The 25 Best Lunch Spots in Flatiron

Image via Complex Original

Address: 36 West 26th St.
Website: sirtajny.com

Unassuming Indian from a true hole-in-the-wall. The lunch specials let you pick two dishes and add either rice or naan. A jug of water and tiny-ass plastic cups chill against the back wall while you wait. The samosas don't come with any combo, but you should throw a trio into the bag; they're crispy and chewy on the outside, but warm and mushy on the inside, just like your imaginary Indian grandmother made. We could eat here everyday. And it's cheap enough that sometimes we do. They know our names.

Address: 28 East 23rd St.
Website: sophiescuban.com

What would lunch be without Cuban sandwiches, those chewy, spicy marriages of pressed-ham, roasted pork, cheese, and bread (it's polygamous)? What would lunch be without Sophie's? For a small chain, they churn out a fine product. The meat is flavorful and tender, the mustard pungent, the pickles crisp. They also offer a number of other great combos if you ever get tired of the sandwich. We're into the roasted pork combo, which comes with black beans, rice, and a can of soda for $9. That's a value meal (no McDonald's).

Address: Location changes (check website)
Website: thejamaicandutchy.net

"I ordered the jerk/she said, 'You are what you eat.'" So says Kanye West. Well, somebody call us jerks, because we can't resist the jerk chicken at this traveling cart. Available in two different sizes, and accompanied by plantains and rice, their chicken never comes out of rotation. They have many daily specials, but this one sticks around and for good reason. The Dutchy's jerk chicken is slip-off-the-bone tender and not overly spicy. Finely balanced, this one is.

Address: 38 East 19th St.
Website: pipa-nyc.com

Spanish croquettes just bring something out in us. The petite fried bites of cheese and meat (at Pipa, it's chicken with tabasco aioli) are like bar food elevated to a higher plane, gourmet jalapeño poppers with quality ingredients instead of slimy, indistinct bits of green. Provide the diner with a platter of piping-hot croquettes and then keep it moving.

Address: 928 Broadway
Website: stuzziristorante.com

A massive plate of pasta right around one o'clock sounds like carbo-overloading; you won't run a marathon afterward, let alone finish whatever else is on your to-do list back at the office. Thankfully, Bar Stuzzichini specializes in small plates (think Italian tapas) of elegant pasta, like penne in a light tomato sauce with fresh mozzarella and spaghetti bolognese. Chef Paul Di Bari (formerly of Wallsé) crafted the menu with an eye for simplicity, which is exactly what you want at lunch.

Address: 8 East 18th St.
Website: devinyc.com

Dévi is the classier and—let's face it—better version of Sirtaj. This means you'll have to drop some more cash and wait a bit longer, but if you're looking for the finest in Indian cuisine, this should be your Flatiron destination. The typical paneers and samosas Americans are familiar with sit side-by-side with more interesting choices like Laukee Ke Kofte (dumplings made of zucchini and squash). Open your wallet, expand your mind, tickle your palate.

Address: 30 West 24th St.
Website: pt212.com

Ten-dollar lunch specials—Planet Thailand 212's got 'em. Reaching your hungry gullet with a cup of miso soup or salad, the generous portions of Pad Thai, Massaman Curry, and a myriad other dishes, are what you're looking for. The noodles in the Pad Thai are nice and pasty, hanging heavily together. There's also sushi, making this a clutch spot for gathering folks who want to eat Asian but can't agree on a country. If you decide to eat in, you're in for a treat. The place is bright and loud, almost to the point of being garish, sort of a like a food carnival. Noodles under the big top. If only.

Address: 50 West 22nd St.
Website: n/a

Breakfast all day. The rest of the world may have moved on to power sandwiches/salads/soups/whatever, but at Café Fitty, you can always order an omelette. Or, our personal favorite, the egg sandwich, which comes with sharp cheddar and home fries. Drizzle on the hot sauce and you're catching a second wind in the afternoon, waking up again.

Address: 17 West 20th St.
Website: spoonnyc.com

Though it's known for brunch, Spoon makes one of the better salads in Flatiron. It ain't hangover food, but sometimes a salad—cold, wet, won't make you feel like death—is what you need. If you have the notion, order the Tuna Nicoise: marinated tuna, white beans, and hard-boiled egg over a bed of bibb lettuce.

