PROFILE: Midtown Lunch’er “Michael Psilakis” PLUS a Lamb Cookbook Giveaway
Every Tuesday I turn over the site to a different Midtown Lunch’er for his or her recommendations for the best lunch in Midtown. In addition to being a long time fan of Kefi (on the Upper West Side), it’s no secret that I’m also a huge fan of the lamb burger at Anthos on 52nd btw. 5+6th. So I’m incredibly honored to welcome this week’s Profiled Midtown Lunch’er, Chef Michael Psilakis… PLUS we have a copy of his new cookbook “How To Roast a Lamb” to give away at the end of the profile.
Name: Michael
Age: 41
Occupation: Chef/Owner of Anthos, Kefi, Gus & Gabriel and Eos in Miami, FL.
Where in Midtown do you Work?: I float around to all of my restaurants constantly, but am mostly on the Upper West Side at Kefi in our offices up there.
Favorite Kind of Food: I appreciate any and all types of food, but if I had to pick one it would definitely have to be Greek food… or pizza.
Least Favorite Kind of Food: That’s impossible! I do not have one, does not exist.
Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Midtown: I love the cheeseburger at the Burger Joint (on 56th btw. 6+7th.) That place is like an oasis with neon signage. Another place I really enjoy, that is out of ML’s price range but worth a splurge, is Esca (on 43rd and 9th) for the whole grilled fish. It doesn’t matter what type of fish, you know when you go there it’s always fresh and doused with really, really good olive oil.
“Go-To” Lunch Place You and Your Coworkers Eat at Too Often? The basket of hot bread waiting to be taken out by our waiters for bread service. What? We’re busy!
Place(s) you discovered thanks to Midtown Lunch? I can’t say that I have, unfortunately. I am always keeping an eye on Greek spots though and think I might check out this Uncle Nick’s and Poseidon Bakery over on 9th Avenue.
If you could work anywhere (just because of the lunch) where would it be and why? Greece, no question. The produce that is grown under that sun is just superb. I would sauté up some vegetables in a little extra virgin olive oil from Crete with some roasted whole fish or lamb. That’s heaven.
Is there anything you’d like to ask the Midtown Lunch readers? Wow man that’s a great question. Thank you. I don’t think anyone’s ever asked me that before. I think I am most curious about your readers’ mentality when it comes to their own definition of value in these tough times. Is value a casual meal from a Michelin-starred chef for $50 as opposed to $250? Or is it spending $2.50 on a souvlaki from a street vendor? And are they willing to travel that extra five or ten blocks, or take that subway ride for something cheaper than what’s around the corner, or are they traveling for the higher quality meal at the same price point? I’m really looking forward to reading what you all have to say.
All of the above as far as I’m concerned. This site is all about value! And traveling distances to find the best meal, as long as it’s under $10. I feel like nobody should have to pay more for a decent lunch (dinner is a different story!)
Alright on to business… want to win a copy of Michael’s new cookbook “How to Roast a Lamb: New Greek Classic Cooking”? Just make a comment below and you’re entered to win. Either answer Michael’s question about what your idea of value is, or comment about something else (say, your favorite Greek dish in New York City) and you’re automatically entered to win. A winner will be drawn a week from today at Noon (on 11/30.)
And as always if you 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 by Zach Brooks at 11:45 am, November 24th, 2009 under PROFILE: Midtown Lunch'er.
85 Comments | RSS comments feed for this post
85 Comments
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As others have said, value is getting higher quality or more quantity than you usually expect for a given dollar amount. Personally, I prefer to get a higher quality of goods than a greater quantity of goods.
As for traveling for value… the distance and time I’m willing to travel is proportional to the value “ratio”!
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I love great values and would travel far and wide for a great bang for your buck. But, if you are really on a budget, you must consider the cost of the subway ride ($5.50 round trip), thus making a $10 lunch a $15 dollar lunch..I would do it anyways..bon appetit!
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I think Anthos is a good value. It is one of the only spots in midtown (Modern and Mylos are the other two) where I am willing to drop some serious coin for a meal. Other spots are fine when someone else is paying but they provide such a poor “value” that I won’t go if I’m paying.
Given that most of my coworkers eat at the Metro in our building, I think I am more unusual in that I am willing to walk a few blocks for my meal each day. The issue there is mostly time. I am willing to travel a bit further to try something but it would have to be something really special since there are a handful of go-to places within 3 blocks.
