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 Jonathan who has strong opinions on his burger options and also wants Schnitzel & Things to come back to the FiDi.

Name: Jonathan Ku

Occupation: Information technology

Where you work: 80 Pine St

Age: 29

Favorite Kinds of Food: Anything from a food truck. Red meat, no veggies: Cows eat grass, I eat the cow, the Circle of Life is complete.

Least Favorite Foods: Chain fast food restaurants

Favorite Lunches Downtown: Sophie’s Cuban (Multiple Locations) for the pernil with rice – instant food coma for the rest of the day. Zeytuna on Nassau (btw. Maiden Lane & John), although I always go there, look at the other stations and in the end I always order the same thing: Chicken adana over rice from the grill. Pita Press on Cedar (btw. William & Pearl) is something I recently discovered and submitted a tip for. I might’ve eaten here almost every day when they first opened. I especially like their sliced chicken and pork with lemon potatoes. Wall St. Burger Shoppe on Water (btw. Broad & Coenties Slip) and Five Guys on Fulton (at Dutch) are my go-to burger joints. Don’t get me started on Goodburger, although that $1 Wednesday happy hour makes them bearable for now. The Bian Dang truck is like Christmas to me when they show up on Wednesday. Schnitzel & Things truck please come back! I haven’t seen you in a while since you opened your brick and mortar, don’t leave me hanging bro. Koyzina Cafe for the pasta made right in front of you, the chef when done flipping your pasta always gives you the sprinkle sign, you give him the thumbs up, and he sprinkles some parmesan on it like it’s a controlled substance. And what Midtown (Ed.- and Downtown!) Lunch would be complete without your favorite street meat cart? For me it would be the Xpress Power Lunch cart on Wall St. (at Pearl) for chicken and rice, and Michael’s on Wall (at South) for when I want some charcoal grilled lamb over green rice – order the house hot sauce and get a fist bump.

The “go-to” lunch place you and your co-workers eat at too often: When we want to take advantage of our full lunch hour we usually go to either Wall St. Burger Shoppe, Zeytuna, Sophie’s Cuban or Koyzina Cafe for the pasta and just bring on the 2 p.m. food coma. If you catch me napping at my desk, just leave me be and get me a blanket.

Places downtown you discovered thanks to ML Downtown: Most of the food Trucks such as Bian Dang, Veronica’s Kitchen Jamaican cart on Front (at Pine), Schnitzel & Things, Wafels & Dinges and the myriad of chicken and rice trucks.

Dream job location, purely for lunch purposes, and why: It would be Argentina. The Argentinians really know how to prepare red meat. Brazilian churrascaria anyone?

Anything you’d like to ask the downtown Midtown Lunch readers?: I need a good Vietnamese place, somewhere where they serve that grilled pork chop over rice (xuong nuong).

As far as I know there’s only one option for the Vietnamese pork chop over rice in the FiDi, and that would be Nicky’s Vietnamese Sandwiches on Nassau (btw. Fulton & Ann). I can’t make any guarantees about the quality. Anyone else know of  pork chop over rice options for Jonathan? 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 downtown@midtownlunch.com.