Archive for July 2006

Yips

Fresh off my disappointment of no Hallo Berlin Cart on Wednesday, I was forced to find lunch in an area I haven’t eaten in before.  Walking back to work, I went down 52nd Street between 5th and 6th where I found a bunch of lunch options. But because of my “condition”, one stood out as the clear choice.  Yips.

I am addicted to cheap chinese food… and Yips is the kind of place I have trouble walking by.  The food is right there, in all it’s steam plate glory… calling to you… “Please point to me”.  With all the choices right there, waiting to be picked in any number of combinations, it’s hard for me not to eat at these kinds of cheap chinese food places… so right off the bat, I can say- if you are not into this kind of eating, Yips is not going to be the place to change your mind.

Most places like this suffer from the same problems.  Is the food authentic?  Usually not.  Is it as fresh as it could be?  Usually not?  Is it restaurant quality?  Usually not… and Yips is no different.  But it’s got a lot of choices, and many of them you don’t normally see at places like this.  Garlic (Salt & Pepper) Shrimp, Honey Roast Pork, Curry Fish Balls, Spicy Thai Chicken, Some sort of fried cutlet, and numerous soups joined the usual suspects.  And they had a Tue&Thurs. specials board, so it appears as if they change some of their items around every few days.

When you walk in, there are three or four different places you can get in line to pick your food.  On first glimpse, they look mostly the same, but some of them have different things.  Usually I like to ignore the menu, and just order with my eyes… but here that’s a little tough because there are a few different places to order.  My suggestion would be to look up at the bulletin boards hanging behind each station, and choose which line to get in based on that.  There are a ton of choices, and the board (while it doesn’t seem complete) will help you to at least narrow it down.

What I ordered, and the +/- after the jump… Read more »

Yips

Fresh off my disappointment of no Hallo Berlin Cart on Wednesday, I was forced to find lunch in an area I haven’t eaten in before.  Walking back to work, I went down 52nd Street between 5th and 6th where I found a bunch of lunch options. But because of my “condition”, one stood out as the clear choice.  Yips.

I am addicted to cheap chinese food… and Yips is the kind of place I have trouble walking by.  The food is right there, in all it’s steam plate glory… calling to you… “Please point to me”.  With all the choices right there, waiting to be picked in any number of combinations, it’s hard for me not to eat at these kinds of cheap chinese food places… so right off the bat, I can say- if you are not into this kind of eating, Yips is not going to be the place to change your mind.

Most places like this suffer from the same problems.  Is the food authentic?  Usually not.  Is it as fresh as it could be?  Usually not?  Is it restaurant quality?  Usually not… and Yips is no different.  But it’s got a lot of choices, and many of them you don’t normally see at places like this.  Garlic (Salt & Pepper) Shrimp, Honey Roast Pork, Curry Fish Balls, Spicy Thai Chicken, Some sort of fried cutlet, and numerous soups joined the usual suspects.  And they had a Tue&Thurs. specials board, so it appears as if they change some of their items around every few days.

When you walk in, there are three or four different places you can get in line to pick your food.  On first glimpse, they look mostly the same, but some of them have different things.  Usually I like to ignore the menu, and just order with my eyes… but here that’s a little tough because there are a few different places to order.  My suggestion would be to look up at the bulletin boards hanging behind each station, and choose which line to get in based on that.  There are a ton of choices, and the board (while it doesn’t seem complete) will help you to at least narrow it down.

What I ordered, and the +/- after the jump… Read more »

Midtown is Sausage Free Until August 1st

An annoymous poster said that they saw a sign saying the Hallo Berlin Cart would gone all of July… back on August 1st.  I’ll be there with bells on.  Who’s with me?

Hallo Berlin Cart… Found! Sort of…

Apparently Rolf is in Germany, and has been there for a few weeks… so, now that the World Cup is over, we can hope to expect the Hallo Berlin Cart back soon.  I thought about calling the restaurant again to find out exactly when… but the first call didn’t go so well.  The lady I talked to yesterday thought the cart was there.  I guess her and Rolf aren’t that close…

Thanks to Bryan from MOMA for the tip.  He had a conversation with Rolf about a month ago… not sure the exact date of return- but we’ll try to keep you up to date!

Hallo Berlin Cart…. M.I.A.!!!

The Northwest corner of 54th st. & 5th avenue was surprisingly empty today.  Normally it is home to the infamous Hallo Berlin Cart, THE place for German sausage in town.  I figured what better time to review it… one day after the German soccer (football if you want to be a snob about it) team was knocked out of the World Cup.  I was hoping the Cart could bring solace to any fans of German soccer looking to drown their sorrows in one of the best German delicacies the city has to offer.

But the cart was nowhere to be found… and I can’t help but wonder, if yesterday’s game has anything to do with this?  Is it possible that Rolf Babiel was too depressed to come to work today?

Hoping to get to the bottom of this, I phoned Hallo Berlin’s actual restaurant on 10th Avenue and 44th street… but they were no help.  Partially because whoever answered didn’t speak english very well, but even after my question was finally understood, they told me the cart should be there.

Anyway, sorry to all the German Soccer fans looking for solace today… the actual restaurant is open, if you want to drown your sorrows with a beer after work- but the cart’s whereabouts are a mystery for now…

Hallo Berlin Cart, Usually at the Northwest Corner of 54th St. & 5th Avenue

Hallo Berlin the Restaurant, 626 10th Ave. btw. 44th & 45th st., 212-541-6248