PROFILE: Downtown Lunch’er “Mike”

 width=Name: Mike
Occupation: Production artist (at a digital advertising agency)
Where you work: Tribeca (a block from Canal near the Holland Tunnel)
Age: 22
Favorite Kinds of Food: I love ethnic food, particularly with a good dose of spiciness. I am always willing to try eating something strange (including offal). Tiny, authentic, ethnic hole-in-the-walls are my favorite. If it’s what the locals eat, that’s what I want to eat. I’d probably rate Thai food as my favorite nationality of food though I dislike getting watered-down/Americanized Thai food. I’m obsessed with pork… pork prepared in any style: bacon, BBQ pulled pork, pork belly, schnitzel, chicharron, pernil, panchetta, porchetta, sausage, proscuitto…I’ll eat it any day, any meal. I know this is not really food per se, but I love sauces. Mustard, Sriracha, Russian dressing, chipotle mayo, pesto, Peruvian aji (!), ponzu, teriyaki, hoisin, curry, hollandaise, buffalo sauce, chimichurri, mole… I think sauces really make a dish. I’ve also really been on a huge pho kick recently so working within walking distance of Chinatown is awesome for me.

Least Favorite Foods: There are very few things I won’t eat, but I don’t like gefilte fish and I don’t enjoy fast food burger places like Burger King or McDonald’s.

Favorite Lunches Downtown: I’ve been doing a lot of exploring near my office and in Chinatown and the best I’ve found so far include: Saluggi’s on Church (btw. Canal & Lispenard) for gourmet pizza, Banh Mi Saigon Bakery on Grand (btw. Mulberry & Mott) for banh mi, Famous Sichuan on Pell (btw. Doyers & Bowery) for super spicy and cheap Sichuan cuisine, Tasty Dumpling on Mulberry (btw. Bayard & Mosco) for extraordinarily cheap and filling dumplings and noodles, Xe Lua on Mulberry (btw. Canal & Bayard) for the best huge bowl of pho I’ve ever had, and West Side Coffee Shop on Church (nr. Canal) for hearty Dominican specials like pernil and pollo asado.

The “go-to” lunch place you and your co-workers eat at too often: I have not been to anywhere more than twice in the 2 months I’ve been working so… nowhere? My co-workers are fortunately willing to explore with me during lunch for up to a 15 minute walk radius.

Places downtown you discovered thanks to Midtown Lunch: Well I’ve learned about many, many places in Midtown from ML before. Since I’m new to downtown, there are only a few I can name. I can say through ML I’ve learned of New Shezan (not fond of) on Church (btw. Duane & Reade), Pakistan Tea House (haven’t been yet) on Church (btw. Duane & Reade), Farinella (haven’t been yet) on Worth (at Broadway), Peep (haven’t been yet) on Prince (btw. Thompson & Sullivan), Tasty Dumpling (love), and Famous Sichuan (love!).

Dream job location, purely for lunch purposes, and why: I think I’ll go with Hell’s Kitchen. I worked near Hell’s Kitchen last summer and there is just so much awesome ethnic food with lunch specials around there!
Anything you’d like to ask the downtown Midtown Lunch readers?: What are your favorite ethnic hole-in-the-walls downtown? Also, let’s get some more Midtown Lunch action up near my office by the tunnel exit!

One of my favorite questionable sources of lunch is Wah Mei Fast Food, which serves a delicious and cheap pork chop or chicken over rice with pork sauce. Where does everyone else go when you’re craving something cheap and ethnic? 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.

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