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 Chris who is a big fan of a certain sandwich shop and wants to find some fancy breakfast sandwiches.

Name: Chris Rojas

Occupation: Leading client relationships with investment banks for a global provider of consulting and software.  On my taxes I just put “sales.”

Where you work: Broadway & Pine

Age: 38

Favorite kinds of food: BBQ, Comida Latina, Indian, Vietnamese, Japanese

Least favorite foods: Salad, pasta that is not either homemade or expertly prepared, plain pizza.

Favorite lunches downtown: At Toasties on John St. (btw. Nassau & B’way) my all-time favorite is the smoked chicken deluxe (chicken cutlet with pastrami and smoked mozzarella).  Runners-up include: Chicken cheddar (that’s a cutlet and there’s bacon) and hot turkey #4 (freshly carved turkey, cole slaw, swiss, cranberry sauce).  The lunchbox at Diwan-E-Khaas (Multiple Locations) – the meat may vary but the veg is always dal makhani and palak paneer (spicy lentils and spinach with cheese, respectively).  If I’m famished and willing to spend more than $10 I’ll go to Ise on Pine St. (btw. William & Pearl) and impress my lunch mates with an immense bowl of katsu curry (pork, obv).

The “go-to” lunch place you and your co-workers eat at too often: Toasties – I am there around four times a week for either breakfast or lunch.  The sandwich variety is strong.  Be sure to ask for a pickle on your way out.

Places downtown you discovered thanks to Midtown Lunch: Downtown? French Café Gourmand on Maiden Lane (btw. B’way & Nassau), Korilla BBQ truck, Morris Grilled Cheese truck, Palenque truck, Yushi (Multiple Locations).

Dream job location, purely for lunch purposes, and why: Hong Kong!  During one week there in 2010 my lunches consisted of amazing katsu, sushi, bibimbap, phô, and the legend that is Din Tai Fung (heavenly soup dumplings are just the beginning).

Anything you’d like to ask the Midtown Lunch: Downtown readers? Aside from a follow on Twitter (@RojasNYC), I’d appreciate advice on how to step up my *gasp* breakfast game.  The best I’ve found so far (and we’re talking eggs here people) on this front is Café Gusto on John St. (btw. Pearl & Cliff) for their selection of breads like sourdough and pullman.  Any other suggestions for a posh breakfast sandwich in FiDi?

I know nothing of the breakfast sandwich offerings down here since I get to work when most people are thinking about lunch. Who has a good egg sandwich rec for Chris? 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.