PROFILE: Downtown Lunch’er “Rachel”

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 Rachel who is having difficulty finding good lunches near her Soho office.

 width=228Name: Rachel W.

Occupation: Integrated marketing at a cable network

Where you work: Hudson St./King St.

Age: 24

Favorite Kinds of Food: I’m game for almost anything.  For lunch I can go for a big suburban Italian hero, street meat, sushi, pizza, Mexican, Thai, ramen.

Least Favorite Foods: I’m not a big fan of Greek food or falafel.

Favorite Lunches Downtown: Joe’s Pizza on Carmine (at 6th Ave.); Rheon Café on Spring (btw. Sullivan & Thompson) for their duck sandwich; Breakfast & Lunch Cart on the NW corner of Hudson & Charlton for halal; Grand Sichuan (Multiple Locations); Ear Inn on Spring (btw. Greenwich & Washington); Pepe Rosso on Sullivan (btw. Prince & Houston, and Pepe Verde on Hudson (btw. Perry & W. 11th) – Rosso for takeout, Verde for seating; Alidoro on Sullivan (btw. Spring & Prince); Keste on Bleecker (btw. Jones & Cornelia); Tauro Restaurant on Hudson (btw. Broome & Spring); Faicco’s Pork Store on Bleecker (nr. Leroy).

The “go-to” lunch place you and your co-workers eat at too often: Grey Dog Coffee (Multiple Locations) – so overpriced, and Getting Hungry on Varick (btw. Downing & Carmine) –  generic midtown deli transplanted downtown.

Places downtown you discovered thanks to Midtown Lunch: Ear Inn, which is now perhaps my favorite bar, next to Jimmy’s Corner, which I also discovered via Midtown Lunch.

Dream job location, purely for lunch purposes, and why: The Italian Alps.  I have family there and there’s nothing better than skiing down a cold mountain and warming up in the lodge by having a heaping bowl of delicious, inexpensive pasta (not a $15 chicken fingers and french fries platter like we have here in the northeast).

Anything you’d like to ask the downtown Midtown Lunch readers?: ANY suggestions in the area?  I just moved over here a few months ago from midtown.  I feel like there are so many offices near me, but in order to find something delicious for lunch, I have to exit my five block radius into the West Village!  More specifically, is there any Mexican besides Chipotle and Calexico down here?  Cabrito just closed and I’m sorely missing the El Rey Del Sabor cart.  I’m also devoid of a place with a good soup selection.  I used to be such a sucker for Hale & Hearty.  Anything?

Ah yes, the ever popular quest for good Mexican. I have two suggestions that are kind of near where you work depending on how far you want to walk. Pinche Taqueria (Multiple Locations) is good and I’ve heard that Lupe’s on 6th Ave. (at Watts) is too if you want more of a sit down place. Anyone else who works around there have good ideas for Rachel? 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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4 Comments

  • Terrible photo.

  • I ate at Lupe’s once. I wasn’t thrilled by it. It was just fine. Actually, the Soho Garden Deli (W. Broadway just above Canal) has excellent sandwiches, excellent Udon, and excellent Burritos (SOMEHOW!).

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    I agree about Lupe’s. It’s not bad, but nothing to write home about. I like Papatzul on Grand and W. Broadway. Their portions can be a little small, depending on what you order but it’s pretty tasty. It’s a bit of a hike for you but I think they deliver.

    MWinston, I’ll have to check out that deli… never been there.

    Hudson seems to be the hot spot for food trucks lately though. I went there for Korilla a few weeks ago and I know a bunch of the others have been in that area.

  • Yeah I went over and had a Fried Pork Burrito at that deli today, it’s not anywhere close to being authentic… but it is gigantic and was delicious. The roast pork was similar to the kind in Chinese Lo Mein, haha.

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