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, we have Alyson Waller, who is the citizen judge at this year’s Vendy Awards on Governor’s Island Sept. 25. (Have you bought your tickets yet?). She works in Soho but travels to out-of-bounds downtown lunch spots in Greenwich Village and has a dislike of a certain cheese.

Name: Alyson Waller

Occupation: Architect

Where you work: Spring and Hudson

Age: 27

Favorite Kinds of Food: Fresh pasta, Thai, pizza, burgers, garlic, cheese (see below), bacon, crusty baguettes, artichokes, red velvet cupcakes.

Least Favorite Foods: Beets, raw tomatoes, bananas, goat cheese, anything with a lot of mayo.

Favorite Lunches Downtown: Murray’s Cheese on Bleecker (btw. 6th & 7th Ave.) for cheesy sandwiches, Birdbath Bakery (Multiple Locations) for the chicken cilantro sandwich, 508 Restaurant on Greenwich (at Spring) for the burger with free beer special they used to have, Little Italy (the deli, not the neighborhood) on Varick St. (at King) for a chicken parm hero, The NYC Cravings food truck for pork sauce, Chipotle (Multiple Locations) for a steak burrito, Puffy’s Tavern on Hudson (at Harrison) for good sandwiches made better with free beer, Spunto on Carmine (at 7th Ave. South) for thin crust pizza. Sweet Revenge on Carmine (btw. Bedford & Bleecker) for cupcakes, and Jacques Torres (Multiple Locations) for warm chocolate chip cookies.

The “go-to” lunch place you and your co-workers eat at too often: Ear Inn on Spring St. (btw. Greenwich & Washington) is definitely our go-to place for a sit down lunch. It’s right down the street from our office, has good food at a decent price and you can draw on the tables. Read more »

Back in the day when Daniel was on the downtown beat, he checked out the street meat truck that’s always parked on Cedar at Broadway and christened it the Frito Lay Truck, because that’s what it was in it’s former life of ferrying tasty snacks. A week or two ago I noticed the truck had been officially named the Gyro House, maybe after one too many people came by in search of Lay’s potato chips. In addition to a name, the owners got extra fancy and added a seizure-inducing sign on the top advertising the wares (I swear the above photo was a complete accident, and did not encourage me to order lamb). Daniel seemed fairly satisfied with the chicken he got there, but I was in search of falafel and wondered how this truck’s would stack up to the heavy hitters Sam’s Falafel across the street and Alan’s Falafel on the plaza in front of the truck. Read more »

I’ve spotted the All American Diner I & II Truck in the Financial District a couple of times, but can never decide if there’s anything appealing enough for me to eat there. A couple of interesting things I spotted were the roast pork on garlic bread and a ridiculously cheap peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Has anyone gotten anything they would recommend from here? Or is it basically a generic deli on wheels?

Bacon? Check. Mac ‘n’ cheese pancakes? Check. Courtesy of Blondie & Brownie

• The Mo’betta at Shopsin’s looks like a heart attack on a plate, but is a feast for the eyes. [Blondie & Brownie]
• The food at the new Bouley Studio may be slightly out of ML price range, but I still want to go to there. [Serious Eats NY]
• Banh Mi Saigon’s banh cuon salad is pretty refreshing, and its new space still has jewelry, contrary to popular belief. [Lunch with Front Studio]
• The sandwiches at Salume are good, but a bit on the pricey side, while the shop is nicer than your average deli. [Feisty Foodie]
• Bluebird Sky has both a peanut butter, banana and honey sandwich, and muffuletta. Sold! [Grub St.]

On certain days when I have a little extra time on my hands for lunch, I like to venture a little farther than normal for food, and in most cases that usually means Chinatown. And when that intersects with wanting spicy food, the Sichuan variety comes to mind. That’s what led me to Famous Sichuan on Pell St. (btw. Doyers & Bowery). Once I got there I discovered perhaps the greatest lunch deal I’ve found yet, in an area of the city known for its dirt cheap food. Read more »

The saga of the Picnick Smoked truck continues with the fact that it’s not been seen in its supposed new spot at 1 State St. I’ve been down to the plaza in front of that building two Fridays in a row, and while there are plenty of other vendors to be had, no BBQ. It says on the Picnick Web site that they’re supposed to be there Thursday through Saturday. Lunch’er Serene wrote in to call them out on the no-show and you can see what she had to say after the jump. Read more »