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 we’re excited to introduce Jeremiah, a media dude who will be officially contributing to Midtown Lunch starting this week. Tomorrow he’s going to tell us all about a gravy topped hot beef sandwich hiding inside a generic deli in Midtown West… today, he’s your profiled Midtown Lunch’er.

Name: Jeremiah

Age: 27

Occupation: Media Professional and Internet Mogul

Where in Midtown do you Work?: Bryant Park

Favorite Kind of Food: I really don’t have one, but I think I could eat Mediterranean food every day of the week without a problem. Also, the Garbage Plate is a hometown favorite that stands above just about every meal out there.

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Again, I really don’t have one, there’s not really any food I won’t eat or never enjoy. I guess I’ve never had much luck with cold soups. Then again I haven’t had many cause they kind of seem like an oxymoron.

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Midtown: The shredded pork with garlic sauce (amongst other things) at Szechuan Gourmet (on 39th btw. 5+6th). The chicken quesadilla from El Rey del Sabor (on 43rd and 6th). Chicken over rice from Kwik Meal, on 45th and 6th (that lamb is too expensive and too high quality for its own good). The kofta and rice from Little Morocco (on 39th and 7th)

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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 Sammy, a social media grunt who is looking for some breakfast.

Name: Sammy

Age: 29

Occupation: Media and Communications Specialist (Social Media Grunt)

Where in Midtown do you Work?: Bryant Park

Favorite Kind of Food: Changes with my mood. I suppose I could eat like the French daily.

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Steam tables. Midtown hero/grinder/subs with a few exceptions.

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Midtown: Lan Sheng (on 39th btw. 5+6th): shrimp w/ tofu (ask for it spicy). Trini Paki Cart (on 43rd and 6th): Lamb over rice with everything. I am thrilled that 2 Bros. opened up right in midtown. Clearly not the best pizza, but better than Little Italy and the like and so very cheap.

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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 Wendy, a “fact nerd” (?) who would rather be lunching in Laos.

Name: Wendy

Age: 43

Occupation: Fact nerd

Where in Midtown do you Work?: Times Square

Favorite Kind of Food: Mexican, anything Asian (Korean, Chinese, Japanese, Taiwanese, Singaporean, Thai, Vietnamese Filipino)

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Italian (yes, it’s true, but I’m not that weird)

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Midtown: El Ray De Sabor Mexican Cart (on 43rd st and 6th): Sopas with spicy pork and mole sauce; nachos with mole and green sauce, tamales. Cafe Zaiya (on 41st btw. Mad+5th): Spicy tuna rice ball, curry, the roll cake. Bon Chon (on 38th btw. 7+8th): spicy fried chicken. Kwik Meal (on 45th and 6th): Lamb and chicken combo with extra spicy sauce. Ying Du (on 38th btw. 7+8th): BBQ pork. Spice Fusion (on 8th Ave. btw. 47+48th): buffet. La Rosita (on 47th btw. 10+11th): sopes with guacamole. Yagura Japanese Grocery (on 41st btw. Mad+5th): Chicken Teriyaki. Indus Express (on 48th btw. 5+6th): Chaat

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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 Michelle, a Vegetarian who hates tuna fish (natch) but loves mapo tofu without the pork (natch, as well.)

Name: Michelle

Age: 22

Occupation: Crisis Communication

Where in Midtown do you Work?: Alliance Bernstein building on 6th Avenue

Favorite Kind of Food: I love beans and rice, guacamole/avocado and Asian food. I had the greatest dish at China Grill (on 53rd btw. 5+6th): fried rice with avocado salad on top. Sounds wrong, but it was certainly a case of when the sum is greater than its parts. Oh and ma po tofu, sans pork. The best clearly comes from Grand Sichuan, with Wu Liang Ye (on 48th btw. 5+6th) and Szechuan Gourmet (on 56th btw. B’way+8th) coming as runner ups.

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Tuna Fish

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Midtown: Cer te (on 55th btw. 5+6th) is great. Many of the places profiled on Midtown lunch are out of my upperwest midtown reach. But Cer te has lots of choices every day and they make a great taco salad, which I judge by the avocado quotient. Plus, when you order a taco bowl it comes in a cake box. It’s that large. Mee Noodles (on 9th btw. 52+53rd) has great fried rice and scallion pancakes. I have the advantage of living in the neighborhood so I can explore for lunch AND dinner.

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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 Adam, an accountant who offered his services to tally the results from Street Meat Palooza 3… which will be posted tomorrow!

