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 Adam who is a transplant from midtown but has made a good dent in downtown dining options. And he needs your help in finding some good drinking spots.

Name: Adam Prato

Occupation: IT manager in finance

Where you work: West Soho

Age: 37

Favorite Kinds of Food: No changes since my Midtown Lunch profile – Spicy food (Indian, Middle Eastern, Mexican, Szechuan), Mediterranan (Turkish, Greek, Moroccan), European (Italian, Spanish, Portugese, Scandinavian, Irish, Eastern European, etc.), North/South American (Barbecue, Steakhouses, Peruvian, Brazilian, Argentinian), etc, etc, etc…

Least Favorite Foods: Japanese, French

Favorite Lunches Downtown: Mooncake Foods on Watts (btw. Thompson & 6th Ave.) – beef shin or steak sandwich is the best bang for the buck from all the places I’ve tried; Alidoro on Sullivan (btw. Prince & Spring) – having grown up in Bensonhurst, this place really brings back memories for a real Italian hero; Grand Deli on Grand St. (btw. Thompson & W. Broadway) – it’s a generic deli, but they do a great job on their rotisserie chicken; Pinche Taqueria (Multiple Locations), Yatagan Kebab House on MacDougal (at Bleecker) – you’ll never eat the “lamb meatloaf” from a cart ever again if you go here for their real lamb doner kebab. Read more »

The only previous experience I’ve had with Swedish food involves the IKEA cafeteria and I’m sure that’s about as close as most people have gotten to that country’s cuisine. As much as I love the dirt-cheap food there, I also know it’s like eating in a hospital cafeteria and no one ever said that food was good. Enter FIKA Swedish Espresso Bar, which started out in midtown but now has its flagship location down on Pearl St. (at Coenties Slip). While technically an espresso bar, they also make their own chocolate and serve both cold sandwiches and hot entrees and soup. I ventured down to see what was good to eat besides the meatballs. Read more »

I guess this is what happens when you’re de-franchised. Courtesy of Tribeca Citizen.

• The former Bon Chon Chicken on Chambers is now Chon-less [Tribeca Citizen]
• There’s a lot going on in the Whaley burger at Ruby’s. [Lunch with Front Studio]
• If you can get past the recent DOH closure, Bo Ky is good. [Bionic Bites]
• You can walk from the Village to Chinatown to eat lunch at Sheng Wang. [Amateur Gourmet]

If you are one of the poor souls working today (or Friday) and are missing out on Thanksgiving, there is at least one option in the Financial District that incorporates all of the flavors of the holiday. That would be Toasties on John St. (btw. Broadway & Nassau) that has a Thanksgiving sandwich permanently on its menu. I’d been meaning to go here anyway after walking by a million times, and also on the recommendation of profiled lunch’er Paul. Find out if they pull off the tricky turkey/stuffing/cranberry combo after the jump.

Read more »