Midtown Lunch

Thinking about writing this post, I spent a long time trying to come up with some excuses for the prices at Zaitzeff on the corner of Nassau and John: They use high-quality beef, they make all the sandwiches and fries to order, they’re sitting on prime real estate, etc. But I realized that the fact that I want to excuse them might just be endorsement enough.

I love this place. I wish I could get a burger and fries and a drink for my $10, but I can’t. I still love it. I also–and I’d loved to be proven wrong–can’t find a better burger in the area.

The meat they use is terrific, a burger ordered medium rare is actually cooked medium rare, and the fries–even though they’ll put your lunch well over $10– are awesome in both their regular and sweet potato varieties. We could argue until the cows come home (to be grilled) about whether this burger is “worth” the price, but I for one keep going back. Quod est demonstrandum, if you ask me.

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Today was going to mark Midtown Lunch: Downtown NYC’s first foray into Chinatown, but for that occasion we wanted to make it special.  At first we thought flowers or balloons, but that seemed so cliche.  Then we thought about getting you a kitten, but buying someone an unexpected pet is never a good idea in NYC.  Finally, we decided on the perfect surprise, something we knew would make your eyes light up and maybe even cause you to shed a tear of joy.  Unfortunately, the surprise isn’t quite ready.  But it will be.  And soon.

In the mean time, let me take you on a little stroll down New Street to the aptly named Grotto.  Located in the basement at 69 New Street, the restaurant is fairly dungeon-esque with no windows, no natural light to speak of, but thankfully a pretty good ventilation system.  Not that you’ll want to inhale anything other than the heavenly aromas emanating from the ovens.  These guys are taking pizza to unseen levels as far as New York pizza is concerned, with spicy buffalo chicken, chicken parm, and bacon jalapeno pizzas.

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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, Seth tells us that the glories of  eating downtown are all about where you eat, not what…

Name: Seth

Age: 24

Occupation: Investigator

Where do you work?: Rector Street

Favorite Kind of Food: Southeast Asian. Good produce. Pickled and/or Thanksgiving.

Least Favorite Kind of Food: I cannot say that I do not like fried food, it just clearly doesn’t have the same effect on me as everyone else. I blame my mother for removing the skin from my chicken as a child. However, I do not count curly fries in this category (see below).

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A week ago, we had a brief post about the start of the Street Vendor Project’s new interview series in which they’ll profile various street vendors around the city.  The inaugural interview happened to profile a gentleman by the name of Tesfalum Kiflu who hails from Eritrea and happens to be cooking out of a truck fairly close to City Hall.  Reading his words, I couldn’t help but focus in on two in particular: Eritrean stew.  I am all about trying new things and eating unusual foods.  Stew may be common enough, but it’s the modifier here that caught my attention.  Eritrean.  I’d be willing to bet that most folks in this country don’t even know what continent Eritrea is on (it’s Africa), let alone the characteristics of the indigenous stew.  So I did what any sensible, hungry, curious young man would do and made my way up Nassau St. to Ann St. to order one of Mr. Kiflu’s stews.

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Chocolate Bread Pudding from DT Works courtesy of Food in Mouth

• Downtowners can finally get a taste of the Dessert Truck at DT Works [Food in Mouth]
• Restaurant Girl gets the Midtown Lunch spirit with a couple downtown picks [Restaurant Girl]
• Nothing quite like a well-built Italian sandwich [Eating in Translation]
• Just about the only thing on Locanda Verde’s menu under $10, but does it look good! [Serious Eats]
• The NYC Restaurant Week Truck will be in Tribeca Feb. 4th and 5th [NYCGo]