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 Grace who is into comfort foods from a variety of countries and thinks there should be a nickname for a certain stretch of Maiden Lane.

Name: Grace C.

Occupation: Digital marketing for government agency

Where you work: William St., between Fulton & John

Age: 29

Favorite kinds of food: If I ranked the world’s cuisines: Italian – pasta carbonara, New York pizza, chicken marsala with mashed potatoes and broccoli; Japanese – RAMEN, sushi, scallop sashimi, curry, gyoza; Chinese – dim sum, Cantonese-style lobster, emperor’s tofu, walnut shrimp, whole steamed fish, white rice alone, snow pea leaves, crunchy pig ears, xiao long bao; Thai – Isaan-style barbecue chicken, tom kha gai, som tum; French – escargot; American – grilled cheese, waffles… basically, all my comfort foods.

Least favorite foods: Bottom-feeders such as sea slugs and sea urchins. I also can’t bring myself to bite into an intact octopus head.

Favorite lunches downtown: Fried zucchini vegetarian pita at Pita Press on Cedar (btw. William & Pearl) with Greek herbal tea; pork dumplings with Chinese spaghetti $6 lunch special at A-Pou’s Taste Cart on Liberty St. (nr. Broadway), with corn soup if I’m in the mood; the classic at Baoguette on Maiden Lane (btw. Broadway & Nassau); pizza sandwich at Potbelly on Maiden Lane (at Gold) with a real strawberry shake; bento box at Ise on Pine (btw. Pearl & William) for special occasions; pad see eew with chicken at Bennie’s Thai on Fulton St. (at Gold); kosher falafel at Pita Express on Ann St. (btw. Park Row & Nassau); and Blue Spoon on Chambers St. (btw. Broadway & Church) for pressed sandwiches. In the summertime, I’ll stop for $3 fruit juices from the guy in front of Zeytuna. And salads and small turkey chili with cheddar cheese from Patuca, which are sadly now gone.

The “go-to” lunch place you and your co-workers eat at too often: Soma by Nature — the fast food Korean place on William (btw. Fulton & John), Subway, Chipotle for burrito bowls, Chop’t’s $$$ salads, and of course, Yip’s Chinese buffet.

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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 Aaron who lunches on everything from eel banh mi and is looking for some specific Japanese food recommendations.

Name: Aaron S.

Occupation: City planner

Where you work: 55 Water St.

Age: 31

Favorite Kinds of food: Dim sum, Central Asian stuff (samsas, lulya kebabs, lagman), all that super-heavy Quebecois stuff (poutine, pouding chomeur, cidre de glace), Staten Island pizza (shout-out to that awesome clam pie at Salvatore’s), almost anything with Sichuan chili oil

Least favorite foods: Green bell peppers, Greek yogurt, bottled salad dressing, flavorless chicken breast

Favorite lunches downtown: Chicken with extra pork sauce and a fried egg from the Bian Dang truck, the eel banh mi (when they have it) from the No. 1 Banh Mi cart on Hanover Sq. (at Pearl), quiche from Financier on Stone St., kati rolls from the Desi Food Truck. And here are some golden oldies from my previous office in Tribeca: Pho dac biet at Nha Trang on Baxter (btw. Bayard & Walker), and the veggie sandwich from Grandaisy Bakery on W. Broadway (at 6th Ave.).

The “go-to” lunch place you and your co-workers eat at too often: Bombay on Pearl St. (nr. Broad) It’s actually quite decent, but it slows me down for the rest of the day.

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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 DeShaun who discovered the joys of giant parm sandwiches from a truck from this site and likes cheap tacos.

Name: DeShaun Craddock

Occupation: Research analyst

Where you work: Corner of William & John streets

Age: 28

Favorite kinds of food: Italian, Thai, sushi, Mexican

Least favorite foods: Shellfish

Favorite lunches downtown: I absolutely adore Toloache Taqueria on Maiden Lane (btw. William & Gold) for their suadero and puerco tacos when they’re $2 on Tuesdays and their tortas; Caruso’s Pizza & Pasta on Fulton (btw. Nassau & Broadway) for a quick slice; Lemongrass Grill on William St. (at Maiden) for chicken pad thai and Thai iced tea.

The “go-to” lunch place you and your co-workers eat at too often: Zeytuna on Maiden Lane (at William), or Chickpea on John St. (nr. William).

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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 Hillela who has a favorite unconventional, but quiet, place to eat her lunch.

