Midtown Lunch

I’ve always been wary of Lenny’s. Despite the fifteen locations listed on their website, in the past eight years that I have lived in NYC, I hadn’t actually been to a single Lenny’s location until last week (30 Rock location, wuzzup)! A couple of things prevented me from stepping inside. One: it’s a chain. Two: It’s probably overpriced.

Aside from the things preventing me from getting to Lenny’s two other things encouraged me to go: for one thing, our man Chris’ post about Toasties made me realize not to necessarily take these sandwich chains for granted and secondly, Urban Daddy ran a promotion for $3 Lenny’s sandwiches (normally priced at $7.99). Take a gamble on $3? Why not!

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If their locations scattered across Midtown didn’t do it for the out-of-bounders like myself, then rest assured – Pie Face has you covered. On a photorecon run up 9th to check out the shell of Ranchito del Agave, the sight of a brand-new commercial oven in front of the above-pictured construction shell at 464 9th Ave (at 36th St.) occasioned a quick chat with the construction guys out front. The new Pie Face popped up in real estate press late last year and the construction should be finished next week. No word on grand opening dates yet, but keep your eyes peeled for our forthcoming coverage of even more fair dinkum meat pies and flat whites.

Fresh and Hearty is a new truck that just started appearing on the street in the last few weeks. I caught them parked on 45th Street near 6th Avenue last week. They were across the street from Pret A Manger, which is not really a great place to park if you’re going to be selling generic sandwiches, soups, and salads.

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Photo courtesy of Serious Eats: New York

• El Rey del Sabor’s al pastor torta is very tasty [SENY]
• Grammercy Tavern’s chef is totally a Midtown Luncher [SENY]
• Land of Plenty makes a good mapo tofu and twice cooked pork belly [Food in Mouth]
• Ron Howard was spotted at Bluth’s Banana Stand! [Gothamist]
• James Beard nominee Jamie Bissonnette ate at the Jamaican food place in Penn Station and loved it! [Food is the New Rock]

If you like to eat, chances are you like to drink (read: a lot of you are freakin’ lushes), so I thought maybe it was time to introduce a happy hour column to the site. Every week, our Happy Hour Correspondent posts about a different bar in Midtown that fits the Midtown Lunch mentality: unhealthy food, not lame (unless it’s lame in a cool way), and most importantly… cheap.

Last year, after a rendezvous to Jimmy’s Corner, Luncher Cat Bus made a suggestion to try out The Wheeltapper Pub (44th btw. 3rd and Lex), a somewhat upscale Irish pub in the Fitzpatrick Grand Central Hotel. Dan tried out their dine-and-dash menu a few months ago, and it reminded me I should hit that shit up. It had been on my to do list for a while, and when I found out it had an outdoor patio, I thought including it on my adventures finding a great outdoor happy hour might be fun.

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Earlier this month, we reported news of Certe’s latest sandwich of the month, the Chip and Crab Dip. There’s not a whole lot to this one – it’s ale battered soft shell crab with bibb lettuce on a potato roll. It’s served with some potato chips, hot sauce, and a tasty remoulade sauce on the side.

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Every Friday we go south of the ML boundaries in search of a delicious lunch. Sometimes it’s Murray Hill south or the Flatiron District, sometimes Gramercy and everything in between- but we just like to call it Flatiron Lunch.

It has only been three weeks or so since Tres Carnes opened it’s doors, so perhaps a little early for a full post. But sometimes, we are impatient. Especially for places with huge lines out the door… and Mexican food… and Mexican food with Texas-style smoked meat.

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The Roots’ drummer and music producer, Questlove, is set to open a Chicken and Dumplings food stand named Hybird, in Chelsea Market this Saturday, May 18th! According to The Drop, Questlove is teaming up with Stephen Starr of Starr Restaurants (Buddakan) as a business partner and has spent over a year “developing and taste-tasting his signature flavored chicken drumsticks for public consumption.” The stand is also slated to serve cupcakes, juices, and slushies.

I suppose it’s only fitting for a drummer to open a drumstick stand… har har har… but seriously, let us know how Chef Questlove stacks up!

Last time we checked in with Aunt Ooi’s Kitchen, she was doing Malaysia proud by serving the Malaysian national dish, Nasi Lemak, to only the bravest and most adventurous Midtown Lunch’ers willing to experience the “exchange.” You may need to refer to that post if you missed out on how the exchange works…

Since then, Aunt Ooi has offered another addition to the Friday lunch special for the solo luncher willing to try something new: Nyonya Style Curry Chicken!

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