PROFILE: Midtown Lunch’er “Lacey”
Every Tuesday I turn the site over to a Midtown Lunch’er for their recommendations of places to eat Lunch in Midtown. Today it’s Lacey, an Attorney on a desperate search for an all you can eat Gummy Candy buffet…
Name: Lacey
Age: 30
Occupation: Attorney
Where in Midtown do you Work?: 55th & Madison
Favorite Kind of Food: Hmmm… I tend to go for Asian type things first- Japanese, Thai, Vietnamese, Korean… but I also do enjoy good Mexican and Italian as well, anything else tasty. I also can’t get enough gummy candy. Sometimes I wish there was a gummy candy buffet that I could frequent.
Least Favorite Kind of Food: Wet bread- so no French onion soup or bread pudding for me. Ick. Also, can’t really get behind super extra greasy food, like the kind you have to blot before eating. (No bread pudding, or super greasy food! And you call that living??? -zach)
Favorite Place to Eat Lunch in Midtown: Men Kui Tei– Shoyu Ramen. Yum. Why don’t they deliver?
The “go-to” lunch place you and your co-workers eat at too often: I’m embarassed to admit it’s Chop’t. I know it’s expensive and kinda crappy… but it’s like 2 steps from my office and sometimes it’s really cold outside and you’re hungry and it’s right there.
Place you discovered on MidtownLunch.com: Oms/b… Okay, so I haven’t actually been yet, but it’s first on my list once the weather gets a little nicer. Rice balls… mmmmmm.
Dream job location for lunch purposes only, and why?: Downtown near Chinatown so I could eat all the delicious and super cheap Banh Mi (Vietnamese sandwiches) I wanted.
Anything you’d like to ask the Midtown Lunch readers?: 1. Where can I get a good cup of coffee in this neighborhood? My west coast coffee genes are getting really grumpy at the crappy coffee I keep drinking. 2. Any good Vietnamese food suggestions?
I totally agree on the Banh Mi. My favorite of these Vietnamese sandwiches, PLUS how you can be next week’s Profiled: Midtown Lunch’er, after the jump…
Unfortunately there is still no cheap Vietnamese food in Midtown! Very upsetting… but I think it’s only a matter of time before Banh Mi makes its way up here. If you haven’t had one of these delicious Vietnamese sandwiches yet, there are a ton of places in the Chinatown area to get your fix. Here’s my favorite place (on Broome btw. Mott & Elizabeth)
Photo Courtesy of Roboppy (aka The Girl Who Ate Everything)
For $4 and under, it really can’t be beat… But if price (or authenticity) is no object, my favorite Banh Mi is hands down David Chang’s Three Terrine version at Momofuku Ssam Bar:
It’s the one in the background (in the foreground is the equally delicious pork bun).
If you have any Coffee or Vietnamese suggestions for Lacey, post them as comments below… and as always if you have any Midtown Lunch news or you’d like to be next week’s Profiled: Midtown Lunch’er, just email me at zach@midtownlunch.com.
Posted by Zach at 9:12 am, March 6th, 2007 under PROFILE: Midtown Lunch'er.
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8 Comments
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For Banh Mi–I still stand by Saigon Bakery at 138 Mott. Great quality, great size (one sandwich is pretty much enough for two people), and fresh ingredients. Give it a try, but get there early as they tend to run out of ingredients (usually chicken…they always seem to have pork).
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Saigon Bakery has way better banh mi’s than Banh Mi So! Also they’re cheaper.
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Best coffee in Midtown is Oren’s, 58th between Madison & Park.
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Zibettos on 6th btw. 56 & 57. Espresso pulled fresh like you were in Roma.
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If you want great coffee you have to Cafe Grumpy in Chelsea, W 20th btwn 7th & 8th, which was actually recommended to me by one of the baristas at Zibetto. While you’re hitting up Zibetto, check out the Parker Meridian Burger Joint. I feel your pain about the Veitnamese and Chop’t- I’m a block south of you and going stir crazy for lunch options.
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zibetto rules. if that’s not the best coffee in midtown, i don’t know what is. (Oren’s, I know, is not…)
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There’s a Vietnamese restaurant called Saigon 48 on 48th Street between Broadway and 8th. Their lunch special is 6.45, and the food is okay. Quality of food however is slightly better than what you would get in Chinatown so I don’t mind if I’m paying 2 dollars more. Most of the dishes are more on the bland side, but if you must satisfy a craving, this is it. They also serve french pressed coffee with condensed milk there, the Vietnamese coffee. Must warn: I typically eat there 2-3 a week but stopped because I found a roach in one of my meal, and now I can never go back. I get Vietnamese food withdrawal now and must live with eating Thai or Chinese, but it’s just not the same. I want Grilled Beef on Rice!
Lacey,
Give FIKA Swedish Espresso Bar a try. It’s seriously slammin’ coffee. Like the kind that you can drink 3 cups of back-to-back. It’s at 58th b/w 5 & 6. Kinda a trek for you, but totally worth it.
Yay banh mi!