The Best Takeout and Delivery Lunch Spots in DUMBO

WFH lunches can be fun, too.

Juliana's Pizza
Juliana's Pizza | Cole Saladino/Thrillist
Juliana's Pizza | Cole Saladino/Thrillist

Remember lunch at the office? Around 11am, that favorite Slack channel of yours would start buzzing. Burgers? Salads? Ramen? Who brought, and who forgot? And every once in a while (especially on those first warm days of spring) a favorite co-worker would suggest sneaking out for a beer.

For those of us lucky enough to work remotely, WFH lunches can be fun, too. Many of New York City restaurants are still open for delivery and take-out, and ordering can help keep their doors open through these difficult times. If you’re able to, call the local spot directly to place your order to help small businesses with tight margins avoid third-party fees.
  
If you're in the DUMBO area of Brooklyn, we’ve rounded up our favorite WFH lunch spots in your neighborhood that you can order from the comfort of your couch.

Call 718-596-6700 or order online, pickup only
A pepperoni pizza is the perfect lunch food -- you can eat half now, then save the other half to eat for dinner. At Juliana’s, you can snag a couple bottles of wine, too, saving you a trip to the liquor store and giving you something to look forward to at 5 o’clock. While New York might look different out your window, a slice of a perfectly charred, thin-crust, NYC-style pizza will remind you that some things never change.

Kogane Ramen 

Call 718-875-2828 or order via Seamless, Grubhub
In the mood for something spicy? Order up a bowl of miso ramen with minced pork, wood ear mushrooms, and smoky black garlic oil. If it’s too hot in your place for soup -- or if you’d like to cosplay an outdoor NYC experience while sheltering in place -- order a ramen burger, instead. Just make yourself wait in “line” in your living room for half an hour before you eat it for an authentic New York experience.

Call 718-618-5699 or order via Caviar, Seamless
While your Rent the Runway subscription is canceled and your homemade matcha just isn’t the same as Cha Cha’s, you can still recreate part of your work-week routine with a salad from Westville for lunch. A big bowl of kale and blue cheese or grilled salmon over arugula will make you feel almost normal -- eat it over your laptop while scheduling a hot yoga class online for the full “lunch in the office” effect.

Call 718-858-6700 or order online
Asya’s currently offering 50% off lunches when you call them directly, so order up chicken tikka and saag paneer just for yourself. While bread might be hard to come by in the supermarket (along with the flour you need to make your own), Asya’s still serving up pillows of naan and deep-fried puri. It’s a satisfyingly carb-heavy lunch and -- especially at 50% off -- enough food to keep you from opening up a can of beans for a snack. 

Clark’s Restaurant

Call 718-855-5484 or order via Seamless
While Clark’s has all the classic diner dishes -- banana walnut pancakes, disco fries, tuna melt -- it also has “Quarantine Specials” served family-style. A sheet pan of spaghetti Bolognese or chicken parm for 4 might sound like a big lunch, but it’s perfect for freezing and reheating for lunches through the week. (Or, if you must, sharing with your three hungry roommates). When Future You doesn’t have the energy to make a PB&J, you’ll be happy you’ve got a homemade meal tucked in the freezer.

bluestone lane
Bluestone Lane

Order online, pickup only
At Bluestone Lane, you can order ahead to pick up your lunch. Their B.L.A.T.E. (that’s bacon, lettuce, avocado, tomato, and egg), is an antidote to even the worst I-drank-too-much-even-though-it’s-the-middle-of-the-week-because-time-is-now-meaningless hangover. Pair it with a strong flat white and a cold-pressed juice and you’ll feel right as rain by your 4pm Zoom call.

Call 718-625-2235 to order
Eat your quarantine feelings with the turkey “Explosion” sandwich, which layers three kinds of turkey with grilled onions and gooey cheese on a hero. Or order an ode to our fair city with an everything bagel piled with raw onions and lox. While someday soon we can enjoy our nosh in crowded parks on beautiful spring days, the classic NYC combo tastes just as good on your couch. 

Call 718-522-3455 or order via Chownow, Seamless
If you’re worried about gaining the Quarantine 15, order a fresh-pressed juice from the Archway Cafe. Their Super Green juice includes a bounty of nature with each sip and has spinach, cucumber, romaine, lemon celery, parsley, and apple. And the Green On juice nourishes with spinach, kale, pineapple, apple, and mint. Now that you’ve eaten your veggies, go ahead and order a chocolate chip cookie, too -- you deserve a treat for making it to noon on a Tuesday.

Sweetgreen
Sweetgreen

Order online
When nothing else in your life feels normal, turn to Sweetgreen’s Kale Caesar. The algorithmically delicious salad -- with its umami parm crisps and sharp lime squeeze -- might be the ultimate symbol of 2020 BF (before times). Order a bowl, be soothed by its familiar hexagonal shape, call your favorite coworker for a gossip session and pretend -- just for 20 minutes -- that you’re back at the office having lunch with your work friends.

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Rachel Pelz lives and writes in Brooklyn.