Midtown Lunch

As is customary here on Midtown Lunch, every Tuesday we’ll profile a different lunch’er and get their recommendations for places to eat in Downtown NYC. This week, Corey doesn’t want to “seem like a pig.” Really? Isn’t that what Midtown Lunch is all about?  Pig or not, he makes me really want to go to Istanbul…

Name: Corey

Occupation: Video Editor/Producer

Where you work: FiDi- Wall Street

Age: 34

Favorite Kind of Food: Burgers ( I am slowly eating my way through nymag’s 82 most notable burgers), Japanese, rustic Italian, Indian, classic French, Caribbean, BBQ, pork by-products and of course street meat. The list could go on for a very long time but I don’t want to seem like a pig.

Least Favorite Food: There really isn’t much that I won’t eat. But the only thing I can think of that I try to stay away from are any kind of savory meat cooked with fruit. I just don’t see the purpose… the whole hawaiian pizza thing makes no sense to me. You can also add couscous, polenta and brussel sprouts but who really like those nasty little green balls anyway? Everything else is fair game.

Favorite Lunches Downtown: Cafe Sage on days where they have the hot and spice shredded duck, Paris Baguette, Niko Niko, Hanover Cafe for the Udon and KFC, Yips when I’m feeling extra hungry for red dye #5 on my boneless pork, Five Guys (does brooklyn count?), the NYC Cravings truck and of course the street meat cart in front of my office (he’s nice enough to give me sliced lamb for my gyro and not that minced stuff).

The “go-to” lunch place you and your co-workers eat at too often: Oddly enough my company has a great, albeit pricey, cafeteria with a rather impressive menu so that’s one of the few places we can all agree on when we don’t know what to eat. If not the cafeteria there’s always Adrienne’s Pizzabar and take out from Baluchi’s.

Place you discovered thanks to Midtown Lunch: The banh mi cart, Country Kebab, NYC Cravings, Schnitzel Truck, Lan Zhou Handmade Noodles, and Cer Te (on those days I’m in the midtown office).

Dream job location, purely for lunch purposes, and why: Oh that’s easy… Istanbul… meat on a stick everywhere you go, the crispy, spicy and ever so tasty loc manju, oh, and a nice soggy burger drowned in tomato sauce… and my favorite, one of 33 different type of kofta… oh yea… just to take a break from all of the wonderful meat, I’ll have a Balik ekmek (fried fish sandwich) every now and again… Istanbul is the place for me. I think there are some veggies in the city also but who really want those?

Anything you’d like to ask the midtown lunch readers: Is there anything you’d like to ask: Although I’ve been working downtown for 4 years now, I still don’t know that many places in Chinatown where I can get a good lunch.. more specifically I want a nice big bowl of rice cakes. There is just so much Yips and Orient Express a man can eat.

Wow. I know people who’ve spent a lot of time trying to find answers to that question. First off, check out our awesome map of downtown eateries and check out our ever-growing list of places in Chinatown. Second, Chris (along with a whole lot of others) seems to think Xi’an Famous Foods is pretty freakin’ great. Finally, as for rice cakes, I always get the ones at Joe’s Shanghai and have never been disappointed. Loyal readers? Any help? Put it in the comments.

And as always, if you would like to be next week’s Profiled Lunch’er (or know somebody you’d like to nominate), email us at downtownnyc@midtownlunch.com.