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 Callie who is looking for some good Battery Park City lunches and her dislikes include everything this site is against.

Name: Callie

Occupation: Risk analyst

Where you work: 55 Water St.

Age: 22

Favorite Kinds of Food: Cheese, meat, combinations of cheese and meat, sushi, French, Italian, Thai, Korean, Indian, Peking duck, soup (especially spicy soup), anything I can smother in ketchup, baked goods. I appreciate good, fresh, thoughtfully-prepared foods of all kinds.

Least Favorite Foods: Wraps, most deli sandwiches, chain pizza, the cupcake fad, overpriced pub food on Stone St., cucumber.

Favorite Lunches Downtown: Taim Mobile, Alfanoose on Maiden Lane (btw. Broadway & Nassau), Adel’s Halal on Maiden Lane (at Front) for the falafel and spicy rice; Toloache on Maiden Lane (btw. William & Gold) for the pozole de pollo and guacamole; Mexicue – I got 4 sliders once and almost had a heart attack at my desk. I think the BBQ brisket is my favorite; Financier (Multiple Locations) for the financier sandwich and la crevettes salad; Table Tales on Water (btw. Beekman & Peck Slip), Adrienne’s Pizza Bar on Stone St. (nr. Hanover Sq.), Harry’s Italian on Gold St. (at Platt) for the meatball parm. Pita Press is a new favorite – their zucchini and feta fritters in pita is awesome when I’m not feeling like souvlaki but want some tzatziki sauce anyway.

The “go-to” lunch place you and your co-workers eat at too often: Financier and Fika Swedish Espresso Bar on Pearl (at Coenties Slip) are guilty pleasures that I indulge in way too often, especially for breakfast, but besides that I really don’t have a “go-to” place. Co-workers go to steam table buffets and salad bars like Café Hanover on Hanover Sq. (at Pearl) and Zigolini’s on Pearl (at Coenties Slip) a lot, fortunately I haven’t gotten in the habit yet.

Places downtown you discovered thanks to Midtown Lunch: All of the trucks (Mexicue, Taim, Wafels & Dinges, Bian Dang), Toloache, Shinju Sushi on Pearl (btw. Pine & Wall), the carts at Liberty Plaza, Pita Press.

Dream job location, purely for lunch purposes, and why: Dijon, France. Amazing produce, unpasteurized cheese, meat and wine. I would probably eat a car tire if it was slow-cooked in red wine.

Anything you’d like to ask the downtown Midtown Lunch readers?: Are there any places worth going to around Battery Park City? I’ve been to Liberty View and it’s pretty good, but out of my price range for a lunch spot. Same deal with Seh Ja Meh.

Right now the choices are pretty grim in BPC, but there is hope! Shake Shack and a Fatty ‘Cue kiosk are on the way. There are also the Ed’s Lobster Bar and Quality Burger kiosks by the marina at the World Financial Center. 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.