Address: 53 West 19th St.
Website: boquerianyc.com

The lunch menu at this trendy tapas spot is dominated by hot and cold botacas, a Spanish sandwich on a baguette-type loaf. The cold sandwiches stand out, especially the Catalan sausage topped with spicy tapenade and goat cheese. A cold hero from the bodega or spicy ground meat from an area widely known for excellence in sausage-making? The choice is yours.

Address: 24th St. & Broadway
Website: calexicocart.com

No neighborhood can be said to offer quality lunches if there aren't food trucks present. Located near Madison Square Park, Calexico keeps the collared shirts knee-deep in tacos, burritos, and quesadillas. They call their smokey chipotle sauce "crack sauce," a move we admire, especially because it's not a lie. The food runs about the same price as Chipotle, but hews closer to traditional California flavors. And you get to eat outside. Don't sleep on the rice and beans plate—it sounds boring, but it's incredibly filling. Kill hunger.

Address: 49 West 24th St.
Website: tappothincrust.com

A newcomer to the Flatiron lunch game, Tappo has made it's presence felt with quality thin crust pies, everything dripping with toppings. Want a pizza with mushrooms? Tappo is backing a dump trunk full of 'shrooms up to that skinny shell of dough and letting go. You can barely see the cheese. If you want to keep it simple, though, they have cheese slice specials, as well as personal pie specials. Remember getting those at Pizza Hut personals after school back in the day? This is better.

Address: 165 West 23rd St.
Website: pongsri.net

If you're looking for a killer Chicken Satay, that delicious Thai dish that pairs savory, tender chicken with sweet-n-salty-n-spicy peanut butter dipping sauce, you've found the place. An institution since the '70s, Pongsri has been serving killer Thai longer than most. The Flatiron location stands up against any of their other kitchens, as should be the case at any quality chain. No frills and certainly no budget-killer, Pongsri will quickly become a lunch-time go-to, we guaran-damn-tee it.

Address: 101 West 25th St.
Website: bluedogcafenyc.com

We can't say enough about the bacon and brie sandwich from Blue Dog. Everyday we try but language fails in the face of this crunchy, flavorful creation where the cheese melts warm and generous over the crispy bacon. The cafe's other sandwichs help build their rep, too. Just remember you won't be able to sit down here. And the line might stretch long. But you can gawk at all the sweets while you wait, the face-sized cookies, the heavily frosted cupcakes. They do breakfast well, too. If you're the type to budget time for that.

Address: 200 5th Ave.
Website: eatalyny.com

Eataly is a mall. Yes, it's a mall dedicated to everything that makes Italian cuisine awesome. But it's still a mall. A mall where Williams and Sonoma is the only store, and all the equipment is being used to make food from a certain boot-shaped country instead of sitting in the cardboard boxes, waiting for someone to use them (we thought about making a Brave Little Toaster reference there, but we have a rep to maintain). Everyone knows that they can do their grocery shopping at Mario Batali's monster, but you can also grab a great lunch. Move from one section to the next, pick up a sandwich here, some gelato there. That's a balanced meal in a country where lunch breaks can take hours and include many glasses of wine. We're trying to learn how to do that in America. Eataly is teaching us.

Address: 35 East 18th St.
Website: abckitchennyc.com

It's really easy to forget that you're eating in a restaurant inside a department store when the food is prepared by a super chef. In ABC's case, the department store is ABC Carpet & Home and the super chef is Jean-Georges Vongerichten. If he were a rapper, his refrain at this particular venture would be "from the farm to the table," then probably something not about ball sweat. Whole-wheat pizza with a fired egg on top—that's probably what would stand in for ball sweat. No matter. Twisted takes on classics is generally the order of the day here, though they have lots of comfort food standards (fried chicken, if you haven't OD'd at Hill Country). This is more a business date spot than a quick jaunt out of the office. But you need those sometimes. The cubicles seem so small these days...

Address: 1123 Broadway
Website: hillcountrychicken.com

Too many options can be paralyzing. However, too many choices of sides to accompany fried chicken—not a problem. In fact, we welcome this challenge. Inspired by Texas-style comfort food, Hill Country let's you choose between breasts, thighs, wings, or drums before you get to the very important decisions. Do you want the hand-cut fries? The cheesy fried mashed potatoes? The corn salad? Oh, maybe you want pie. That's fine; they make 12 different kinds. You're swimming in choices like early-aughts Wayne back-stroking his way through a sea of codeine. And like drank, this Southern cooking will slow you down.

