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 Patricia who lunches in the Financial District but would rather be in the East Village.

Name: Patricia Tirona

Occupation: Corporate gift sales

Where you work: Wall St. between William and Gold

Age: 38

Favorite kinds of food: Nothing beats Japanese  food for me – sushi, sashimi, udon, soba, yakitori – biggest variety within one cuisine by far.  2nd favorite is Thai – shrimp dumplings, drunken noodles, any dish with Thai basil.  Vietnamese – pho, classic sandwiches, grilled pork on vermicelli, mint/lettuce-wrapped spring rolls.  Love Mexican food – stewed beef tacos, enchiladas, tamales, anything with cheese and anything spicy.  Tapas is great for the variety and the smaller portions which means I can try several dishes every time I go.

Least favorite foods: Despite being Filipino, I rarely if ever eat it or get cravings for it.  For the most part I find it too heavy and am not a fan of the spices.  I can’t stand coleslaw, chicken salad, or anything with excessive mayo.

Favorite lunches downtown: Pita Press on Cedar (btw. William & Pearl) for tarama (fish roe spread) and tzatziki.  Shrimp summer rolls, papaya salad, and classic Vietnamese sandwich extra spicy from Baoguette on Nassau (btw. John & Fulton).  Stewed beef burrito bowl from Chipotle (Multiple Locations) with brown rice (recent addition!) is something I have at least once a week.  Prosciutto di Parma and black forest ham crepes at Crepes du Nord on S. William (btw. Broad & Mill Lane) are also excellent.  I literally just discovered Fresco on the Go on Pearl (at Hanover Sq.) and I now feel I have a reliable go-to for lunch.  The tossed salad hit the spot, was reasonably priced, and tasted fresh.  I was drooling over their burrito and pasta bar so definitely going back for more.  In Chinatown: Great NY Noodletown on Bowery (at Bayard) for awesome congee and salt shrimp, and Thai Son on Baxter (btw. Bayard & Walker) for grilled pork bun.  In Soho, it’s worth the quick subway ride to treat myself to cowgirl or cowboy cookies at Olive’s on Prince (btw. Wooster & Greene).

The “go-to” lunch place you and your co-workers eat at too often: Pita Press

Places downtown you discovered thanks to Midtown Lunch: Downtown? Baoguette – I’d tried the one on St. Marks but thanks to MLD, I discovered there was one close to the office.  Thanks for that!

Dream job location, purely for lunch purposes, and why: East Village (where I currently live) because it’s hands down my favorite eating neighborhood in New York. Grand Sichuan and Klong are staples of mine.  Spot Dessert Bar has my favorite cupcakes.  Mud has great coffee.  Minca has the best ramen.  Menkui Tei reminds me of the Japanese food I had in Tokyo – love the mapo tofu.  I pick up breakfast from Panya Bakery before heading out to work and a bento box for dinner on my way home.  There are too many awesome pizza places to mention – Luzzo’s, Motorino, Gnocco, Numero 28 Pizzeria Napoletana, 11B Express.  Burgers at Black Iron Burger Shop are delicious.  La Palapa has great Mexican food.  Organic Grill is perfect when I want to keep things healthy.

Anything you’d like to ask the Midtown Lunch: Downtown readers? Where do I find reasonably priced sushi/sashimi lunch specials in FiDi?  Also, any place for a good cup of coffee that isn’t Starbucks or Financier?

There are decent sushi lunch deals at Taste of Tokyo on Beaver (btw. William & Hanover Sq.) and I also like Nu Sushi on Pearl (btw. Coenties and Hanover Sq.). As for coffee, there’s Manon Cafe which has locations at Hanover Sq. & Pearl and Cedar (nr. Broadway). There’s also a new coffee bar called Demi Monde coming to Broad & Bridge. 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.