PROFILE: Downtown Lunch’er (And Tribeca Citizen Scribe) “Erik”

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 Erik, who writes and edits TribecaCitizen.com and often tips me off to new restaurants I wouldn’t otherwise know about. And he thinks the neighbohood has untapped lunch potential.

Name: Erik Torkells

Occupation: Writer/editor

Where you work: Tribeca

Age: 41

Favorite Kinds of Food: Every food is better as a sandwich. And pizza, preferably of the charred-crust variety.

Least Favorite Foods: I’ve recently swung mostly vegetarian, so I’m going to have to say anything really meaty.

Favorite Lunches Downtown: I love Tribeca, and I love lunch, but they don’t really love each other. That’s why the first place that came to mind is Taïm in the West Village, where I’ll often make my pug walk. I’ve been trying to get the Taïm Mobile truck to come to Tribeca, but it won’t. I suppose you’d like me to talk about what’s around here…. Pakistan Tea House on Church St. (btw. Duane & Reade)for takeout. Capri Caffé on Church (btw. Chambers & Reade) is a cute hole-in-the-wall. Birdbath (Multiple Locations) makes delicious soups. 92YTribeca’s café on Hudson (btw. Vestry & Desbrosses) is an excellent value. I loved Stuzzicheria on Church St. (at Walker). Most people know Ward III on Reade (at W. Broadway) as a bar, but it has pretty good food, too. Yorganic on Greenwich (btw. Warren & Murray) is handy if I’m feeling virtuous (but even then I’ll order extra sauce). Greenwich Grill is one of my favorite restaurants, and it has an amazing $12 lunch deal of soup/salad, pasta/risotto, dessert and coffee/tea; And every now and then I take myself to Dim Sum Go Go on E. Broadway (btw. Catherine & Chatham Sq.)—my partner had a bad experience there years ago, so he refuses to go.

We’re hurting for good sandwich-and-salad places, with the exceptions of Columbine on W. Broadway (at White), and ‘wichcraft (Multiple Locations). You have to go to both around noon or you’ll be stuck in a long line, so I’ve been excited about the opening of Tiny’s on W. Broadway (nr. Duane) and The Harrison on Greenwich (at Harrison) restarting lunch service, even if they’re sit-down. And Kutsher’s Deli is eventually coming to Franklin Street, which will be worth checking out. When I say I’m “mostly vegetarian,” I mean that I’ll have a bite of your pastrami sandwich… There’s a big opportunity for someone to open lunch spots in southern Tribeca, what with the Goldman Sachs building in northern Battery Park City, the WTC buildings going up, and all the stay-at-home moms.

The “go-to” lunch place you and your co-workers [LOL] eat at too often: ‘wichcraft, I guess. But when I get tired of the menu I order the sandwiches on greens (which not many people seem to do…?).

Places downtown you discovered thanks to Midtown Lunch: The buffet-to-go at Salaam Bombay on Greenwich (at Reade); Hot Clay Oven on Maiden Lane (btw. Gold & Pearl) and Toloache Taqueria on Maiden Lane (at Gold) in the FiDi. I’m pretty sure that when I worked in the Garment District, I had Midtown Lunch to thank for turning me on to Macaron Café. The Garment District was brutal for lunch. I ate at Pret a Manger so much that I still get a little nauseated whenever I pass by one.

Dream job location, purely for lunch purposes, and why: Tokyo (best food in the world!) or Sydney (a city with a great café culture and you can dine outside most of the year). Or do you mean in NYC? In that case, I’d like to work within a block’s radius of No. 7 Sub.

Anything you’d like to ask the downtown Midtown Lunch readers?: I’m always on the lookout for places with a takeout window (such as Grandaisy on W. Broadway), because then I can walk my dog and grab lunch at the same time. (I don’t like tying him up if I can avoid it.) Are there others below Houston St.?

I am stumped thinking of anywhere that has a takeout window. There are the kiosks behind the WFC such as Quality Burger and Ed’s Lobster Bar cart but those are little help for a vegetarian. Anyone else know of hidden gems of this sort in Tribeca? 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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