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 Jen, a grant writer in Bryant Park who wishes she was lunching in Hong Kong.

Name: Jen

Age: 32

Occupation: Grant Writer

Where in Midtown do you work? Bryant Park

Favorite Kind of Food: Anything that’s spicy. I love exxxtra hot Thai and Indian curry. Peruvian aji sauce = amazing. I’m always looking for great Buffalo Wings. Piri Piri chicken needs to happen in this city, stat.

Least Favorite Kind of Food: I’m wary of raw seafood and fish dishes, but I’ll usually still eat it if it’s there.

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Midtown: Right now? Go! Go! Curry (on 38th btw. 7+8th), Bian Dang, Comme Ci Comme Ca, and Cinnamon Snail.

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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 Brooke, a quiche hating lawyer who seems to do a lot of food truck eating.

Name: Brooke

Age: 26

Occupation: Attorney Editor for a legal publishing company

Where in Midtown do you work? 46th & 3rd Ave.

Favorite Kind of Food: Italian, Sushi, Mexican…and really good buffalo wings. I went to college in Buffalo so I have pretty high standards for buffalo wings now, and really, who doesn’t love buffalo wings?

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Quiche…just the thought of it makes me sick.

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Midtown: I’m a big fan of the chicken (original or grilled) wraps at Schnitzel and Things (45th and 3rd). It’s right by my office so it’s convenient and they give a pretty great amount of food for the money. Pulled duroc pork sandwiches from Num Pang (41st btwn 3rd & Lex). I also really like the salads and platters at Uncle Gussy’s (always parked at the corner of 51st and Park). Nick and Franky are two of the nicest people serving food in Midtown, they’re always so friendly, they leave you and your stomach happy.

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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 Mike, a non profit marketer who has a good halal rec near Columbus Circle.

Name: Mike

Age: 34

Occupation: Non-profit marketer

Where in Midtown do you work? 61st & Columbus

Favorite Kind of Food: Mexican

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Chinese-American (I won’t say Chinese because I’ve never had the real stuff)

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Midtown: Chai Thai (55th and 8th) – super tasty, quick and cheap sit-down joint. The Pad Sea Eiw is like crack. The Flame Diner (58th and 9th) – dependable diner food; vines on the ceiling. Turkey burger and turkey club are standards. Halal Food Cart (61st and Broadway) – in a land of a thousand Halal carts, the guy with the beanie hat is king. Chicken over rice goodness for just $5.

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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 Yesbelt, an assistant and blogger pizza enthusiast who wishes she could move to Naples for the carbs …

Name: Yesbelt

Age: 32

Occupation: Assistant and Blogger

Where in Midtown do you work? 46th & Park and 48th & Madison

Favorite Kind of Food: Pizza! I can eat it all the time but it has to be good as I’ve become a bit of a pizza snob. I also really like sandwiches and I don’t discriminate, I like all kinds. I find it hard to be disappointed by Mexican food; tacos and enchiladas are so good.

Least Favorite Kind of Food: It’s hard to answer this but I’m going to go with authentic Chinese. I just think it is scary.

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Midtown: 48th St between Madison and 5th has three of my favorite places. Mangia: the food is so good especially the Telera sandwich, anything in the food court, and the fresh juices. Toasties has delicious and creative sandwiches and a very good hot food buffet. Hatsuhana has the freshest and best tasting Sushi around; I like to go there when I want to treat myself.

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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 Ross, a finance guy by day/DJ by night who’s still looking for a mind blowing breakfast in Midtown West.

Name: Ross

Age: 26

Occupation: Finance (day) / DJ (night)

Where in Midtown do you work? Markit, 40th & 8th Avenue, in the NY Times Building

Favorite Kind of Food: Mexican

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Cheap sushi

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Midtown: Shorty’s (on 9th btw. 41+42nd) for their classic and Mozzarella Triangles, Potbelly’s wreck, Italian, and chicken Salad, Tabata Noodle (on 9th btw. 39+40th) for their shuo and miso ramen (spicy ramen is amazing as well), and Totto Ramen (on 52nd btw. 8+9th) for the Totto spicy Ramen and Totto miso ramen.

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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 Megan, a digital strategist who wishes she worked in Chinatown and is looking for some good sushi recs…

Name: Megan

Age: 22

Occupation: Digital Strategist

Where in Midtown do you work? The wonderful corner of 57th and 3rd.

Favorite Kind of Food: Vietnamese, Dim Sum, Brussels sprouts and all the sandwiches of the world.

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Bean sprouts

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Midtown: The Buffalo Artichoke and Italian Wedding slices at Pizza by Cer Te on 56th btwn Lex and Park are killer (dab a little bit of their habenero sauce for an extra kick). At Chola Eclectic Indian Cuisine on 58th btwn 3rd and 2nd, $8 gets you all-the-indian-food-you-can-stuff-into-a-to-go-container and it’s pretty damn good but always makes me super sleepy. Korilla BBQ was awesome but then they stopped parking at 56th and Lex (what’s up with that?).

