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 Joe who is working in a bad place for someone who likes Korean food so much, but is thinking of remedying the situation himself with a business proposition.

Name: Joe

Occupation: Research Associate

Where you work: Liberty and Nassau

Age: 25

Favorite Kinds of Food: Pizza, bacon cheeseburgers, fried foods, Asian noodles, Buffalo wings, burritos, chicken Caesar wraps, eggplant parm (anything “parmed” really), guacamole, pickles, corn, KOREAN FOOD (to name a few…kimchi, soft tofu soup, braised short ribs, kalbi, naengmyeon, kimbob, galbitang, bibimbop…can’t help it, it’s in my blood), hearty tomato soup with a grilled cheese sandwich, mac ‘n’ cheese, steak tartare, beef jerky (got my own dehydrator to prove it!), Alaskan rolls, spicy tuna rolls, tempora udon, Nutella with bananas (not the other way around), bacon cheese omelets, buttermilk pancakes…I can go on and on!

Least Favorite Foods: Not too many…sardines, escargot, tempeh, cucumber rolls, “low calorie” imitations (it’s never as good as the original!) Read more »

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 James who works in Tribeca and has found some good lunches in a pricey neighborhood, but would love to work a little farther north. And you probably won’t see him lined up for a BBQ chicken pizza with arugula.

Name: James Durazzo

Occupation: Budget analyst

Where you work: TriBeCa

Age: 28

Favorite Kinds of Food: Italian, Mexican, burgers

Least Favorite kinds of Food: Canned tuna fish, bologna, Kraft singles, cream cheese, salad bars in delis that have “canned everything” for toppings, pizza with obscure toppings

Favorite lunches Downtown: Farinella on Worth St. (btw. Broadway and Church) for the marinara slice as well as the Portalba calzone (sautéed escarole with black olives); South’s Bar on Church St. (btw. Franklin and 6th Ave.) for the sirloin burger with blue cheese as well as the nachos; The Bigger Place on Warren St. (at W. Broadway) for the chorizo tacos and a glass of cold refreshing horchata; Stuzzicheria on Church St. (btw. Walker and Lispenard) for pane panelle sliders and arancini; Majestic Pizza on Cortlandt St. (btw. Trinity Pl. and Broadway) for the grandma slice with fresh basil. Read more »

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 Mark who dislikes being a creature of habit come lunch time, likes steak sandwiches and is looking for good deals without having to eat on a park bench.

Name: Mark Uhl

Occupation: Design studio manager

Where you work: Soho

Age: 37

Favorite Kinds of Food: North African, French comfort food, and Peruvian and Mexican in my Jackson Heights, Queens nabe.

Least Favorite Foods: Deli fruit salad (especially the melon), Greek diner home fries (I’d prefer to eat the potatoes raw and unadorned), cheese sandwiches, and meat on rice with white sauce from any Halal cart (it’s a great dish until you eat the whole thing and need to go home for the rest of the day).

Favorite Lunches Downtown: Papatzul on Grand (at W. Broadway) for mole de almendra – the best mole in NYC, Mooncake Foods on Watts St. (btw. Thompson & 6th Ave.) for the steak sandwich, Big Wing Wong on Mott St. (btw. Canal & Hester) for the pork and noodles, Peep on Prince St. (btw. Thompson & Sullivan) and Spring St. Natural on Spring St. (btw. Cleveland Pl. and Lafayette) for the chicken burger. Read more »

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 Chloe who is in search of “love”-filled Mexican food and is wondering, like we all are, what happened to a certain BBQ truck.

Name: Chloe Knox

Occupation: Energy underwriting

Where you work: On Water St., close to Hanover Sq.

Age: 26

Favorite Kinds of Food: Sushi, falafel, churrasco with a ton of chimichurri & cebollitas, anything with garlic, dumplings, and most importantly – any and all authentic Mexican food: chilaquiles, tortas, carnitas tacos, etc.

