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, Ilana makes me more jealous than any luncher ever before. I thought food blogging was a pretty sweet gig, but travel show host… damn…
Name: Ilana

Age: 30

Occupation: I’m a travel television host and I temp in NYC’s financial district in between gigs.

Where do you work?: When I’m not globe-trotting, I work on Wall Street.

Favorite Kind of Food: I typically love anything I can eat with my hands. I’m a sucker for pizza. Especially if it’s VERY Italian in style…thin crust, topped with olives, pancetta, fresh basil, and a perfectly cracked egg right in the middle!

Also, I’ll never turn down a classic South African meal of different game with pap and chakalaka or spicy Indian off a banana leaf.

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Lunch Salads. I’m so much more into savory taste explosions, rather than seeing how many different ways to blend vinegar, strawberries, and goat cheese into a new concept. It’s all very “ladies who lunch” and I’m much more of a try-anything-once kind of gal!

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I like exploring downtown to find promising places to eat, but I always prefer to follow a good lead. I was absolutely starving at 11:30AM on Friday, and so I followed Lunch’er Matt’s suggestion and my stomach’s desire for a hearty meal down to Kosher Luncheonette on the corner of Fulton Street and Cliff Street.

Matt recommended the falafel, so I got myself one of those, but as I was voracious – and so that I could give you guys a better sense of what Kosher Luncheonette has to offer – I also got a kasha knish and a bowl of tomato rice soup.

That morning I think I could have gnawed on a shoe and been happy, but even in that state I could recognize that Kosher Luncheonette’s food was not only far better than a shoe but was really good on its own right. My falafel was good, but the other food was even better, and I’ll be heading back to Kosher Luncheonette regularly for my lunchtime Jewish comfort food needs.

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Pile of poutine from TPoutine on Ludlow Street, courtesy of Bionic Bites.

• What better than poutine to finish off any lingering St. Patty’s day hangover? [Bionic Bites]
• But be sure to take a moment of Irish silence to mourn the closing of the Blarney Stone on Fulton Street. [EV Grieve]
• And then resume drinking at one of the fancy happy hours in Tribeca, Chinatown, or the FiDi. [TONY]
• Can’t wait for happy hour? Evidently Jeremy’s Ale House is the place to get drunk as a sailor at South Street Seaport at midday. [TONY]
• The food-packed Hester Street Fair doesn’t kick off until April 24th, but I am officially excited. [Fork in the Road]
• The fine folks at Lunch with Front Studio give Tartinery on Mulberry Street a “Meh,” which is fine by me, because I don’t think I really could have gotten behind a place that imports its bread from France. [Lunch with Front Studio]
• But Kathy over at Serious Eats is happy to get behind the skirt steak sandwich at the creatively named Beach Street Eatery on… wait for it… Beach Street. [Serious Eats]
• And for dessert: The Village Tart in SoHo (not the village) looks like pure awesome. [Always Hungry]

Table Tales on Water Street near Peck Slip promises “carefully-crafted fine foods,” and really, who wants sloppily-prepared lowbrow grub?

Oh wait. I do. A lot of the time. But sometimes I do want something a little more finely-crafted, a little more highbrow. And while we’re at it, I want it in a nice and relaxing setting where I can leave the frustrations of the office behind and just eat in peace.

Table Tales offers me just that, while still allowing me to feed myself on my Lunch’er budget. As with Kiva Cafe, I think that some people may find this spot a bit too pricey for the grub, but you get more food here than at Kiva. And for me, amidst the hustle and bustle of downtown, the excellent food and charming vibe of Table Tales are worth it.

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St. Patrick’s Day here in New York is a thing of beauty. If you’re in possession of any Irish blood, this is the time of year it you can feel it bubbling to the point where you want to and quite often do dance in the streets, preferably after drinking copious amounts of green beer. I, however, am of German heritage. We don’t believe in fun, or saints for that matter. We believe in strict order, whether it’s in your drinking or in your work. And unfortunately, these same rules and regulations are enforced at my place of business, where bars and lunch shall not meet. But that shouldn’t stop you from having a good time, should it? Check out the list below for all the Irish pubs in the Downtown. And by “all” I mean “the ones I know about that sport something on the menu under $10.” If you don’t see the spot you’re planning to consume your liquid lunch, put it in the comments and direct the masses.

• Ryan Maguire’s Alehouse – 28 Cliff St. @ Fulton St.
• Jim Brady’s Restaurant – 75 Maiden Lane @ William St.
• Killarney Rose – 127 Pearl St. @ Hanover St.
• The Beekman Pub – 15 Beekman St. @ Nassau St.
• The Irish Punt – 40 Exchange Place @ William St.