Midtown Lunch

Every Tuesday I turn over the site to a Midtown Lunch’er for their recommendations of places to eat lunch in Midtown.  After 3 women in a row (two of them Mets fans), I asked for a Yankees fan who was a guy- and got one. Meet Justin, an Accountant/Yankees Fan- neither of which is apparent from his picture…

Name: Justin

Age: 26

Occupation: Accountant

Where in Midtown do you Work?: My main office is on 51st between Park+Lex, but I worked for months at 47th between Park+Lex.

Favorite Kind of Food: Pretty much anything that will shorten my life span. I love Pizza, fried foods, pork, and steak. I love Chinese, Indian, Italian, and all the Hispanic goodies that I have learned about on your site.

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Anything vegetarian. It is not a meal unless an animal dies. Though falafel can make a great side dish.

Favorite Place to Eat Lunch in Midtown: This is a tough one, I love a lot of different things and try to vary it up. During the winter I definitely hit up Menchenko-tei a lot. Mmmmm ramen, I fell in love with this stuff when I was in Tokyo. I also love my carts, nothing like a greasy combo over rice. There is a Jiannettos pizza truck right in front of my office, so if am still hungry a quick slice is always good. I mean I like so many things it is hard to say in this short blurb. Though I have to say my absolute favorite dish for lunch is probably roast pork (like all good Jews), and we have some great places to get it in Midtown- Sophie’s and Margon come to mind immediately

The “go-to” lunch place you and your co-workers eat at too often: I don’t really have a go to lunch spot. When I worked a little more south I went to the food court in Grand Central since there were a lot of options… I didn’t say good options but options none the less. There was a deli between Park+adison on 48th (I think) that had a really good chicken Bi Bim Bop, for $10 I use to get a lot. Also again Menchanko-Tei , but you can’t really go there enough. Also Pizza Rustico, it has a great deal in the back where you can get a dish, two pastas, and two vegitables for $7. It is great variety for the price.

Place you discovered thanks to MidtownLunch: El Rincon del Sabor, Menchanko-Tei, Margon, Ho Yip, The Jamaican Cart on 51st (really good, but who has an hour to eat at a cart).

Dream job location, purely for lunch purposes?: Somewhere in Italy where I can get awesome dried meats, cheese, and wine at lunch, not to mention great pizza, and chicken parm. Though if I was going to stay in NYC I would go downtown between Chinatown and Little Italy, good chinese food, good italian, and soho options if you are willing to walk.

If you love meats, and the Jamaican Cart you should check out the Golden Krust on 3rd Ave btw. 43+44.  Great stewed meats, and Jamaican patties.  For a more Latin flavor, La Strada is definitely the place to go (56th btw. 3rd+Lex).  For those of you on West side, and looking for an alternative to Sophie’s & Margon- I still think the best roast pork is at Cafe Cello (46th btw. 5+6th). It’s been almost a year since I’ve written about this place, so a lot of people might have missed it or forgotten- but if crispy skin is your thing, than their roast pork is to die for.  Roast pork porn after the jump… Read more »

Every Tuesday I turn over the site to a Midtown Lunch’er for their recommendations of places to eat lunch in Midtown. Today, it’s Sandra our third woman in a row (and second Mets fan).  Don’t we have any dudes (or Yankees fans) who are ready to step up to the plate?  Sandra comes from the hottest up and coming section of Midtown.  She’s been smack dab in the middle of new openings, including Ressie Mae’s Soul to Go, Mandler’s, and Popeye’s– and will soon get a Sophie’s Cuban, and another new place that we’ll let her tell you about!  

Name: Sandra

Age: 30

Occupation: IT Manager

Where in Midtown do you Work?: 8th Ave and 38th St (Midtown West reprazent!)

Favorite Kind of Food: Any kind of Asian or Latin cuisine. If it’s got either pork or plaintains, I’m sold.

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Subway, crappy pizza, and $8 salads.

