Midtown Lunch

As it 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, Gigi

Name: Gigi

Age: 28 years young

Occupation: Director of a non-profit

Where do you work?: Broadway and Pine (same office building as Kevin)

Favorite Kind of Food: Chinese, of course.

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Don’t really have one; it’s more about my mood dictating my preference…

Favorite Lunch(es) Downtown: Well, I’d have to go with Chinatown…

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The Meatball Shop, courtesy of Always Hungry

• Meatballs, meatballs, and more meatballs (Always Hungry)
• The girls at the Front Studio know a good sandwich when they see it (Lunch with Front Studio)
• Yvo had some awesome looking eel with noodles (Feisty Foodie)
• If they catered to us Midtown Lunchers Downtown, it wouldn’t have closed in the first place (Fork in the Road)
• I feel that sweet tooth coming back… (Serious Eats)

I feel like there’s a shortage of good, greasy Chinese food in the Financial District.  The only one ever covered here on Midtown Lunch: Downtown NYC was Yip’s, written up by my partner in crime Kevin.  And with Chinatown so close, there probably isn’t much of a need for a lot of these kinds of restaurants, but that doesn’t make the walk or subway ride up to Chinatown any more enjoyable.  Sometimes you want Chinese food and you want it now.  That’s when I head to Win Won.

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As Zach pointed out to me, I’ve been on a bit of a hoity-toity binge lately. Pricey burgers, fancy cafes. I’m worried I’m going to start losing some Lunch’er cred soon. Fortunately, Chris has been keeping us on the right track with tasty pizza and cart food, and I promise to do some real bargain-hunting for next week.

In the meantime, though I returned to Swich the other day and found a cheap and wonderful surprise tucked away on the Sides section of their menu: For $2.50 you can get a heaping container of israeli couscous with herbs and cranberries. It’s not big enough to be lunch on its own, but it’s the perfect thing when that bacon-jalapeno slice doesn’t quite sate you.

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As it 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, international man of mystery Bobby tells us how his aunt scarred him for life and his pick for best late lunch deal around the FiDi…

Name: Bobby

Age: 31

Occupation: Information Technology (and international hardcore techno dj!)

Where do you work?: Financial district

Favorite Kind of Food: Pizza & wraps. Street meat will always have a special place in my heart. And who could say no to a good sandwich?

Least Favorite Kind of Food: I say my least favorite food would have to be intestines. In fact anything that isn’t really meat just turns me off.

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Seth talked last week about how downtown dining is all about location, location, location. We may not have the variety of midtown, but we boast loads of places to eat that are pleasant places to be as well.

Kiva Cafe on Reade Street is just such a place, and the food is terrific to boot. Kathy over on Serious Eats tipped me off to Kiva’s $8.50 soup and sandwich deal, and her picture was so enticing that my friend Gigi and I went the next day. The food was just as excellent as I had hoped, and the cozy feel and super-friendly staff make this a place I’ll be returning to often.

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Pear Tart from Ceci-Cela, courtesy of Kathy Chan from A Passion for Food

• I want Ceci-Cela’s Pear Tart, and I want it now. [Serious Eats]
• I’d also settle for Village Tart’s Apple Galette. [Lunch with Front Studio]
• Yvo’s quest for the perfect bowl of hand-pulled noodles continues at Sheng Wang. [Feisty Foodie]
• Yes, Locanda Verde’s all-you-can-eat pasta dinner costs $39, but if I eat four lunches worth, does that make it OK? [New York Magazine]
• BLT Bar & Grill and Beta Coffee coming to the FiDi. [Eater]
• In case you missed it, downtown’s favorite grimy bar The Patriot Saloon  has an, uh, intriguing job offer. [Eater]