Midtown NYC

PROFILE: Midtown Lunch’er “Jess”

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 Jess, a student for 4 more days who hates bananas but loves pie.

Name: Jess

Age: 22

Occupation: I’m technically a full-time student until I graduate on Saturday. After then, I’ll be a part-time foreign claims examiner, part-time freelance writer and full-time destroying my kitchen with my own cooking.

Where in Midtown do you Work?: 6th btw. 47+48th

Favorite Kind of Food: I’m an adventurous eater, so it’s hard to really pinpoint my all-time fave. Lately, though, I’ve been craving some good Middle Eastern cuisine (can’t get enough of falafel and babaganoush) and vegan dishes. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good plate of meat. But it’s intriguing to discover all the different things you can do with tofu and seitan.

Least Favorite Kind of Food: I have a HUGE disdain for bananas. Blame it on the Mama Bear force-feeding me too many when I was a toddler, but I can’t be anywhere near ‘em.

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Midtown: Café Zaiya (on 43rd btw. Mad+5th) holds a special place in my heart for their epic bento boxes and egg salad sandwich (random, I know). Burger Joint (on 56th btw. 6+7th) makes my tummy feel immensely satisfied. The Halal Guys cart (the one on the southeast corner) is also good for my chicken and rice cravings at 12:46 PM or 2:19 AM.

“Go-To” Lunch Place You and Your Coworkers Eat at Too Often? I’m the type of person who travels to different boroughs solely for food trucks. While I won’t get into how much I love the Red Hook trucks right now, I WILL rave the likes of Schnitzel and Things and Wafels and Dinges. The schnitzel truck has that great platter special where you really get the bang for your buck, and their potato salad is out of this world. In terms of Wafels, I can see why Bobby Flay lost that throwdown against them. I can eat their spekuloos spread with a spoon.

Place(s) you discovered thanks to Midtown Lunch? Akdeniz Turkish Cuisine (on 46th btw. 5+6th) makes an awesome grilled calamari salad and white bean salad that I can’t live without. Also, Margon (on 46th btw. 6+7th) has that Cuban sandwich that makes me salivate whenever I think about it.

If you could work anywhere (just because of the lunch) where would it be and why? I lived in London for a long while last summer, and chowed down on some really good stuff there. I found the best grilled cheese and coffee in the world at Borough Market, and Camden Market also had a fun foodie atmosphere. Also, Wagamama NEEDS to come to NYC stat. If you’ve ever been to Wagamama, you’d known how amazeballs this place is.

Anything you’d like to ask the Midtown Lunch readers? So, where can I find some great pie around these parts?

Got an answer for Jess? 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.

Posted by Zach Brooks at 11:45 am, May 17th, 2011 under PROFILE: Midtown Lunch'er.
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