Welcome to the Lunch Quadrant, where we offer you four lunch options (two standing, two sitting) by a given subway stop. After a trip to the Upper East Side we're heading downtown on the Lex this week to 23rd and Lexington. The area actually has quite a few lunch options (maybe you've heard of the Shake Shack?) but these four options are all good bets when lunching in the neighborhood.
The Lunch Quadrant: 23rd Street and Park Avenue South
Openings Roundup: Seäsonal, Baoguette, Danku
Seäsonal: This sleek new midtown restaurant (pictured) uses Austrian and German classics as a springboard into lighter iterations of typically heavy Kraut cuisine. Chefs and co-owners Wolfgang Ban and Eduard Frauneder—if those even are their real names—are intent on making traditional staples like Schweinsbauch (Crispy Pork Belly) new again with fresh, locally-sourced ingredients. Other items include Wiener Schnitzel (Breaded Veal cutlet) served with a potato and cucumber salad, and Monkfish Medallions served on Szegediner Kraut. The wine list emphasizes regional bottles such as Riesling, Rivaner, and Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir), and the atmosphere is comfy and clean; Thrillist likens the white curves and latticework to "the getaway nook on the cruise ship from The Fifth Element." 132 West 58th Street, (212) 957-5550