Favorite Place to Eat Lunch in Midtown: My neighborhood is still “up and coming” in terms of good food options, but my go-to places tend to be Bento Nouveau on 39th and B’Way for good takeout sushi, Burritoville, and Pick a Pita. Occasionally I hit Mandler’s but I try not to make a habit out of it. That place will be the death of me. I’ve recently discovered on 39th between 8+9th a good Latin place that I think is just called “Spanish Food”. They have a good $5 lunch special of rice, beans, plaintains and whatever meat they’ve got that day. Also, Aceluck on 9th Ave between 39+40th is great for Thai and has a good lunch special that’s under $10.

The “go-to” lunch place you and your co-workers eat at too often: Village 38, which is the generic deli next to my office. It stays in business purely because of those of us who are too lazy to walk more than 2 feet from the office.

Place you discovered thanks to MidtownLunch: Fashion Soup – I end up there at least once a week. Their soups are fantastic and they have really great empanadas. Midtown Lunch has also been great for finding out when new places are actually opening. I feel like I get the inside scoop. :)

Dream job location, purely for lunch purposes?: Astoria – in addition to the fact that it would be an ultra short commute (yay!), they have every cuisine you could possibly want and tons of outdoor cafes where you can sit and drink coffee for hours and just chill out.

Anything you’d like to ask the Midtown Lunch readers? Are there any good outdoor cafe-type places in Midtown West? I’d love to branch out past Starbucks or Dunkin’ Donuts for my coffee breaks.  And finally, I’m curious to know when the Sophie’s on 40th (next to Popeye’s) and the Golden Krust (next to Mandler’s) will be opening. Their coming soon signs have been tormenting me for months!

Well Sandra, you’ve give us some great suggestions to chew on.  The “Spanish Food” place sounds pretty interesting (I too am a fan of pork), and Bento Nouveau is a place I’ve been meaning to try out for awhile now.  As for the new Sophie’s, according to their website the location on 40th btw. 7+8th will be opening on August 15th.

Now to the big news…  Apparently a new Golden Krust is opening next to Mandler’s!  If you haven’t been to Golden Krust yet (there are a few Midtown locations), it’s a Carribean chain serving all sorts of curry and jerk meat dishes, plus the widest selection of patties in the city.  A picture of one, after the jump… Read more »

Every Tuesday I turn over the site to a Midtown Lunch’er for their recommendations of places to eat lunch in Midtown. Today, it’s Caryn (she’s the one on the right), a Technical Project Manager who’s looking for a good sandwich to take to the Mets game…

Name: Caryn

Age: Kid At Heart

Occupation: Technical Project Manager

Where in Midtown do you Work?: Madison & 50th (but soon to be moving to Tribeca)

Favorite Kind of Food: Anything ethnic

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Boring and predictable. That means, Au Bon Pain, Hale & Hearty Soups, etc.

Favorite Place to Eat Lunch in Midtown: I am torn between the falafel or schnitzel at Kosher Deluxe and the Indian Food Express cart (vegetarian) on 52nd & park. I could probably live on both.

The “go-to” lunch place you and your co-workers eat at too often: The deli on 49th between Park and Madison. the default dish tends to be udon.

Place you discovered thanks to MidtownLunch: Indian Food Express cart , Kosher Deluxe, Sophie’s Cuban, various bi bim bap permutations, Sukhadia indian buffet, cheap sushi specials after 4pm in Rock Center, the hamburger place in the Parker Meridian.

Dream job location, purely for lunch purposes?: i’d like to work in the Village, so I’d have access to the dosa cart, Mamoun’s falafel, the soy burger dinner at Dojo, Grey’s Papaya and anyother endless list of cheap delicious eats available to me. Plus good Indian would be a short walk away.

Anything you’d like to ask the Midtown Lunch readers? What’s the best place to get to-go sandwiches to take to the baseball game after work? The boyfriend still works in Midtown so he’ll still probably be on sandwich duty. It needs to be sturdy, cheap, fresh and delicious – and available after 5pm, since we’re not going to buy sandwiches at noon to eat at 7pm.

My favorite sandwiches in Midtown are still at Milant Gourmet Deli on 39th btw. Lex+3rd.  But if your boyfriend works on the West side of Midtown, and you love falafel (which it seems like you do)- I have got the best recommendation for you… Read more »

Every Tuesday I turn over the site to a Midtown Lunch’er for their recommendations of places to eat lunch in Midtown. Today, it’s Blair a Marketing Coordinator.  I introduced her to Cafe Zaiya, and she has introduced me to the wonderful world of Rochester, NY garbage plates…

Name: Blair

Age: 24

Occupation: Marketing Coordinator

Where in Midtown do you Work?: 41st & Lex.

