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 Robyn who is sure to win hearts on this site for her food like/dislike list, and her making of contraband sandwiches in the office.

Name: Robyn G.

Occupation: Legal assistant/ day dreamer

Where you work: Water and Maiden Lane

Age: Ageless

Favorite kinds of food: Delicious kinds (steak, ice cream, lobster, crab legs, cheesy delights, anything that pairs well with booze).

Least favorite foods: Healthy kinds (beans and broccoli disgust me).

Favorite lunches downtown: A rare bleu cheese burger with fries at Meade’s on Peck Slip (btw. Water & Pearl), the grilled chicken sandwich with extra EXTRA green sauce at Sophie’s Cuban (Multiple Locations), the croque madame at Financier Patisserie (Multiple Locations), the falafel platter with extra white sauce and yellow rice from the cart (Adel’s) on Maiden Lane and Front Street, truffles from Maison du Chocolat on Wall St. or FIKA Swedish Espresso Bar on Pearl (at Coenties Slip), mussels with cream and bacon at Les Halles on John St. (btw. Broadway & Nassau), tortas from Toloache Taqueria on Maiden Lane (btw. William & Gold), falafel from Taim Mobile, and most importantly sandwiches from my contraband snackmaster in the office.

The “go-to” lunch place you and your co-workers eat at too often: The cafeteria in my building which has so many awful, unsatisfying options but is convenient.

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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 Laura who you’re not likely to find at a street meat cart, but who heads to surrounding neighborhoods for noodles on Fridays.

Name: Laura

Title: Client services manager

Where you work: Varick & Vandam

Age: 27

Favorite kinds of food: Considering lunch is usually my biggest meal of the day, I’m always craving something more hearty than a simple salad — sandwiches, burgers, and any type of pasta are usually my go-to. Comfort food will always be king to me.

Least favorite foods: You’ll never catch me craving falafel or Indian food. Sorry, just not gonna happen.

Favorite lunches downtown: A hole-in-the-wall catering place off of W. Houston on Varick called Deb’s Catering, is always good for their creamy mac & cheese. My team’s been known to seek out new food places on Fridays and recent trips include the sushi conveyor belt at Taka Taka on W. Broadway (btw. Canal & Grand) and the BBQ pork & crispy vegetable wontons from Noodle Bar on Carmine St.

The “go-to” lunch place you and your co-workers eat at too often: Easily, it’s Alidoro on Sullivan (btw. Spring & Prince). These Italian sandwiches will literally change your life with their freshness and amazing flavor. My favorite is the Alyssa. Even though we try to justify turning one huge sandwich into two meals…it usually turns into “second lunch” a few hours later.

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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 Roman who works in the World Financial Center and is rightfully excited about the recent food truck love over that way.

Name:  Roman Urbanowicz

Occupation: IT project manager

Where you work: 1 World Financial Center (West & Liberty streets)

Age: 39

Favorite kinds of food: BBQ, fleur de sel caramels, sugary kid’s cereals.

Least favorite foods: Brussels sprouts, tripe, head cheese.

Favorite lunches downtown: Tajin on Greenwich (at Rector) for enchiladas mole; Taim Mobile for a falafel sandwich (loaded) & ginger mint lemonade; Fatty Snack kiosk outside the WFC for heritage pork ribs, black eye pea salad & lemongrass ginger iced tea.

The “go-to” lunch place you and your co-workers eat at too often: Shake Shack  on Murray St. (btw. West & N. End Ave.). Damn you double Shack burger & black and white shake.

Places downtown you discovered thanks to Midtown Lunch: Downtown: The beloved arrival of the World Financial Center food truck court!

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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 Jeff who’s a relative newcomer to the Downtown Lunch scene but has already managed to find most of the quality places for Vietnamese sandwiches.

Name: Jeff Baum

Occupation: Litigation paralegal

Where you work: Broadway and Liberty St.

