need to to convey generalized ideas.
Let me ask you something: Suppose I said “I love Chinese food” would a bunch sceptics pop up and say “No way you can love a WHOLE CONTINENTs worth of food. That’s ignorant! You mean you eat the Szchechaun shit rolls? You haven’t tried them? How can you say you LOVE all that food, when you never even tried ALL OF IT?”
No. You NEVER hear that. NEVER. But it’s EXACTLY the same thing. Only it’s somehow a measure of how open-minded and cool a foodie is if they love it all, including the Szchechuan shit rolls.
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Wellerfan = Bingo!
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As one who generally can’t walk by an indian restaurant without gagging, I empathize with those who generally avoid certain genres of food. As you all know, I tend to not enjoy Indian food generally, and yes, I’ve tried a host of different dishes. I also despise Cilantro and anything it ruins, and the one time I had ethiopian was likely my last. But I must admit, there may be a type of curry I recently encountered that I do enjoy–but my cart man won’t tell me if it is curry and what type! I will also add that I ordered a bottle of ghost chili sauce, which I believe is Indian in origin to an extent, so I do admit there are exceptions to generalizations. I am sure that if Alexi had steamed broccoli with some light soy, it would be fine for her, and it would count as “chinese food” in my book….
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So, I guess it goes without saying that no: I have not been to China and that yes: my perception of Chinese food is based on the buffets and local take-out joints. Honestly, I did not mean to offend anyone- I love food and I’ll eat MOST anything (including meat, as I am an omnivore) but on a day-to-day basis I like to stick to healthier options. But that’s just me!
I am planning a trip to Hong Kong soon, so perhaps my opinion on the cuisine will change. In the meantime, I stand by my healthy preferences, even if I’m teased for enjoying my quinoa lunches.
Oh- and no offense taken. I suppose you have to expect a little feedback on these sorts of things…
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MIKENYC–stop channelling my indian food aversion!
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“…you are what you eat…” Look at her smooth skin!
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50 comments and no “likes eating rice balls” joke?
I know there are some of us holding back….
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Did anyone already point out that she says ” I love … anything fresh and full of flavor – from Ethiopian to sushi,” then, “Not a fan of Chinese”? Do you get it now?
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Alexi, meet some friends who are either Chinese or tight with the culture and go to Flushing to try some authentic dishes. Let them know what sort of thing you are looking for while over in China that you can at least fall back on instead of taking wild shots at a menu you might not understand. For instance, there’s a dish that’s steamed tofu with shrimps and julienned scallions in a light soy sauce. And there are different ways to cook chicken so that it’s not so heavy. Anyway, enjoy your trip and do your research.
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I think the issue is that she admitted that she does not eat lunch out, and it looks to some – including myself – that she is only here to promote her own website. I would guess that she never read ML before today. If someone admits that they rarely eat lunch out, and when they do, appear to be averse to the kind of food generally discussed here, then of course people will feel that she is not authentic.
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I agree w/mghu777. Research. Research. Research. That’s what the internet is for also. There are a lot of great healthy Chinese dishes that exist and there are places in NYC that serve them. That’s the great thing about living here. Even in your local Chinese American joint you can alter your meal to be much healthier.
I mean, I grew up on solely knowing Americanized Chinese food also, but when I started working in Manhattan I began to discover that not all Chinese food has to be General Tsao’s chicken and egg rolls and that the food differs greatly from region to region. This is why I don’t consider that to be an excuse. Especially when now all you have to do is go to google.com and type in ‘Healthy Chinese Food’ and get a shitload of information at your fingertips.
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Who would’ve thunk something as simple as the proper use of a commment box on a blog would’ve eluded so many?
I’m glad I invested in ChapStick.
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Cosilicious is correct. As of this post, see time-stamp, her profile is 3 hours old.
I’m shilled out.
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Pretty sure she got this many responses cuz shes attractive and not cuz anyone gives a sh*t if she likes chinese food or not.
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I don’t like Chinese food.
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I wonder if she’s fan of the Lyte Funky Ones (LFO) song, “Summer Girls”?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1dfEf1qOt4
Apparently, chinese food makes them sick.
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LWL – Please die a horrible death. Thanks.
I don’t think anyone deserved to experience that song, or that video.
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This little lady is cute as a button. And the fact that she doesn’t eat ‘chinese’ only adds to her allure (and to her level of intelligence).
Alexi, my dear, you REALLY should consider moving to civilization (even Atlanta would be an improvement).
Otherwise, best of luck to you.
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That’s the worst song I’ve ever heard.
Nearly as bad as this. -
Just about anywhere would be better than a rusted-out singlewide in deep rural Arkansas, ie Casa de la DocChuck – but NYC and Bedrock are both fine places to live
Nice clavicles.