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 »

The Munch Truck debuted at the beginning of 2010, when perhaps a touch of fatigue about fancy food trucks was beginning to set in. I noticed them a while back on the corner of Broad and Water streets, and that appears to be their permanent parking spot. They join the 99% Vegetarian Food cart that moved down to Liberty St. earlier this year after being hassled by hotdog vendors. Midtown Lunch’ers gave the Munch Truck a “meh” in the comments, although there was a lot of excitement over the fact that they had fish and chips. Has anyone eaten here and have something to recommend?

There’s been a conversation in the forums over who serves the best wings in the city, and lo and behold, Mudville 9’s name was tossed around. The beer-centric bar on Chambers St. (btw. Church & W. Broadway) is packed at lunchtime with people gnawing on wings and eating the occasional burger. Oh, and when I was there nearly everyone was also enjoying an adult beverage. None of this screamed “we serve amazing wings,” but the only way to find out was to place an order and get my hands dirty. Read more »

The Indian fusion chain-to-be  Hot Clay Oven was expected to open on Maiden Lane (btw. Gold & Pearl) in the first couple of weeks in October, but that’s now probably not going to happen. The owner tells me that it is definitely opening in October, but likely toward the end of the month. Surprise, surprise, the opening is “a bit delayed by city permits and inspections.”

That leaf of lettuce makes this salad healthy, right? Right. Courtesy of Serious Eats NY.

• The spicy beef salad at Viet Cafe sounds like a ML kind of deal, with only one leaf of lettuce involved. [Serious Eats]
• A meatless sandwich at the almost out of bounds Francois Payard Bakery is so good it almost makes you forget you’re eating like a hippie. [Fork In The Road]
• Sadly, the residents of the LES have lost their liquid nitrogen ice cream shop. [Eat This NY]
• The meatball sandwich at Banh Mi Saigon is only “meh.” [Lunch With Front Studio]
• The Taco Bell has closed on Chambers St., probably because it wasn’t combined with a Pizza Hut or KFC. [Tribeca Citizen]

It’s tough working in the Financial District when all you want for lunch is some Thai food that doesn’t leave you broke or hungry two hours later. Sure, there might be some good places in Chinatown, but sometimes delivery or taking a subway lunch is not in the cards. The lunch menu at Bennie’s Thai Cafe on Fulton St. (at Gold) is promising and cheap at $5.95 to $7.95 for your choice of meaty entree and some rice. And it may come from a steam table somewhere in the back, but at least if it is you can pretend it was made fresh for you in two minutes. Read more »