Favorite Kind of Food: Street meat, cheese, and crab legs

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Anything served at an Old Country Buffet. Nothing like seeing various, unidentifiable foods scooped out of opaque plastic bags and dumped into a buffet trough

Favorite Place to Eat Lunch in Midtown: Food Trends (41 btw. Mad+Park), probably the greatest by-the-½-pound buffet. At 3.99 for ½ lb, chose carefully, otherwise you can easily spend well over $10 for lunch. I usually grab the wasabi crusted salmon bites or Israeli cous-cous from the cold section. And in the hot section, mango lime mahi-mahi and the coconut shrimp are choice

The “go-to” lunch place you and your co-workers eat at too often: Old Bridge Deli (41st & Lex.), it has something for everyone and for the innumerable delis in the area, this one is decent with good buffet.

Place you discovered thanks to MidtownLunch: Café Zaiya. They need a frequent onigiri card like Oms/b; I eat at least 4-5 a week. Also, Kati Roll, Oms/b, & Todai..

Dream job location, purely for lunch purposes?: If a job market existed there, I would pick my hometown of Rochester NY. I’m obsessed with garbage plates: a mélange of cheeseburger + hotdog + macaroni salad + home fries then drizzled with ketchup, mustard, and hot sauce. U-n-r-e-a-l.

GARBAGE PLATES???  Your ideas intrigue me and I’d like to subscribe to your newsletter…  if you’ve never seen one of these things (I hadn’t), Blair sent me a link to this photo, which you can see after the jump:  Read more »

Every Tuesday I turn over the site to a Midtown Lunch’er for their recommendations of places to eat lunch in Midtown. Meet Jeff, a recruiter that seems to have a weird way of luring applicants.  Not sure what’s up with the “I’m deranged and holding girl scout cookies, keep your children away from me” picture, but his great suggestions for lunch make it forgiveable… 

Name: Jeff

Age: 32

Occupation: Manager of Client Services (aka Technical Recruiter)

Where in Midtown do you Work?: 37th btw. 5+6th

Favorite Kind of Food: Good Jewish Deli, with the prime example being Pastrami @ Katz’s (From the counter, tables are for tourists!) Of course, the answer to this question changes depending on my mood. (Ask me tomorrow, and it could be Dim Sum, Middle Eastern or the mutton at Keanes)

Least Favorite Kind of Food: The pay by pound salad bar after 3pm

Favorite Place to Eat Lunch in Midtown: Once again, it depends on my mood, but as of late it has been this street meat cart guy on the corner of 5th and 39th. He has a Lamb Schwarma/4 Fried Shrimp over your choice of 3 types of rice. If you ask nice, he’ll throw in a decent falafel ball. It also is just 6 bucks.

The “go-to” lunch place you and your co-workers eat at too often: 37th street café. The standard NY deli that is just right downstairs. It’s not great, but not terrible, and ever so close.

Place you discovered thanks to MidtownLunch: So far…. Olympic Pita, Chiyoda (man, those rice balls!) and a return to Daisy May’s after a long absence.

Dream job location, purely for lunch purposes?: Canal Street for Wo Hop (downstairs ONLY). It has the best Chinese in NYC. The Dumplings are unbeatable!

Interesting you should mention the Daisy May’s BBQ Cart.  It’s been gone for the winter, but I’ve got the scoop on when it’s coming back- after the jump…  Read more »

Every Tuesday I turn over the site to a Midtown Lunch’er for their recommendations of places to eat Lunch in Midtown. Meet “DDR”, a Lawyer who hates salads (agreed!) and anything his wife likes (DO NOT AGREE!  What are you crazy, saying something like that?  Not very smart…)

Name: DDR

Age: 28

Occupation: Attorney

Where in Midtown do you Work?: 46th & 5th Ave.

