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 Nick, a clerk who loves pho and wouldn’t want to be working anywhere else.

Name: Nick

Age: 26

Occupation: Assistant Managing Clerk

Where in Midtown do you Work?: 6th Ave between 43rd and 44th

Favorite Kind of Food: Steak, sliders, tacos, nachos, sandwiches, shellfish, sushi, grilled cheese and tomato soup, pizza, riceballs, pho

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Peanuts, soy based “meats”

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Midtown: Pernil or bistec encebollado from Margon (46th btw. 6th and 7th), Tacos al pastor/beef tongue from El Rey Del Sabor (43rd btw. 5th and 6th), Shrimp ceviche from El Rincon Del Sabor (47th btw. 5th and 6th), Lamb over rice from Kwik Meal (45th btw. 6th and 7th), Onigiri or smoked salmon sandwich from Cafe Zaiya (41st btw. Madison and 5th), Chicken Parm from Little Italy (45th btw. 5th and 6th), Italian Hero from Park Italian Deli (45th btw. 5th and 6th) Hush puppies with maple butter from Virgil’s BBQ (44th between 6th and Broadway), Dungeness crab salad or gazpacho with lobster from Grand Central Oyster Bar, Shrimp or lobster roll from Red Hook Lobster Pound Truck, Slow-roasted pork sandwich from ‘Wichcraft

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A big congrats to magician/food blogger Josh Beckerman on his huge profile in today’s New York Times food section.  Josh actually lives in Midtown, and old school Midtown Lunch’ers may recognize him from this profile 3 1/2 years ago. I wonder if he ever found that Italian hoagie… if you believe the New York Times he never did find that single gal looking to date a magician/foodie.

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 Anna, a marketing person looking for some good stuff in the upper east corner of Midtown…

Name: Anna (pronounced Ah-na, please)

Age: 25

Occupation: Marketing

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

Favorite Kind of Food: Mostly everything, although I tend to skew towards Asian. Thai, Japanese, and Dim Sum come immediately to mind, but I just love food in all forms. I don’t discriminate.

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Olives and peas. That’s pretty much it.

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Midtown: Num Pang (on 41st btw. Lex+3rd) is my new favorite, I’m still working my way through the menu. The Mackerel wins so far, with the peaches a close second. I also enjoy Korilla BBQ for the Wild Child bulgogi bowl (so sad to hear about the TGFTR cheating scandal, you guys are better than that!), Umi Sushi (on 56th btw. 1+2nd) for a 2 or 3 roll combo, A+ Thai or Rain Thai (on 53rd btw. 2+3rd) for their drunken noodle or pad thai lunch specials, pretty much everything at El Rey de Sabor.

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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 Lawrence, a software engineer who hates vegetarians and wishes sushi was cheaper.

Name: Lawrence

Age: 26

Occupation: Technical analyst / software engineer for JPMorgan

Where in Midtown do you Work?: 46th & Madison

Favorite Kind of Food: Sushi (but it’s too expensive)!

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Vegetarian

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Midtown: Oxtail noodle soup at Oriental Noodle Shop (on 45th btw. Lex+3rd), Chicken at Bian Dang truck, Anything with lamb at Bi Lokma (on 45th btw. 2+3rd), Ramen at Hide Chan (on 52nd btw. 2+3rd)

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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 Alex, a PR person who wishes she worked a few blocks farther south.

Name: Alex

Age: 24

Occupation: Publicist and Founder of Chekmark Eats

Where in Midtown do you Work?: 36th St. and 8th avenue.

Favorite Kind of Food: Seafood, Sushi, Lobster Rolls, Sandwiches, Biscuits, Brussels Sprouts, Smoked Salmon Egg Scrambles, Cookies

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Indian Food.

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Midtown: Amici 36 (8th Ave. btw. 35+36th) – Brick Oven Flatbread Sandwiches. I get smoked turkey, basil, tomato, balsamic and mozzarella. The bread is fantastic and doughy like pizza. They cut up the loaf after it’s done baking and put complimentary slices in a bowl to grab while you wait for your sandwich. (Probably the most popular station at the deli). Piccolo Café (on 40th btw. 7+8th) – Lobster Panini. HK Kitchen (on 9th Ave. btw. 39+40th) –Turkey and Brie with Sliced Apples and Dijionaise Sandwich. Macaron Café (36th btw. 6+7th) – Salad with chicken, vegetables macedoine and vinaigrette plus a choice of 15 different flavor macarons. Wondee Siam (52nd and 9th ave. location) – pad thai and Pad Num Mun Hoy (chicken sautéed with garlic, oyster sauce, celery onion, scallion, carrot, bell pepper and baby corn. *FYI it’s BYOB so a great place to check out after work, too.)