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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 Jessica, an art museum worker bee who’d love to live in Pakistan.

Name: Jessica

Age: 27

Occupation: Art Museum Worker Bee

Where in Midtown do you work? Flatiron, formally at 75 Rock

Favorite Kind of Food: I grew up around a lot of different cultures, so I have a lot of favorites. Sicilian, Colombian, Lebanese, Chinese … if I had to choose one dish I’d probably pick a big ol’ plate of rice, red beans and sweet plantains for my go to comfort food. Close seconds include: ANY pasta, pork dumplings, and Entenmann’s banana cake with the chocolate and the crumb topping (yup, I went there).

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Raw Onion, Yogurt.

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Midtown: El Sabroso aka the garment district freight elevator, Qwik Meal, Hallo Berlin, Woorijip, the counter at Grand Central Oyster Bar.
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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 Grace, a Vegetarian from Long Beach who doesn’t understand why NYC can’t be home to decent Mexican food.

Name: Grace

Age: 32

Occupation: Director of Production

Where in Midtown do you work? NYC garment district @ a contemporary womens clothing company called Yoana Baraschi.

Favorite Kind of Food: I’m a vegetarian, so anything with fresh delicious veggies is a win. I’m a sucker for a good sandwich, and I’ll never turn a vegetarian mezze plate.

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Pickles, pancakes, baked potatoes & French toast.

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Midtown: Pomodoro on 9th btw 38+39th. Everything is amazing, a few of my favorites are the carrot soup, beet salad & caprese sandwich. They use great bread and everything is super fresh! Cafe Piccolo on 40th between 7th & 8th. Don’t get me wrong, I love your basic egg on a roll that you can get at any deli in this city, but when I want an egg sandwich, and don’t want to look like I’m trying to cure a hang over, Cafe Piccolo is the place to go. I like to think of it as a “classy” egg sandwich. Really fresh, and they have all sorts of good extras like truffle! Kati Roll on 39th between 5th & 6th. Is there anything better than a warm paratha bread wrap filled with spicy & savory potatoes (aloo masala)?? This place is a god send in restaurant wasteland otherwise known as The Garment District. It’s a little bit of a walk from my office, but worth it if I can spare the time. Buongiorno Espresso Bar on 38th & 9th ave. They make a mean cup of coffee & brew their ice tea fresh when you order. A MUCH better alternative to Starbucks.

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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 Yaniv, a software designer who hates Pret and misses Pick-a-Pita.

Name: Yaniv

Age: 37

Occupation: Education Software Designer

Where in Midtown do you work? Pearson, 37th and 7th Ave.

Favorite Kind of Food: Spicy, unusual, only-in-new-york, cheap

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Boring sandwiches, Pret a Manger

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Midtown: Achari paneer rolls at Kati Roll (on 39th btw. 5+6th). Hot wings lunch special at Bon Chon (on 38th btw. 7+8th). Pastrami on rye at Ben’s Kosher Deli (on 38th btw. 7+8th). Hot tofu ramen soup at Sapporo (on 49th btw. 6+7th). Cheeseburger and beer at Keen’s (on 36th btw 5+6th). Italian hero at Shamas Deli (under the parking garage on 38th btw. B’way+7th). And for a splurge, oysters on the half shell at The Oyster Bar in Grand Central. For dessert, the by-the-pound M&M bar at the M&M shop in Times Square.

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Every Tuesday we turn over the site to a different Midtown Lunch’er for his or her recommendations for the best lunch in Midtown. Sometimes it’s hard to remember that Broadway theaters are just as much a part of Midtown as the big office buildings. So this week we’re excited to welcome Sandy, a theater critic who hates McDonald’s and used ML to get over her fear of street meat.

Name: Sandy

Age: 63

Occupation: Theatre Critic

Where in Midtown do you work? Mostly Times Square/Hell’s Kitchen

Favorite Kind of Food: Eclectic (virtually all)

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Fast (McDonald’s, etc.)

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Midtown: For a spur-of-the-moment Bryant Park picnic, I’ll stop in at Zeytinz (on 40th btw. 5+6th) for the Mediterranean cold buffet, especially the curried chicken salad, and some impeccable fruit (if you have a Times Square Alliance Card, they give a good discount). But I might get distracted en route by Cafe China’s (on 37th btw. Mad+5th) nostalgic atmosphere and well-priced pan-fried lamb with scallion. In the shadow of the New York Times building, I’m susceptible to Boi Noodle’s (on 40th btw. 7+8th) assorted banh mi. For a “walking lunch,” especially if running late, I’ll grab some fresh-made spanakopita and/or galakatoboureko at Poseidon Greek Bakery (on 9th btw. 44+45th).

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