Midtown Lunch

My kid eyeing the new Roast Pig Special from Hing Won (I think that might be chin drool)

• You can get some pretty tasty looking snacks off the bar menu at Michael Jordan’s Steakhouse in GC [Serious Eats: New York]
• Another Crumbs is opening on Lexington and 44th [Blondie and Brownie]
• The post confirms two Baja Fresh factoids previously reported here: the off the menu dos manos burrito, and the new location on B’way and 40th [NYPost]
• Crisp has added some sort of new “pita roll” to their menu [Cooking With Casa]
• The Treats Truck has improved their conecakes [Blondie and Brownie]
• The actual cupcakes from the much publicized Cupcake Stop Truck are not as good as the bakery they ripped off [Always Hungry NY]

The annual summertime Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory stand has returned to Pershing Square.  It is set up on 42nd and Park, right next to the restaurant Pershing Square, and Blondie and Brownie are reporting that they will be open from Noon to 7pm seven days a week until August.  The dirty little secret… Pershing Square (the restaurant) sells Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory ice cream all year long on their menu (but it’s obviously a lot more fun buying from an outdoor stand!) [Blondie and Brownie]

There has been a lot of press (and even more twittering) about the new Schnitzel and Things truck, coming soon to Midtown.  Hell, they even have “merch” for sale- and they haven’t even sold a single bite of schnitzel yet!  Well, Fressagirl is reporting that another truck serving schnitzel quietly hit the scene a month ago on 9th Ave. btw. 32+33rd (just outside the Midtown Lunch boundaries.)  In fairness to Schnitzel & Things, schnitzel is just one of the many items on the Brucha Caterer truck- which is entirely kosher.  (And, as you know from this post, Austrian schnitzel and kosher schnitzel can be two completely different things.)

Of course Midtown has plenty of room for two schnitzel trucks.  And I’m still looking forward to the arrival of veal schnitzel!  In fact, Schnitzel & Things just released the first photo of their truck, which you can check out after the jump…

Read more »

The sign at Kar Won (on 60th btw. Park+Lex)

Great news for those pig lovers who work too far North or East to take advantage of the new “roast pig over rice” from Hing Won (on 48th btw. 5+6th) that I raved about yesterday. Both Kar Won (on 60th btw. Park+Lex) and Hop Won (on 45th btw. Lex+3rd), which are owned by the same company as Hing Won, are also serving the roast pig over rice for $6.

Thanks to Lunch’er “Dylan” for passing along the tip in the comments. He hit up Kar Won for the special and had this to say:

“My container looked almost identical to Zach’s, but it came with a heaping portion of garlicky sauteed bok choy/cabbage. While the belly was great, and the skin crispy, there were a few pieces that had a bit too much inedible bone or cartilage. That said, still awesome.”

But is the pork all I made it out to be?  Some say no.

Read more »

I know this particular article isn’t about Midtown, but we’ve seen this same thing before- and will probably be seeing it again soon.  The New York Daily News is reporting that local business owners in Bay Ridge are seeking to have street vendors banned from 5th Avenue. The store owners, who pay up to $160,000 a year in rent,  are saying it is unfair that these street vendors are getting a free ride. And “Burger King owner Jay Syed, 56, said not only has he lost 20% of his business since the carts cropped up last summer, but he also believes the vendors are polluting the streets and attracting rodents.”  (I love the irony of a Burger King owner being concerned about pollution.)

A letter was written to Mayor Bloomberg and the matter is now being taken up by the neighborhood Community Board and the Small Business Services Department.  If they do end up banning the vendors, it could set a dangerous precedent that could spread to other neighborhoods… including Midtown. [New York Daily News]

See All Midtown Lunch Posts Related to Street Vendor Issues

It looks like my hope of having knock off “kogi tacos” come to Baja Fresh here in New York is not just a pipe dream.  One of the reps from the NYC Baja Fresh location responded to our Tuesday story with this info:  “[The Kogi Menu is] currently being tested in one corporate location in Irvine, CA. However, this location is actually our prototype, same menu style, etc… So it is possible that we could be serving them soon, but I cannot confirm. I am looking into a more definite time frame, etc. Also, I highly doubt the word kogi is trademarked, just as Long John Silver’s is now selling Baja Tacos…“  Yeah, but Baja Fresh didn’t invent the baja style taco.  The Kogi BBQ Truck did invent this.  Either way, I hope it happens.  KOREAN TACOS IN MIDTOWN OR BUST!!!

Related:
Is Baja Fresh Ripping Off Kogi? (And More Importantly How Soon Will The Midtown Branch be on Board?)

It’s been awhile since we mentioned Kushi-Q, the Japanese fast food yakitori place on 3rd Ave btw. 45+46th. Apparently they are doing well enough to expand… the plan is to open this 2nd location inside the Citigroup Building food court on 53rd btw. Lex+3rd sometime in September.

Related:
Kushi Q… A Proper Review (with some tech porn for the Nerds)