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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 Cheryl, a marketing manager who loves roast pork and oxtails.

Name: Cheryl

Age: 29

Occupation: Marketing Manager

Where in Midtown do you Work?: Midtown East – 46th Street and Madison.

Favorite Kind of Food: My goodness – there are just so many. But anything Asian (Japanese, Korean, Taiwanese, Chinese), and anything Healthy

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Beans and Peas (I know really random)

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Midtown: Hing Won (on 48th btw. 5+6th) – Beef Tendon with Turnip soup over those big broad noodles (awesome hangover or just need soup day food) & their Roast Pork (just because who can say no to Roast Pork?) Calista Superfoods (on 49th and 2nd) – Turkey Meatloaf Wrap (moist and super juicy), Bison Jalapeño Cheesesteak (ask for extra green hot sauce), and their PB&J smoothie. AND this place is healthy. WHAT? Margon (on 46th btw. 6+7th) – Oxtail

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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 Lee, a social media strategist who is obsessed with nachos.

Name: Lee

Age: 26

Occupation: Social Media Strategist and also Founder of Nachos NY

Where in Midtown do you Work?: I work at Morpheus Media in the Chelsea area.

Favorite Kind of Food: Mexican, Indian, Thai, Burgers and Buffalo Chicken.

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Bad Sushi (my girlfriend’s parents own a delicious place), Seafood

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Midtown: Double ShackBurger at Shake Shack, 3Bs Special Burger and Fresh Roast Turkey at Food Parc (on 30th btw. 6+7th), The Roast Pork sub at No. 7 Sub

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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 we’re excited to welcome Zeina, the lucky winner of the Vendy Citizen Judge slot. On September 23rd she’ll get to join the distinguished Vendy Award judging panel (which includes Writer John T. Edge & Eatocracy’s Kat Kinsman, and she just so happens to be a Midtown Luncher as well!

Name: Zeina

Age: 27

Occupation: Media Manager

Where in Midtown do you Work?: Conde Nast, Times Square

Favorite Kind of Food: Depends on my mood. My go-to is Indian – ANY type; kati rolls, dosas,
biryani, curries, you name it. My comfort food is Japanese Ramen or Lebanese lebneh with manaeesh, and when I go out I like to indulge in Farm-to-Table concoctions. And I’ve never said no to a good grilled cheese!

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Pay-by-the-pound Chinese

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Midtown: Kati Roll Company (on 39th btw. 5+6th) for paneer roll or aloo unda roll, and The Biryani Cart (on 46th btw. 6+7th) for chicken biryani.

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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 we’ve decided to go down to the Flatiron, to give Clay some good ideas for his Friday posts.  Meet Denise, a production person who loves Filipino food (provided it doesn’t have any bits of ear in it.)

Name: Denise

Age: 30

Occupation: Director of Production, and blogger

Where in Midtown do you Work?: Flatiron District

Favorite Kind of Food: Depends on my mood, but mostly Belgian, Filipino, French bistro, Italian, and Malaysian.

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Sisig – just Google it. You’ll see why…

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Midtown:

• Markt (on 6th btw. 21+22nd) – a Belgian restaurant in Chelsea. My favorite items off the menu: French Onion Soup, Croque Monsieur and Moules À La Provençale (mussels with tomato and fresh basil; with frites). Oh, and don’t forget to wash it down with some Belgian beer (bottled or on tap).
• Almond (22nd btw. B’way+5th) – Grilled Chicken Paillard or Streak Frites.
• Republic (in Union Square) – Grilled Pork Chops
• Grill 21 (on 21st btw. 1+2nd) – Pork Barbecue with garlic rice
• Financier Patisserie – Le Parisien (a sandwich made with Ham, Brie, Dijon Mustard)

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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 Phoebe, a luncher who loves healthy food and hates (gulp) halal.

Name: Phoebe

Age: 29

Occupation: EA

Where in Midtown do you Work?: 53rd & Broadway

Favorite Kind of Food: Healthy!

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Halal

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Midtown: Mooncake Foods’ Miso Salmon with a salad and brown rice. Chop’t’s Palm Beach Shrimp Salad. Pure Thai Shophouse’s Spicy Basil Chicken and refreshing Spicy Beef Salad. Pio Pio (on 10th Ave. & 44th) for a pollo a la brasa lunch special. Equinox Gym’s City Chow Cafe (on B’way btw. 50+51st) for yogurt-marinated salmon platter. Energy Kitchen’s (on 47th btw. 9+10th) Grilled Chicken Italian Wrap with a steamed spinach side (smothered in Grey Poupon).

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