Midtown Lunch

Every Tuesday we turn over the site to a different Midtown Lunch’er for his or her recommendations for the best lunch in Midtown. This week it’s Mike, a system admin who is a member of Brick Lane Curry House’s Phaal of Fame.

Name: Mike

Age: 29

Occupation: Systems administrator/remote tech support

Where in Midtown do you Work?: A managed services provider in the Garment District

Favorite Kind of Food: Soup. I am a giant sucker for soup even if it’s the dead of summer. Almost any kind of soup, but especially Asian noodle soups. And in a pinch, I love almost any kind of spicy food. I have to tell Indian restaurants to spice it like it’s for a fellow Indian and not for whitey.

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Lasagna – it’s just not my favorite. Big, heavy, and usually not at all flavorful. The only kind I like is my wife’s turkey and spinach lasagna. Maybe I’ve only had crappy lasagna, but I just never really liked it all that much.

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Midtown: I am a huge adorer of the Shanghai noodle soup with pork and pickled cabbage from Ginger’s (7th and 37th). Chef Yu (8th and 36th) does a good version of it too – both have their own unique touches! Comme Ci Comme Ca’s (36th and Bway) merguez sandwich with extra spicy mint sauce is a great standby, and I miss the hell out of Sunrise Grill’s jerk chicken from when they were on 37th and 6th. Oh, and the Hungarian mushroom soup at Soup Stop (31st between 7th and 8th).

“Go-To” Lunch Place You and Your Coworkers Eat at Too Often? Tabata Ramen (9th and 39th) – I am addicted and I’ve gotten the office hooked, too. I reach for the Tabata menu but then I have to check myself and see what trucks are around. Then I order from Tabata anyway.

Place(s) you discovered thanks to Midtown Lunch? Main Noodle House (37th and 6th). Oh my God, the noodle soup. The wonton soup. I need to get more guys to order regular dishes from them so I can try their non-soup stuff.

If you could work anywhere (just because of the lunch) where would it be and why? All the food trucks seem to gravitate around the low 50s and Lex… I’d love something within striking distance of all the good stuff, with the 6 train not too far away so I can jaunt downtown for Menkui Tei (3rd between St. Mark’s and 7th) and Mahmoun’s Falafel (St. Mark’s) every now and then, or even Woorijip (32nd between Broadway and 5th) too.

Anything you’d like to ask the Midtown Lunch readers? Just a small favor: tell Uncle Gussy’s to come to the west 30s sometime! I’m dying to try some Greek food truck fare! Or hell, I’d like to ask the readers to tell the trucks to come to the 30s more in general!

As always, if you want to be next week’s Profiled: Midtown Lunch’er (or know somebody you’d like to nominate) email editor@midtownlunch.com.