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 Kate who doesn’t frequent a lot of generic delis, but imports sandwiches from Brooklyn. And she likes a certain bacon jalapeno slice.

Name: Kate

Occupation: Hedge fund assistant

Where you work: Wall St.

Age: 24

Favorite Kinds of Food: Italian/Mediterranean, Spanish tapas, cured meats –jamon, prosciutto, cheese, nachos, crispy rice with spicy tuna, homemade BBQ

Least Favorite Foods: Vegetarian, cereal, bad deli sandwiches

Favorite Lunches Downtown: Spicy basil with chicken from Lemongrass Grill on William (at Maiden Lane); Sophie’s (Multiple Locations) spicy grilled chicken with yellow rice and salad; Adrienne’s Pizza Bar on Stone St. (nr. Hanover Sq.) for prosciutto pizza; Turkey burgers from Café Hanover on Hanover Sq. (at Pearl) and bison cheesesteak wraps from Energy Kitchen on Nassau (btw. John & Fulton) when I’m being healthy; The Grotto on New St. (btw. Beaver & Exchange Pl.) for its bacon jalapeno slice (see below); Mark Joseph’s Steakhouse on Water (btw. Peck Slip & Dover); Heroes from Defonte’s- but I’m not sure these count since we have them brought in from Brooklyn – totally worth it though!

The “go-to” lunch place you and your co-workers eat at too often: Café Water on Pine (btw. Water & Pearl)– the buffet is actually decent, Fresco On The Go on Pearl (at Hanover Sq.) for salads and roll-ups, Adrienne’s.

Places downtown you discovered thanks to Midtown Lunch: The Grotto (bacon jalapeño slice is AMAZING!).

Dream job location, purely for lunch purposes, and why: Barcelona, Spain because Spanish food is delicious and it’s on the beach! And, they have buffet-style delis (but fresh) where you take different tapas with a toothpick and pay based on the number of toothpicks (about $1 per) left on your plate. Need I say more??

Anything you’d like to ask the downtown Midtown Lunch readers?: What’s the best deli in the FiDi for a quality sandwich?

That’s a tough one. I liked the sandwich I got at the Lane Cafe & Deli on Maiden Lane, and if you walk down toward Battery Park you can hit up the All American Diner I & II truck parked on Whitehall (usually in front of the 1 State St. building). 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.