Favorite Kind of Food: Middle Eastern, BBQ, Indian

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Salad, any food that my wife likes, and the $9 turkey sandwich (aka “the Midtown Special”)

Favorite Place to Eat Lunch in Midtown: Olympic Pita (38th b/w 5th & 6th). It’s not logical for a kosher place to have the best shwarma in Manhattan… but there it is. Order it in a laffa and have them to throw some french fries and fried eggplant in there. It’s the best $10 you’ll spend for awhile, if you can finish it. Beats the pants off of Bread & Olive and Kosher Deluxe.

The “go-to” lunch place you and your co-workers eat at too often: Manhattan Cafe, Cosi. Just typing those 3 words makes me wince.

Place you discovered thanks to MidtownLunch: The Kati Roll Company (46 btw. 6+7th), Hing Won (48th btw. 5+6th). By the way, if the LA Weekly’s restaurant critic can win a Pulitzer for criticism, why can’t Midtown Lunch?  (Agreed!  Winning a Pulitzer is obviously the reason why I started Midtown Lunch.  -zach)

Dream job location, purely for lunch purposes?: 1 Central Park West (Jean Georges); Cornelia St. near Po, because their lunch menu (duck sloppy joe!) makes me salivate, but I am never in that area at lunch time; or if I could do my job from a booth at Katz’s Deli — that might be heaven.

Anything you’d like to ask the Midtown Lunch readers?:  Has anyone ever eaten at any of the Brazilian places on “Little Brazil” and if so, are they worth visiting?

I was very excited when I heard that the famous Olympic Pita in Brooklyn would be opening a Midtown location.  But there’s only one problem.  It’s impossible to spend less than $10 for any of the delicious meats they serve (or is there some lunch special I’m missing???).  The laffa is baked fresh on site, in this sweet ass brick oven- and looks amazing (picture after the jump)  Read more »

Every Tuesday I turn over the site to a Midtown Lunch’er for their recommendations of places to eat Lunch in Midtown.  Apparently last week’s lunch’er wasn’t good enough!  Things like “Not much helpful information”, and “least informative lunch’er… ever” were posted as comments.  And here I was thinking that all you people wanted was a pretty face.  This week I’m bringing out the big guns! “Tam” is the one who turned me on to the Chikubu Friday Ramen Special. Unfortunately, it closed before I got a chance to check it out!  We’re losing her to the Finanacial District (traitor!), so I’m turning the site over to her for some final suggestions…

Name: Tam

Age: 32

Occupation: **cough** Attorney

Where in Midtown do you Work?: I used to work on Broadway and 44th, by the Naked Cowboy. (My new job is in the Financial District, cattycorner to the WTC)

Favorite Kind of Food: Dang me! I’m an equal opportunity eater, so this is a hard question to nail. I guess I’ll eat almost anything, so long as it’s deep-fried. Or grilled. Or braised. I also have an unwholesome love of noodles. Have I mentioned potatoes?

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Walnuts, tahini, and viscera. But guts are okay if they’re deep-fried or grilled. (Braised can’t kill the stink.)

Favorite Place to Eat Lunch in Midtown: 1. Rafiqi’s (NW corner of 44th St and 5th Ave). Lamb over Rice, with sides of hot sauce ‘n white sauce. Dine on the dirty street meat at a reasonable lunch hour; you’ll be clutching your vitals if you don’t. 2. Cranberry Deli (115 W. 45th St, near 6th Ave). Udon (with an extra helping of steamed vegetables). They drain their noodle water and shut down soup-making operations after 2 PM. 3. Pam Real Thai Encore (404 W. 47th St, near 9th Ave) Larb; Green Pumpkin Curry. PRTE is further west than most midtown eateries, but if it’s Friday, the stroll is kinda nice.

The “go-to” lunch place you and your co-workers eat at too often: Marseilles (630 9th Ave, at 44th St). Le Pamplemousse cocktail. For afficianados of flavored vodkas / For girlie-drink-drunks, these are worth blowing the ol’ lunch money on. (DISCLAIMER: but not during work-hours, friends!)