Name: Hillela Simpson

Occupation: Program coordinator at the Lymphoma Research Foundation

Where you work: 115 Broadway

Age: 23

Favorite Kinds of food: Italian (especially Northern), Vietnamese, Thai, and anything containing cheese.

Least favorite foods: Brussels sprouts

Favorite lunches downtown: Mongolian BBQ at Variety Café on Broadway (nr. Rector), lobster roll combo at Luke’s Lobster on S. William (btw. Hanover Sq. & Broad), $2 tacos at Toloache Taqueria on Maiden Lane (btw. Gold & William), and when I’m bringing my own lunch and the weather’s nice, the Trinity Church Cemetery on Trinity Place (btw. Wall & Broadway)

The “go-to” lunch place you and your co-workers eat at too often: Subway and Au Bon Pain

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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 Pola and Brian who took part in the Tribeca Cheap Eats Chowdown, in which they each were given $50 and tasked with finding healthy, cheap and filling lunches for five days. You can see the results of that challenge here, and find out what they normally eat below.

Names: Pola Avrasin and  Brian Singh

Occupations: Analyst (Pola) and business analyst (Brian) at Luminary Labs

Where you work: Franklin St. btw. Hudson and Greenwich

Ages: 21 (Pola), 24 (Brian)

Favorite Kinds of Food: Pola – Having been born in Russia I love pelmeni, harcho soup and pickled watermelon (Google them!). I also love all things raw  – carpaccio, tartare, sashimi, ceviche, salads, etc.

Brian – Chinese (almost everything), Japanese (sushi, ramen), Moroccan (falafel, kebab, tagines), Mediterranean (stuffed grape leaves, lamb) and meat in general – it’s a guilty pleasure

Least Favorite Foods: Pola – Anything that includes peanut butter, is heavily fried or “burn your mouth” spicy; Brian – Greasy or bland foods.

Favorite Lunches Downtown: Pola – Locanda Verde for a special occasion or celebrity sighting. For everyday- Yorganic, Columbine, aka, Clementine on W. Broadway (nr. White), Peace and Love Cafe on Greenwich (at N. Moore) and Baba Ghanouge on Church (btw. Chambers & Reade) (Pola)

Brian – Tamarind’s lunch special for special occasions, Pecan Fine Foods on Franklin (at W. Broadway) a satisfying sandwich & soup combo , Clementine (formerly, Columbine) for something off the beaten path (Brian).

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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 Kenny who is a new reader to ML: Downtown but has some solid lunches in Tribeca with a Chinatown staple thrown in.

Name: Kenny Kane

Occupation: VP of operations at I’m Too Young For This! Cancer Foundation

Where you work: Worth & Church streets

Age: 24

Favorite Kinds of Food: Chinese, Italian, deli and diner food

Least Favorite Foods: Sushi and fish

Favorite Lunches Downtown: Chicken and broccoli at Wo Hop on Mott (btw. Mosco & Chatham Sq.); the #12 Autumn Combo at Lenny’s (Multiple Locations); the pot pie at Square Diner on Leonard (at W. Broadway); grilled chicken with fresh mozzarella and lettuce at Landmarc on W. Broadway (btw. Leonard & Worth); cheeseburger and green salad at Edward’s on W. Broadway (btw. Thomas & Duane).

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

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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 Gayatri who isn’t afraid to say she eats at chains come lunchtime and is looking for a certain Japanese dish.

Name: Gayatri Nair

Occupation: Project/business manager

Where you work: Wall Street

Age:29

Favorite Kinds of Food: Mexican, grilled/BBQ, Mediterranean, Middle Eastern

Least Favorite Foods: Raw food, anything with cinnamon on top or raisins in it.

Favorite Lunches Downtown: The Mexicue Truck for the smoked chicken and BBQ beet tacos, and the Souvlaki GR Truck for chicken stix and veggie pita. Recently, thanks to a colleague I found Pita Press on Cedar (btw. William & Pearl). Their zucchini feta fritter pita is divine.

The “go-to” lunch place you and your co-workers eat at too often: When I’m in a hurry and don’t want to think too much, me and my co-worker end up at Shinju Sushi or Pret. At Shinju Sushi on Pearl (btw. Pine & Wall) we ALWAYS get the sweet potato tempura rolls. At Pret (Multiple Locations), the Moroccan lentil soup & the hot falafel wrap is my favorite.

Places downtown you discovered thanks to Midtown Lunch: Downtown: Red Mango on Fulton St. (nr. Dutch). I ate there for the first time two days ago. I was never a ‘fro-yo’ fan, and I have been converted. Read more »