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ok, how about Scott Ian from Anthrax?
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my $3 falafel sandwich from xpl was an excellent value!!!
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i thought it was pitbull.
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In Manhattan, I love Kellari Taverna. In Astoria, Opa’s a classic spot, but Agnanti is clearly the winner. I haven’t shelled out for Molyvos in years, and haven’t made it to Anthos yet (though I’m looking forward to it).
But my husband and I think Kefi is just about the best value in Manhattan, for any kind of food. And that Greek margarita is killer!
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@Apikoros18, LOL with the DC villain comment, that sums it up perfectly (no offense to Michael, I am the LAST person in the world to be critical of anyone’s looks).
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I liked the remark about the bread basket. Totally what we did at my first job (wasn’t everyone’s first job at a restaurant?). We were so busy we worked right through lunch.
Kefi is an awesome restaurant. I went when it was still at 222. Haven’t been to the new location yet but congrats. I hope the transition worked out!
Waitstaff is awesome. Mr Psilakis, I don’t know if you were ever told (and I hope no one gets in trouble for this) but I was there 2 summers ago and I had ordered the rabbit pasta. Halfway into the dish I found a huge and sharp piece of plastic tucked under a piece of meat. (Packaging for the meat, I was told)
I brought it to the waiter’s attention and he was very cordial and tried to hint that there could be some sort of compensation involved. Very intelligent man. The walnut cake and ice cream was delicious.
Also, I thought you gave had most valuable input as a judge on URS. Speaking of value, I personally would not travel beyond 10 minutes during lunchtime for a higher quality meal at the same price point.
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While I agree with most of the above commenters that value’s context-specific, I lean more toward chris6sigma’s side of the fence. I’m always happy to be pleasantly surprised by getting something quality for cheap, but I jump all over deals like a $50 meal from a place I’m very excited about. Similarly, sometimes restaurants add an extra flourish that makes a meal special. For example, a couple years ago I took my girlfriend’s family for a meal at Tabla as part of some Continental restaurant promotion. It was a prix-fixe, and included a kitchen tour and signed copy of Chef Cardoz’s cookbook. For me, it was a cheaper meal than I’d normally get at a restaurant I like, and the extra touches made it a really special occasion for my guests.
(As a side note, I also felt both Kefi and Anthos were exceptional values.)
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Michael, you need to have the lamb burger at kefi too, that would be value.
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Value to me is based on how much it would cost to make at home, including the trouble involved as well as a measure for expertise or technique or some special secret that makes something extra tasty. Like the sea urchin and crab spaghetti at Esca is $20 or so, if the price didn’t go up, but it’s good value for a dish eaten infrequently because of the expense and trouble of gathering the ingredients–I don’t think they just allow you to buy three sea urchin–you have to buy a whole little box. That said, I don’t even want to encounter any new foods that I like for more than that price. It seems unnecessary when there’s so much good food out there for less.
The worst value is buying an iced coffee everyday, like I do, and sometimes I resort to Pret sandwiches which make me feel clean but financially guilty cause c’mon, I can do that at home.
My current obsession is with the $14 lobster roll at Luke’s Lobster in the East Village. I think I can pull it off at home and would if I were cooking for more than two people, but it’s half the price of Pearl’s or Mary’s and I like it more, so I fool myself into thinking it’s good value.
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Also anything deep-fried is good value because I can’t bring myself to try it at home.
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When it comes to dinner I’m always willing to pay a little extra for better ingredients. Better meaning fresher and higher quality. Also if I can’t make it home I’ll pay more
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value means both; it simply depends on what i’m looking to eat.
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I love my four-for-a-dollar dumplings, but I also value a nice meal that runs $80 a head — it can be a great way to spend two or three hours. Value is getting a lot for your money, no matter how much money that is.
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Value is a place like Kefi; quality food thats interesting & not too expensive & worth a trip even if you don’t live in the nabe
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Out of his restaurants, Kefi is my favorite
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Best Greek food in Florida is a little place on the corner of Atlantic and Military in Delray Beach.
BTW, forget about trying to mix “price” and “expectations” to define “value.” Value is when you wouldn’t hesitate to come back to a place, whether it be a street cart or a formal restaurant. That covers it.
The comments in this thread rival the comments in the fresh and fast debate. And not to demean our guest/freak of the week, but to me, he looks more like an early 80’s DC Villain then Michael Symon.