Place you discovered thanks to MidtownLunch: 1. Minar (46th St, btw B’way + 6th Ave).  Delicious! Mysore Masala Dosa. I’m a Bay Area transplant who misses Vik’s Chaat Corner. So Minar is like home. 2. Margon (46th St, btw. B’way + 6th Ave]. Oxtail Special. Hits the spot when you’re lookin’ for a hot piece of tail. (Thanks, Midtown Lunch!)

Dream job location, purely for lunch purposes?: Flushing, on Roosevelt Ave, underneath the 7. There’s a little window where you can buy the finest of soy milks. I’m also in agreement with Lacey. If I could just be a little bit closer to Ba Xuyen or Banh Mi Saigon.

Anything else you’d like to add?: Will Midtown Lunch be launching a Downtown Lunch site soon? ‘Cuz I am lost. I am sad. And I am hungry.

Sorry Tam.  Not only am I not going to be heading downtown anytime soon (I don’t think my bosses would be down with that), I have a recommendation today that I think you would have loved!  It’s braised, it’s got potatoes, it’s delicious, and it’s after the jump Read more »

Every Tuesday I turn over the site to a Midtown Lunch’er for their recommendations of places to eat Lunch in Midtown.  This week it’s Laren Spirer, who you may recognize as one of the main food bloggers on Gothamist.  What you may not know is, she’s also a Midtown Lunch’er.

Name: Laren Spirer

Age: 36

Occupation: Pro Bono Manager (& Food Blogger at Gothamist

Where in Midtown do you Work?: 55th & 3rd Ave.

Favorite Kind of Food: Do I really have to pick one kind? That’s just downright cruel.

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Goat cheese. I want to like it, I really do, but I just don’t.

Favorite Place to Eat Lunch in Midtown: Sadly, my favorite place and dish are no more. I loved the truffled gnudi at the recently closed Dona, so I’m hoping that Michael Psilakis resurrects it at one of his other venues. For now, I can try to make it at home.

The “go-to” lunch place you and your co-workers eat at too often: Our office cafeteria (which is pretty good, for the record). I also have a strange addiction to the salad sandwiches at Chop’t, mostly because I think it makes me feel like I’m eating something remotely healthy on my way back from the gym.

Place you discovered thanks to MidtownLunch: I read about Oms/B and am still hoping to try it, although the 10+ block walk from my office might be pushing it.

Dream job location, purely for lunch purposes?: Chinatown. I would love to be within walking distance of kick ass banh mi, pho, dumplings, and noodles.

Have you been outside the past few days?  Going to places less than 10 blocks away is just wasting the beautifulness!  I’m also intrigued by this office cafeteria thing.  Anybody else have one of these in their office?  More on that,  plus how you can be next weeks Profiled: Midtown Lunch’er, after the jump… Read more »

Every Tuesday I turn the site over to a Midtown Lunch’er for their recommendations of places to eat Lunch in Midtown.  You might recognize this guy’s name because he has posted 56 pictures to the Midtown Lunch Flickr Photo Group.  His photos are responsible for tipping me off to french fries in the Pick-a-Pita, Mandler’s on 8th Ave., and the new Sophie’s Cuban sign on 40th, just to name a few.  We’re losing him to a job in the Bronx in a few weeks, but before he goes- here are Josh Bousel’s picks for the best Midtown Lunch’ing:

Name: Josh Bousel

Age: 28

Occupation: Web Designer/Developer (and host of the newly launched “Meatwave“)

Where in Midtown do you Work?: netomat, Inc on 38th btw. 8+9th ave.

Favorite Kind of Food: Anything conducive to bringing on a sudden, deadly heart attack, with a particular fondness for bbq, fried chicken, and hamburgers.

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Seafood. I used to be a terribly picky eater, and although I’ve overcome most of my food aversions, I can’t get over my distaste for seafood. It should be said that I also hate salt water, but love the beach, go figure.

Favorite Place to Eat Lunch in Midtown: Neither of these places are technically in the “Midtown Lunch” boundaries, but I love the Kansas City Ribs at Daisy May’s (11th Ave. at 46th St.) and the chicken or beef empanadas at Empanada Mama (on 9th Ave. & 51st). I’ve never actually had a lunch there, but Burger Joint is at the top of my list as well.