Age: 30

Favorite kinds of food: Spicy, authentic Thai food, or a really good steak.

Least favorite foods: Generally not the biggest seafood fan, especially for lunch.

Favorite lunches downtown: If I can spare the time to walk up, Xi’an Famous Foods on Bayard St.  (btw. Mott & Elizabeth) in Chinatown for liang-pi noodles is untouchable. More locally, I really enjoy the sloppy bao at Baoguette on Nassau (btw. John & Fulton) and the Taiwanese dumplings at the A-Pou’s Taste Cart (Multiple Locations). My grandfather and I try to get together for lunch every few weeks, and for a nice, sit-down place that’s pretty reasonable, Les Halles on John St. (btw. Nassau & Broadway) was excellent.

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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 Cynthia who will eat spicy food, but shuns broccoli.

Name: Cynthia

Occupation: Lawyer & blogger at www.addicted2etsy.com

Where you work: John & Water

Age: 30

Favorite kinds of food: Love it all, but I do lean towards spicy.

Least favorite foods: Anything bland or dry and anything with broccoli. Still hate broccoli.

Favorite lunches downtown: Love food trucks like the Souvlaki GR truck that parks at Old Slip & Front. Pork souvlaki wrap all the way. Bian Dang (for the dumplings), No. 1 Banh Mi cart at Hanover Sq. & Pearl, what used to be the Jamaican Dutchy truck (aka, R. Retha’s cart) at William & Beaver, even the, in my opinion, slightly overpriced Frying Dutchmen truck. Also,  Bennie’s Thai Cafe on Fulton (at Gold) for pad kee mao/spicy noodles, and BonChon Chicken on John (btw. Cliff & Pearl).  Lately, I’ve been surprisingly enjoying the soups and sandwiches from Earl’s Court on John (at Gold). When I’m not starving, I treat myself to sweet potato fries from Goodburger on Maiden Lane (at Pearl).

The “go-to” lunch place you and your co-workers eat at too often: Zeytuna on Maiden Lane (at William). Why do we go there? I always spend more than I should, and I very rarely enjoy my meal.

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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 Matthew who works about as far down in Manhattan as you can without being in the water, and is looking for more good Indian food options.

Name: Matthew

Occupation: Electronic discovery

Where you work: Battery Place

Age: 28

Favorite kinds of food: I always crave pizza, good deli sandwiches, sushi, Indian, and Mexican.

Least favorite foods: I probably eat Chinese food least.

Favorite lunches downtown: When my inner discipline is strong, I don’t go to Pizza Italia on Stone St. (btw. Whitehall & Broad) and order one buffalo chicken slice and one grandma round slice. After surviving three years of mediocre pizza in California, I gave up great Mexican for great pizza and it was worth it. I also get a lot of Italian heros at Champs Gourmet Deli (Multiple Locations) and roast pork at Sophie’s Cuban (Multiple Locations). FIKA on Pearl (nr. Coenties Slip) has great coffee and even better scones.

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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 Cathy who is a recent transplant to the Financial District and has an unpopular opinion on street meat.

Name: Cathy

Occupation: Account executive

Where you work: Wall St. and William St.

Age: 30

Favorite kinds of food: Sushi, bistro fare, salads

Least favorite foods: Halal carts.  Can’t get past the smell.

Favorite lunches downtown: I go to Pita Press on Cedar (btw. William & Pearl) and my favorite thing to get is one of their salads with the warm pita on the side. You can also get a side of tzatziki for 50 cents to dip your pita in.  It is one of my favorite lunches.  That is my go-to lunch spot not only due to its proximity but the tasty fresh ingredients. I also like Hot Clay Oven – the Indian take out place that is setup like Chipotle.  That is pretty tasty.  On the higher end, Crepes du Nord is great.  The buckwheat crepes are made to order and the fillings are very healthy and yummy.  I like a lighter lunch so both of these places fit the bill for me.

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