Name: Adam

Age: 23

Occupation: Accountant

Where in Midtown do you Work?: Berdon LLP

Favorite Kind of Food: I love all food, but if I had to eat the same thing every day it would be seafood, even if led to me developing mercury poison and having to quit my job (ala Jeremy Piven). I also love sweets, so I try not to go to the Chelsea market because Witch Brownies stimulate a crack-like addiction and Bouchon Macaroons and Levain cookies are only blocks away from where I live.

Least Favorite Kind of Food: I detest tuna fish or any other food that reminds me of it i.e. chicken salad, egg salad, etc. But besides that I eat anything, a nice Jewish boy who loves all the good things in life.

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Midtown: XPL and Kwik Meal carts (Combo over rice w/ extra hot sauce), Blarney Stone on 3rd btw. 45+46th (Burger w/ onion rings), Toasties (had cut steak sandwich with onions and horseradish sauce), and I love taking the hike up to Gourmet 53 (on 3rd btw. 52+53rd) for whatever the daily lunch special happens to be. Although its prices are high I have to mention Dishes cause their hot buffet is great. My favorite midtown dish is the Wok Tossed Chicken and Chilis at Szechuan Gourmet.

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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 Kyle, a graphic designer who is not picky but is kind of scared of street meat.

Name: Kyle

Age: 33

Occupation: Graphic Designer

Where in Midtown do you Work?: 39th & 6th

Favorite Kind of Food: I’m not picky AT ALL when it comes to food. I’ll try anything once. Favorite is hard to say, maybe Thai. I love a (medium/hot) red curry. Could eat it everyday. I also like anything that comes with sour cream. Sour cream has to be my all time favorite condiment, so I like Mexican food. Have you tried the tater tots at HB? If not you should! I like sushi, but don’t eat it a lot (not sure why), I’m kinda a bar girl, so a really good burger and maybe some chicken wings to start, (with a cold beer) is always good! (but not normally for lunch).

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Again, not picky, but I don’t care for Italian food, unless it’s pizza. And I will only eat pizza in the NYC metro area. I’m not big on pasta and most Italian restaurants have too much breading on everything and they smother it in sauce.

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Midtown: Madeline (on 39th btw. 5+6th), CRISP (on 40th btw. B’way+6th), Hale and Hearty, Szechuan Gourmet (on 39th btw. 5+6th), Olympic Pita (or whatever it’s called now), Cafe Zaiya (the one in the book store on 6th), Macaron Café (on 36th btw. B’way+7th). Their Tuesday special, is wonderful, and so is their farm salad and you have to pick up a macaron too. I like to try new things so I visit midtownlunch everyday to see what’s going on and what good. In the summer I love to go to one of the delis get a sandwich or salad and sit in Bryant Park. I keep a blanket under my desk at work for such days.

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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 Will “The Champ” Millender… the winner of Baja Fresh’s Cinco de Mayo burrito eating contest, and a likely qualifier in Go Go Curry’s eating championship. Customer service dude by day, competitive eater by…uh… night? And clearly a favorite to make the Profiled Midtown Lunch’er hall of fame!

Name: Will “The Champ” Millender

Age: 29

Occupation: Customer Service/Competitive Eater

Where in Midtown do you Work?: 45th St. and Madison Ave.

Favorite Kind of Food: Favorite Kind of Food: I have a lot of favorites. Unfortunately they tend to be unhealthy. Go figure. I’d say my favorite food item is Onion Rings. However, for a meal, Pizza is probably my favorite thing. And since I live in a heavily Italian populated neighborhood in Brooklyn (Bay Ridge). I’m a bit spoiled.

Least Favorite Kind of Food: I don’t dig Shrimp and Lobster. I’m not a big fan of the fact that they fall in the same species class as the cockroach. Just can’t seem to get the image out of my head. For some reason, I’m able to make an exception for crab once in awhile though.

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Midtown: I enjoy the heck out of the salads at Dishes (on 45th btw. Mad+5th). I can’t tell you why, but their salads, as simple as it sounds, just taste better than anywhere else. Maybe they use magic. They also make a mean Coconut Fried Chicken, but it’s way expensive if you want more than one or two pieces. I like the Meatloaf Sandwich from ‘wichcraft with their cream sandwich cookies for a dessert. Fast food wise, I like that there is a Ranch One nearby (on 46th btw. 5+6th). I haven’t ordered from there as much because I was dissatisfied with my first order, but I’m going to have to give it another go soon. Lastly and most surprisingly, the Duane Reade on 5th and 44th has sandwiches that are made by their Delish brand which are quite tasty if you’re in a rush.