The “go-to” lunch place you and your co-workers eat at too often:  I tend to eat alone because I like to get whatever food I’m in the mood for, and I also don’t eat at the same place very often. My co-workers seem to like Guy & Gallard and Metro Cafe (I’m also guilty of going to these places too often when I first started working in Midtown). Chef Yu (36th & 8th Ave.) is another popular one in my office.

Place you discovered thanks to MidtownLunch: The Kati Roll Company (46th btw. 6+7th). My first time there I made the mistake of only getting 1 and had to go back for dinner for another to fulfill the cravings they induce. Also, the new Popeye’s on 40th (btw. 7+8th).  I never found the one on 34th up to par.

Dream job location, purely for lunch purposes?: I just accepted a position at the Bronx Zoo, where I’ll be working close to Arthur Ave and I’m pretty excited about that. Otherwise I’d go somewhere with great BBQ… Memphis, maybe?

I hear ya when it comes to BBQ in Memphis.  My favorite BBQ of all time, plus how you can be next weeks Profiled: Midtown Lunch’er, after the jump… Read more »

Every Tuesday I turn the site over to a Midtown Lunch’er for their recommendations of places to eat Lunch in Midtown.  Ideally I like to post a picture of the person in their Midtown working environment, to give you a real sense of their Midtown Lunch experience.  Surprisingly, the picture of Grace (this week’s Lunch’er), is of her at “work”.

Name: Grace

Age: N.O.Y.B.

Occupation: Senior Test Kitchen Associate (and a cookbook author)

Where in Midtown do you Work?: Food & Wine Magazine, 6th Ave & 43rd St.

Favorite Kind of Food: I love Korean food (as well as most Asian cuisines) and my favorite all time Korean dish is kimchi jigae, a super spicy stew of pork, kimchi and rice cakes; Italian (especially Neopolitan pizza, fresh pasta and any kind of cheese); and in the winter, Matzoh Ball soup.

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Peruvian Potato dishes (they tend to be kind of bland with lots of sweet mayo), headcheese, and anything Icelandic (bland boiled meats), dried airpuffed cod bits, and fish spread in a tube. (That list is strangely specific. -zach)

Favorite Place to Eat Lunch in Midtown: My new favorite Korean place is Kunjip (9 w. 32nd st). I was intrigued by this dish, Kam Ja Tang (pork bone and potato stew) that listed pork bones as its first ingredient. It was delicious, and true to its name, had loads of pork bones (the trimmings from the back bone where you really have to dig in the get at the meat), topped with this very light, not-sweet-at-all sauce.

The “go-to” lunch place you and your co-workers eat at too often: Dae Dong–Korean, of course on 32nd st., and Grand Sichuan on 9th Ave (now closed by the board of health, wahhhh). The shrimp dumplings in chile sauce and dan dan noodles are the best. They also have really great sour string beans that are dangerously addictive. (Actually, I think Grand Sichuan is closed for good. I passed by it on Sunday, and it was totally stripped empty inside. -zach)

Place you discovered thanks to MidtownLunch: The Kati Roll Company on 46th (the review of the food was so tantalizing–it made the recipe for kati roll that I tested look like child’s play). The paneer (Indian-style ricotta) is my favorite–spicy, sweet, milky, and creamy (mmmm) followed closely by the potato and egg. I found them all (i did actually try everything on the menu) to be delicious, fresh and extremely well balanced–but maybe I was the first customer of the day? That will definitely become my go-to place for food to-go.

Dream job location, purely for lunch purposes?: Aside from my test kitchen at Food & Wine (the food is almost always excellent and free–and I know with certainty that the cooks wash their hands)… Chinatown, Jackson Heights or Redhook Brooklyn (but only during soccer season)- all for their ethnic diversity and superb cheap street food.

Is there any sweeter job than working in the kitchen of a food magazine?  Holy mackerel am I jealous.  The pie picture above, is a picture of Grace *at work*!  That’s craziness.  Where’s the cubicle?  The annoying co-workers?  The computer screen to stare at hour after hour as your brain and eyes fight over which one is going to degenerate faster?  And you get to go to fancy parties with free food and booze!  Not jealous yet?  A picture of Grace at last years James Beard awards, after the jump… Read more »