Top 10 Midtown Lunches

When I was working in the City, my office building was located on 40th and Madison. Which was really a pretty great location as it was just on the outskirts of Midtown without me actually having to go into the mess that is Midtown everyday. It was also only a 15 minute walk from my apartment which was excellent… Anyways, I mostly tried to eat my own snacks or lunches I made at home, but on the occasions I did eat out for lunch or after work, these were my top picks!

Chopt

Oh my goodness I became addicted to this place. I found myself accidentally “forgetting” my lunch a few times just to get the “Harvest Bowl” from Chopt. I had gotten a few of their popular salads there before which were excellent, but after discovering this grain bowl, I was a full on addict. And apparently I wasn’t the only one, as the line for Chopt at lunch hour was usually out the door and around the corner… Highly recommend!

Cava

New York was where I was first introduced and fell in love…. with Mediterranean food. A lot of my coworkers ate out most everyday and so they tried to pick from healthy spots from around the neighborhood, and so they got a lot of Mediterranean and a lot of Mediterranean was used for catering! However, the love didn’t quite click until I ordered my first bowl from Cava. It made for a great experience because it was what my team was having catered for lunch and we all got to put together our own bowls. So one of my coworkers was able to sit down with me and literally translate the menu for me because I didn’t know what half the stuff I was reading was! I discovered a love for Baba Ganoush, Tzatziki Sauce, Lamb, Kalamata Olives, and more! When I took my first bite out of a Cava bowl, I knew it was the start of a wonderful new romance<3

Fields Good Chicken

I feel like I can taste this photo. This place was so good and our number one cater spot. Often the office would order us a platter of chicken with several dipping sauce options, a couple greens for options (usually the broccoli), Salad, Corn, Mashed Sweet Potatoes, Brussel Sprouts, Broccoli, Mac and Cheese and Corn Bread. This was the only reason I looked forward to 10 hour Buy Review Meetings lol. However when we weren't getting it catered, another option was a pick of one of their delicious grain bowls!

Balade Your Way

I knowwww, another Middle Eastern/ Mediterranean, but guys I told you I fell in love!! Balade was another favorite amongst coworkers. Its wide variety menu includes much more than bowls which gave me the opportunity to try more! I also ordered takeout on a couple of occasions.

Gregory’s

Alright so I don’t know if this place really qualifies for “lunch,” but I don’t know they might have sandwiches or something, but I know it as more of a Bakery and Coffee joint. Another place my company frequently catered, and was something to look forward to around 3-4:00. A little coffee pick me up after lunch with coffee, tea, and lots of delicious pastry options to choose from! It took a lot of self control for me to not devour 5 brownies, 8 coconut bars, and 12 donut holes lol! But I also frequented this location for their “protein balls” for a little filler snack and coffee run.

Dill & Parsley

Obviously I’m not the only New Yorker to love the Mediterranean menu because for this many options to stay in business within a mile radius of each other… This was another great place introduced to me by a coworker of mine who grew up with, and knows authentic Mediterranean, so I trust this place is pretty authentic lol!

Essen

This place was really neat! It was like a high end cafeteria of sorts. You had the option of pre packaged salads, fruits, yogurt, and all kinds of snack options. But you also had the option of fresh salads, pastas, meat dishes, seafood, soups, etc. You were free to grab a takeout container and fill it with whatever your heart (and stomach) desired. They simply weighed it up at the counter and told you the cost. Which was pretty dangerous but ultimately a cool experience and everything was delicious.

Annie Moore’s

This was the location my team and I did Happy Hour together. We got drinks, a multitude of appetizers’ and just decompressed. However the most memorable part of the experience were the incredible truffle fries. In fact, the best I’ve ever had. If you don’t like the taste of truffle or are okay with just a hint of the taste (that they still charge $20 a fry for), then these fries are not for you. The taste of truffle on these fries is STRONG, and whatever cheese sprinkles they use on them seem to have been soaking in the truffle sauce, as every once in a while you get a bite of fry with cheese that oozes truffle sauce and it is to die for.

The Shakespeare

This was a place on my bucket list to go for a while, when my coworker and I decided to take a leisurely lunch on a day when the office was empty. The atmosphere was incredible, and the food delicious. It has been recommended on several food tourism blogs and rightfully so!

4oth and Madison Street Food Fair

I tried to find what this street fair was actually called but I couldn’t find anything. All I know is that it would happen once a year in the spring, and all these food trucks lined up on the street by my office building and people flocked from all around the area. The first year I got some kind of lobster roll which was incredible, but the second year I opted for a pasta bowl and enjoyed it on the rooftop of my building with coworkers and had a memorable time.