Zach Brooks of Midtown Lunch

If you’ve been paying attention this week, we’ve been featuring our favorite desk-side EATS in Midtown; the few golden nuggets amongst a sea of mediocrity. Thankfully for humanity, there’s someone out there that covers this hell hole way better than we do -MidtownLunch.com. So, for Friday Fives this week, we turn the microphone over to Mr. Lunch himself, Zach Brooks.

A fellow music biz vet, Zach started his site while he was working at Sirius, programming music on stations like Alt Nation, Chill, and Left of Center (now XMU). Prior to Sirius, he worked at two actually cool (a rarity in this business) alternative rock radio stations: Indie 103 in LA and WFNX in Boston. Zach decided to bounce the music business all together and recently moved to LA to expand and work on Lunch full time. Zach’s “Perfect For” picks below are spread out across the city, but what are his all time favorite Midtown Lunch spots you ask? “Hing Won, Cafe Zaiya, Biryani Cart, Trini Paki Cart, Halal Guys on 53rd and 6th, Margon, and Woorijip. And Cer Te is the only generic Midtown Deli you’ll ever see me eat at!” Make sure to keep up with the Midtown Lunch crew on Twitter in NY and also LA.

Zach’s “Perfect For” Picks

Adventurous Eating

Hakata Tonton (61 Grove St.) – “It’s where I learned to stop worrying and love the pig’s foot.”

Date Night

Kashkaval (856 9th Ave.) – “This weird little cheese market becomes a cramped and cramped place to have a romantic/fun dinner in Hell’s Kitchen. Plus, they have fondue without making you feel like you’re back in High School.”

Big Groups

Momofuku Ssam Bar (207 Second Ave.) – “Nothing more epic than filling up a whole table, and ordering the bo ssam. And the best part of it is with that many people you can order the rest of the menu too.”

Classic NYC Establishment

Azuri Cafe (465 West 51st St. # 1) – “I know everybody is all about Taim, but Azuri Cafe is where it’s at for the best falafel sandwich in NYC. The guy who runs it is an old Israeli curmudgeon (think “Falafel Nazi”) but is a sandwich building maestro w/ tongs the likes of which you’ve never seen.”

Serious Take-Out Operation

Hing Won (48 West 48th St. # 1) – “The right hand side of the counter at Hing Won (on 48th btw. 5+6th in Midtown). My first Midtown Lunch, and still my favorite. Push your way to the front, order the roast pig or sauteed udon and listen closely for them to call your order when it’s ready. (And don’t be afraid to use elbows.)”

Zach’s Twitter People

@kkrader – I’m convinced Twitter is just a jealousy machine, and nobody makes me more jealous than Kate Krader. I want her life.

@thejgold – Now that I live in L.A. full time, following Jonathan Gold is a must. Every single word he writes proves what a joke most of us bloggers are.

@thebrklynkitchen & @themeathook – My favorite place in all of New York City. (And the Meat Hook feed is funny as shit.)

@blondiebrownie , @JeremiahTweeds , @ultraclay , @ex_flexitarian – The Midtown Lunch crew!