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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 Chris, a Schnitzel Truck loving software developer who is probably eating the new schnitzel down while you’re read this…

Name: Chris

Age: 34

Occupation: Software Developer

Where in Midtown do you Work?: 48th & Madison

Favorite Kind of Food: To generalize, I suppose Japanese food is kind of the pinnacle of food-taken-to-perfection that blows my mind, but man, I’ll eat anything. My short, shameful addiction is buffalo chicken. Tassie’s Buffalo Strips at the Outback, of all places — I’m sure the sauce consists mainly of hydrogenated petrochemicals, but I don’t care. It’s a religious experience. And nice chunky bleu cheese. Anyway, forget you read that and pretend I said something about free range bacon with a salad of organically raised ramps and dandelion marmalade from Wind Rainbow Farms in upstate NY. I don’t want to get kicked out of the foodie club.

Least Favorite Kind of Food: I don’t generally care for olives. But I do like a good tapenade. Damnit, now I really want a muffaletta. Oh, and I’ve never tried coffee or alcohol. Not because I’m a Mormon or something, I just think it’s fun to maintain a small, pointless eccentricity.

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Midtown: Schnitzel Truck (pork or veal). Katsuhama: I love me a good katsudon. Tri-Tip Grill (in Rock Center) has got my attention, because it used to be a once-a-year treat to go to Buckhorn when I’m in California. Kati Rolls from the Biryani Cart. At the risk of being excommunicated, I like to get the Santa Fe salad with fried chicken and tex-mex dressing from Chop’t. It’s a man’s salad.

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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 Jennie, the lunch’er who tipped us off to Bann Next Door a few weeks ago.  (Thanks again!)

Name: Jennie

Age: Sometimes I have the food habits of a 13 year old boy who plays a lot of video games (pizza and coca-cola with flamin’ hot cheetos as a side dish, and a snickers bar for dessert).

Occupation: Advertising Operations Manager

Where in Midtown do you Work?: Parade in Midtown East (near Grand Central/United Nations)

Favorite Kind of Food: Tuna sashimi, fancy sandwiches, a good burger, pepperoni pizza with a lot of Tabasco, spam and eggs on rice with nori and kimchee, lobster rolls, fish tacos/burritos, donkatsu, soon doo boo, arepas, pho…I can keep going.

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Licorice

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Midtown: Crisp Africa wrap (I’d eat there more often if it was cheaper), Roast Duck Noodle Soup at Mee Noodles (2nd Ave. btw. 48+49th), Any of the noodle dishes at Menchanko-tei (on 45th btw. Lex+3rd), fish burritos at Pampano Taqueria (on 3rd btw. 49+50th), the cold buffet at Amish market (on 45th btw. 2+3rd) has a good selection of prepared salads that uses unusual vegetables (like jicama, different types of mushrooms), The Health Nut on 2nd Ave. btw. 44+45th (I like their curries but they also have a nice buffet of vegetarian options), and Oms/b (on 45th btw. Lex+3rd).

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Every Tuesday I 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 Francois, a Montreal native who worships Calvin Trillin.

Name: Francois

Age: 37

Occupation: History Professor

Where in Midtown do you Work?: Normally I live and work in Montreal, but I’m on sabbatical this year and, due to what was no doubt a clerical error, was granted a fellowship at the famed Dorothy and Lewis Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers, at the spectacular main branch of the New York Public Library, where I get to hobnob with the great and good of New York’s literary scene and cavort with famed academics as I enjoy what I’m frequently told is the best year of my life.

Favorite Kind of Food: Of course it depends on my mood, but my favorite eating experiences are usually hole-in-the wall-type food, intensely local, with big flavors: spicy, smoky, peppery, you name it. It might help explain my taste to say that Calvin Trillin is my hero.

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Generic faux fancy food, the sort of dreck that is corporatized to the lowest common denominator, mostly found in shopping malls in wealthy suburbs, that combines high prices with branded imaging and is marked by a stunning absence of taste.

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Midtown: I’m in love with Margon (on 46th btw. 6+7th), and especially the staff there. (I couldn’t have been happier to see a cameo of it in a recent late night 30 Rock marathon viewing extravaganza I competed in against… myself, which I’m glad to say I won in record time.) The Grand Central Oyster Bar is a fantastic place for that Mad Men 1950s feel, and for the miraculous fact that it is not overrun with tourists. Szechuan Gourmet (on 39th btw. 5+6th) is great, of course. My two favorite food carts so far are the Kwik Meal and Biryani carts; it kills me that Montreal outlawed street food due to the pressure of restaurants and convenience stores. All of these are within five minutes of the library; I admit my geographic scope is limited by my inherent laziness. Finally, although it’s out of range, I have to give a shout out to Nam Pang, just south of Union Square, which serves the most amazing Cambodian sandwiches hands down superior to anything I ate in Cambodia.

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