Least Favorite Foods: Liver

Favorite Lunches Downtown: I gotta shout out Sam’s Falafel cart on Cedar (nr. Broadway) and the Gatehouse on S. End Ave. (at Albany) for sushi – you got me through those tough years in the World Financial Center dead zone.  Niko Niko on Pearl (btw. Wall & Pine) is great to grab right after the gym (I usually go for salmon sashimi & edamame), and Zaitzeff on Nassau St. (at John) is great for a killer burger with a bunch of their hot mustard & mixed fries. Read more »

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 Craig who doesn’t believe in $5 foot longs or certain green vegetables, and thinks the FiDi is a pretty good place to be come lunchtime.

Name: Craig Savitzky

Occupation: Research Associate

Where you work: The American Lawyer magazine

Age: 28

Favorite Kinds of Food: Neapolitan-style pizza, Cincinnati chili, Milwaukee frozen custard, Tibetan momos, El Salvadorian pupusas, muffulettas, shokshuka and any and all Caribbean food.

Least Favorite Foods: Not into peas, green beans or baked ziti.

Favorite Lunches Downtown: The “Napoletano” calzoni at Farinella on Worth St. (nr. Broadway); jerk chicken at Veronica’s Kitchen on Front St. (at Pine); Alfanoose on Maiden Lane (btw. Broadway & Nassau) for their red lentil soup; the calamari done with a southwestern flare at the Capital Grille on Nassau (btw. Liberty & Pine); the speck, taleggio and frisee sandwich at Barberini Mercato on Front St. (btw. Beekman & Peck Slip); the chicken, mushroom and spinach burger with peach ketchup at Kitchenette on Chambers St. (btw. Greenwich & W. Broadway); Urban Lobster Shack on Stone St. (btw. Broad & Broadway) for the ongoing $10 special, but if it’s ambiance you’re after, get the tuna roll at Ed’s Lobster Bar kiosk instead behind the World Financial Center (nr. Vesey); Jou Jou Café on Nassau (at Maiden Lane) for their Israeli panini comprised of egg salad, Swiss cheese and Zataar; Takahachi Bakery on Murray St. (at Church) for scrumptious almond-miso cookies. Finally, step on over to Battery Park City where Izzy & Nat’s on South End Ave. (nr. Albany) will tend to all of your appetizing needs. Read more »

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 fellow food blogger Katie who is trying to kick her anti-seafood habit and has a short, but solid, list of favorite lunches.

Name: Katie Ett

Occupation: Officially, I’m a facility coordinator, but I’m a full-time blogger in my heart.  (I have three blogs, and that’s not even close to all of them.)

Where you work: A software company as far downtown as you can get without actually being in the water.

Age: 28

Favorite Kinds of Food: On the high end, really mundane ingredients done so well they surprise me. On the low end, all of the terrible chain restaurants from my hometown in Ohio that you can only find in Times Square here.

Least Favorite Foods: Tomatoes.  And all seafood, although I’ve been trying to get over that so my boyfriend will take me to Per Se as a reward.

Favorite Lunches Downtown: Tabasco chicken from Water Street Deli (get it with a side of baked ziti!) on Water (btw. Broad & Moore), roast pork and plantains from Sophie’s Cuban (Multiple Locations), and zeppoles from The Grotto on New St. (btw. Exchange Pl. & Beaver) for dessert every day.

The “go-to” lunch place you and your co-workers eat at too often: Flavors on Whitehall St., just because it’s right out our back door.  At least they sell chocolate pudding and the best Oreo brownies you can imagine. Read more »

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 Nick Horman, who knows a thing or two about pickles and favors the Lower East Side and Village for his lunches.

Name: Nicholas Horman, aka Nicky Pickles

Occupation: Owner of a small pickle company

Where you work: Horman’s Best Pickles, Carmine St. & 6th Ave.

Age: 27

Favorite Kinds of Food: Falafel, lobster rolls, Indian, burgers,  anything pickled, Korean BBQ

Least Favorite Foods: Cheap pizza, fast food

Favorite Lunches Downtown: Luke’s Lobster (Multiple Locations) for the lobster roll, The Blind Tiger Ale House on Bleecker St. (at Jones) for the apple bacon cheddar melt (served with my pickles) and Veselka on 2nd Ave. (at 9th St.) Read more »