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 Danielle who likes the bread + meat equation and still pines for certain midtown places despite being an official downtown lunch’er.

Name: Danielle

Occupation: Project manager

Where you work: Across the street from City Hall at Park Place

Age: 30

Favorite Kinds of Food: Indian subcontinental, Tex-Mex, Italian subs, street meats.  Meat wrapped in bread seems to be a theme here.

Least Favorite Foods: Salad, foods that are served cold, Thai, bad attempts at pizza.

Favorite Lunches Downtown: Any of the specials at Pakistan Tea House on Church (btw. Duane & Reade) ; Spicy grilled chicken meal or sandwiches from Sophie’s Cuban (Multiple Locations); Italian subs delivered from Acquedolci on Grand St. (at Mulberry).  Acquedolci is run by the same folks who owned Pane Pepe which we lost in 2008.  Try their semolina hero as the bread for your next sandwich.  I am loyal to the Halal cart at Broadway & Park Place where I get the lamb gyro with hot chickpeas.  Burritos at Chipotle.  Basic American soft subs from Toasties on John (btw. Broadway & Nassau) and tacos from The Bigger Place on Warren (at W. Broadway).  For a decadent breakfast at lunch it’s Kitchenette on Chambers (btw. Hudson & Greenwich).

The “go-to” lunch place you and your co-workers eat at too often: Sophie’s Cuban.  This is our go-to because we are fanatical about a hot filling meal especially on a cold day.  There have been weeks where my colleagues and I have made Sophie’s 3 of our 5 lunches but since then we have been vigilant in expanding our options.  One of our lunch’ers lucked out and won the recent contest netting him a free sandwich a week for a year.  It is a good value in that if you aren’t so hungry you can easily save half of one of their “Every Day Specials” for your next lunch.

Places downtown you discovered thanks to Midtown Lunch: Not a Downtown Lunch but Kim’s Aunt Kitchen Cart in midtown is my all time favorite discovery.  My lunch buddies e-mail around new places but mostly stick to our regular favorites.   I am a big fan of food carts but have not found anything around Zuccotti Plaza that I love yet.  I actually never would have tried Five Guys without the nudge from Midtown Lunch and that is great once a month treat.  One day when it isn’t bitterly cold I want to hike up to hit the steam tables at Sea World mainly so I can make Shamu jokes but also to try what’s been reported as a great buffet deal.

Dream job location, purely for lunch purposes, and why: 46th and Sixth – food cart Heaven.  I guess the grass is always greener when you have a downtown lunch’er pining for a Midtown Lunch.

Anything you’d like to ask the downtown Midtown Lunch readers?: Any other places downtown or in the FiDi for a great Italian sub?  I also haven’t found a local pizza parlor I can write home about.

Anyone have a good source of Italian sandwiches for Danielle? I don’t think I’ve had any mind-blowing pizza down in the FiDi but if you’re looking to get a little fancier, Farinella on Worth St. (btw. Broadway & Church) is kind of by where you work. 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.