Address: 31 East 21st St.
Website: rhong-tiam.com

The Flatiron (or Grammercy, depending on who you're asking) location of Rhong-Tiam is an express version of the restaurant that caused quite the uproar in '09 after winning a highly-coveted Michelin Star. If you don't know, this is a tough thing to do if you're not snooty and French; Rhong-Tiam is neither. Their Thai creations are unpretentious takes on the classics of that country. For lunch, you're going to want a roti, the easily-portable fried tube of meat and vegetables Rhong-Tiam excels at. The crispy basil pork, packed with onion, bell pepper, fresh basil sauce, and pork that pops on the palate is what you need.

Address: 22 East 21st St.
Website: homeskitchen.com

The Chinese food cranked out lightning-fast at Home's sits somewhere in between the slippery slop served up in grubbier areas of the city and hella authentic Szechuan cooking, the kind where you're never quite sure what sort of meat you're eating. Sometimes you want the real, and sometimes you want to remind yourself of a stroll through the mall food court, grabbing at free samples. Home's has both. If you want easy, get the General Tso's, as ever unfuckwittable. Or you can get the tripe in hot oil. They have a large variety of lunch specials for every kind of Chinese enthusiast. They're extra-professional when taking orders over the phone, and quick and accommodating in person if you decide to get a table.

Address: 174 5th Ave.
Website: eisenbergsnyc.com

The sign outside this famous sandwich spot reads, "You either get it or you don't." Either you like the semi-grimy condition of the Eisenberg's or you don't. Either you dig the greasiness of the rings and fries combo or you don't. Either you want that much cornbeef between the two toasted slices of rye on your reuben or you don't. Fact is, we don't want to be friends with anyone that doesn't get it. If you aren't with this, get off us.

Address: 144 West 19th St.
Website: goojapan.com

Fifty pieces, kid. That's what everyone's asking for. Tebaya specializes in deep-fried Japanese-style chicken wings. You can either get a shit-load of the crisp and tangy wings, or you can opt for a lunch special, which includes eight wings, rice, and salad. You have no idea how badly we want that meal to be a nine piece. If that was the case, we'd be in there everyday with a ghetto blaster, blaring Ross, trying to order and sell wings with our cellphones. Honestly, the difference between Tebaya's wings and crack is slight, at best.

Address: 676 6th Ave.
Website: marktrestaurant.com

Bringing Belgium to Flatiron, Markt makes the best mussels in the neighborhood. Ask about them. The streets are whispering about the garlic and fresh cream sauce they swim in. There's chatter on the corner about the beer selection and how well the brews work with those shellfish. Crunch some frites, tip a pint back. Whatever you got back at the office can wait. You're practically on vacation here. Your phone doesn't have overseas service. You planned it that way.

Address: 1188 Broadway
Website: no7sub.com

Everything must be elevated to the level of artisanship when it comes to food these days; subs can't escape this, hence No. 7 Sub, the often-crowded sandwich shop attached to the Ace Hotel. All of their unique creations, including favorites like the vegetarian General Tso's and the classy bologna with corn, arugula, and carrot-ginger dressing, come in at $9. And the line might be a deterrent, but these are excellent subs, on chewy bread with ingredients that seem fresh with dew from some upstate organic farm. Maybe that's hyperbolic. Blame all the foodies and their inflated language. Shit's infectious.

Address: 11 Madison Ave.
Website: shakeshack.com

As the saying goes, "You already know." You already know that you might have to set aside a significant chunk of time to get the perfectly crisp fries and juicy burger in Madison Square Park. You already know a shake might make the rest of the day an endurance test in terms of fighting the itis. You know all these things and still you go. Because the semi-sweet Shack Sauce is bomb. Because more than many other burger spots, the crinkle-cut fries really do complement the entire meal. Because the burger is just the right size. Because it's Shake Shack, the one reason you'll mill about with tourists and people that photograph their food unapologetically.

The friendliest pizza spot in Flatiron also makes one of the best Grandma's slices in all the city. Their parmigiana options are supreme, with both the eggplant and chicken coming correct, i.e. saucy, cheesy, and sure to put you under your desk quicker than a bear tranquilizer. The $5 dollar soda and slice special won't hurt your pockets, and everything happens fast. Not so fast that you'll get any bad ideas, but fast enough that you can get back to your desk without raising any eyebrows. All of these might seem like modest succeses, but it's the accumulation of all these things that makes Maffei's boss.