Midtown Lunch

Every Tuesday we 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 Patrick, an eggplant loving improv teacher who wishes he were in Sicily.

Name: Patrick

Age: 27

Occupation: Comedian and improv teacher at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre. (And check me out in the webseries Cooking for One.)

Where in Midtown do you Work?: All over midtown, but usually in the 30s around 7th and 8th Aves.

Favorite Kind of Food: I get really excited for just about every kind of cuisine. Eggplant is probably my favorite trans-cuisinental ingredient. Baingan bartha, baba ghanoush, roasted in olive oil with a little salt and pepper, doused in miso paste, or hidden under a blanket of melted cheese and tomato sauce–I love it all. Oh, and I love pickles and coincidentally play a pickler in the latest episode of Cooking for One at cookingforone.tv which you should check out.

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Anything with too much cilantro, raw onion or garlic. What are you trying to hide? Moderation, please! Also, inedible garnish confuses me.

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Midtown: There’s a magnet in my stomach that is drawn to Mooncake Foods (the one on 30th between 7th and 8th). I’ve tried and enjoyed just about everything on the menu, but I go back to their buckwheat noodle salad with chicken 4 times out of 5. The ginger cilantro pesto is…well just trying to think of the right adjective made my stomach gurgle. I also eat at Schnipper’s (on 41st and 8th) like it’s a part time job. For a while they had a fish sandwich special that I hope they bring back. The mac & joe is another favorite dish and not nearly as gas-inducing as you’d expect. The Schnipper’s Mish Mosh shames the chopped salads you get at generic delis. Everyone who works there is so lovely and the people watching is great.

“Go-To” Lunch Place You and Your Coworkers Eat at Too Often? I’m often near Madison Sq Park around lunchtime. About once a week in the warmer months I’ll meet a friend who works nearby at Shake Shack. Coincidentally, I put on a lot of weight in the warmer months. When there’s always a milkshake of the day, it’s hard not to get the milkshake of the day.

Place(s) you discovered thanks to Midtown Lunch? Discovering both Midtown Lunch and the El Rey del Sabor food cart on 60th and 3rd revolutionized my lunch hour just as I was transitioning out of my old day job back in 2009. It was one of the things I was saddest to leave behind.

If you could work anywhere (just because of the lunch) where would it be and why? Sicily. My heart goes pitter patter for big hunks of bread, cheese and meat; and the produce there is mind blowing. I don’t eat pork products but there’s a huge asterisk next to that statement when I’m in Italy.

Anything you’d like to ask the Midtown Lunch readers? Three things. 1) Is there any decent pizza in Midtown? 2) What’s a tasty healthy option in the west 30s? 3) Have you seen Cooking for One yet at cookingforone.tv? It clearly means a lot to me if I’ve plugged it three times.

Got an answer for Patrick? Put it in the comments. And, as always if you want to be next week’s Profiled: Midtown Lunch’er (or know somebody you’d like to nominate), email editor@midtownlunch.com.