Midtown Lunch

A deleted scene from Borat. To be enjoyed by Cinnabon lovers and haters alike…

Related: BREAKING NEWS: Rock Center Cinnabon Opening Today at 4pm

Amid rumors of financial problems (the Union Square Zen Palate closed two weeks ago), Zen Burger is scheduled to open the weekend of November 24th on Lexington btw. 45+46th.  Here’s a look at a mock up of the inside:

_{Courtesy of The Angel Group for Branding & Design}

It’s a lot more McDonalds’ish than I expected (down to the photos on the overhead menu, which don’t look like veggie burgers to me).

From the looks of a photo of the entire interior, leaving Zen Burger may require some sort of teleportation (achieving Nirvana perhaps?).  That photo, after the jump… Read more »

The unmistakeable smell has already begun to fill the tunnels beneath Rockefeller Center, as Cinnabon prepares to open for business at 4pm.  In honor of the “grand opening” they will be handing our free coffee (today only) but the guy inside would not confirm (or deny) the possibility of free samples of cinnamon bunly goodness.

The location is not actually in the concourse, but in that underground area between buildings, next to the Dunkin Donuts just outside the Subway turnstiles.  You shouldn’t have any trouble finding it… just follow the intoxicating smell.

Thanks to Lisa C. for the tip.  If you have any news, info or recommendations- email them to zach@midtownlunch.com

In Midtown there is no shortage of fancy Indian all you can eat Buffets.  I’d love to try them, but I can’t justify shelling out $13, $15 or $18 for all you can eat Indian food when there’s Sukhadia for $10.95 and my new favorite Spice Fusion for $9.95 available.  Sure, the quality of the food at some of these super expensive *may* be better (that is not totally confirmed), but it’s just not worth the extra money.

Utsav, a fancy Indian buffet on 47th btw. 6+7th, solves that problem with a little take out section in the bar area of their $17.95 all you can eat buffet.  For $7.95 or $9.95 you get a lunch size sampling of what the fat cats upstairs are shelling out $18 for- and it’s pretty damn good.

What you get, and a +/- after the jump… Read more »

When I was in Bali, I fell in love with a little thing called tempeh.  A cousin of tofu, tempeh is a “cake” made of whole soybeans that has been fermented.  Sounds delicious right?  Well in Bali, where they sliced it thin, fried it and then sauteed it in Indonesian sauces- it was! (Photo to the left posted to Flickr by rheanna2)  Now I don’t think I have to tell anyone who reads this site, that I am far from a vegetarian (unless somebody decides to classify roast pork as a vegetable)- but I can appreciate good vegetarian food, and when I saw that the Organic Harvest Cafe on 53rd btw. 2+3rd had an “Indonesian Wrap” made with tempeh, I decided it was worth the extra half an avenue walk outside of Midtown Lunch boundaries to check it out.

The Indonesian Wrap (PLUS a bonus Bulgogi Wrap at a little place called “Spoons”) after the jump… Read more »

The Fish Sandwich at Kim’s Aunt Kitchen Cart comes on a hero roll!
Posted to the Midtown Lunch Flickr Photo Group by “The Flooz”

• The Treats Truck is (again!) hoping to park  parked on 45th & 6th today, in a space vacated by a hibernating Ice Cream Truck.  Check their website for updates… 
• At Sun Yip/Ho Yip on 45th btw. 5+6th, the price of the by the lb. buffet after 2:15 has gone from $3.75 to $3.99.  
• Serafina at the Time Hotel (49th btw. 7+8th) opens tomorrow
• The Goodburger on 45th btw. 5+6th is still a “few weeks away” from opening
• Sakae Sushi (with the conveyor belts) on 43rd btw. Lex+3rd isn’t even close to opening
• The Yolato near Grand Central is *supposed* to open on Tuesday the 13th.
• FreeFoodsNYC is starting to come into its own.  Saw a little bit of a lunch crowd in there yesterday
• If you live in Brooklyn (or are looking for an excuse to go there on a Wednesday night), tonight is the 1 Year Anniversary Party for The (Amazing) Brooklyn Kitchen (Williamsburg’s version of Williams Sonoma, on Lorimer).  It’s taking place at Union Pool, and there will be food, and music, and THE BODEGA CHALLENGE (which I will be participating in, in a judgemental role).  And the best part is, it’s free… so come check it out.

Poor Chipotle.  It’s not the only McBurrito on the block anymore…

Qdoba, the fast food burrito place owned by Jack in the Box, is planning on a December 1st opening for their a new 53rd St. & 3rd Ave location.  Anybody ever tried this place?  I know there is one on 34th btw. 2+3rd, but I haven’t been able to make it there yet.  I’m guessing it’s just going to make me miss Baja Fresh more than I already do, but the Chicken Mole Burrito looks mildly intriguing… thoughts?

Every Tuesday I turn over the site to a different Midtown Lunch’er for his or her recommendations for the best lunch in Midtown. This week it’s Lawrence, a sports guy and neophyte blogger with a lot of favorite lunches…

Name: Lawrence

Age: 23

Occupation: Production Assistant (and author of the blog http://nyceats.wordpress.com/ )

Where in Midtown do you Work?:SportsNet New York

Favorite Kind of Food: Burgers, ribs, pizza, and spicy Thai food

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Anything served in the Midtown mega-lunch store

Favorite Place to Eat Lunch in Midtown: The Bacon Cheeseburger w/ Fried Onions from Five Guys (55th btw. 5+6th). 2 Cheeseburgers with everything but mayo and mustard, an order of fries, and a Sam Adams from Burger Joint (56th btw. 6+7th). Extra Spicy Pork Drunken Noodles from Topaz Thai (56th btw. 6+7th). Chilorio Mexican style pulled pork tacos, corn chips, salsa, and Watermelon Aqua Fresca from Pampano Taqueria(3rd Ave. btw. 49+50th). Trainwreck cheese fries, Pulled Pork Sandwich,and Banana Pudding from Virgil’s BBQ (44th btw. 5+6th).  1 regular slice, 1 sicilian (only if fresh) or grilled chicken hero w/ fresh mozz, roasted peppers and roasted eggplant from Bella Napoli Pizza (49th btw. 6+7th). The G3 (grilled roast beef, fried onions, L & T, pickles, bacon, american cheese) with Russian Dressing instead of A1 or Smoked Chicken Deluxe (chicken cutlet, american cheese,grilled pastrami, L & T, with russian) from Lenny’s.

The “go-to” lunch place you and your co-workers eat at too often: Though I don’t EVER eat there, my co-workers love Cafe Duke, I hate it, it smells funky outside, which is never a good sign,and I know at least 6 people who’ve gotten violently ill from eatingsandwiches or food from the buffet.

Place you discovered thanks to Midtown Lunch: Kati Roll, Tony the Dragon, Carnegie John’s, Jannero’s  (I’m guessing he means Jiannetto’s Pizza Truck?  -zach), & the Daisy Mays Cart.

If you could work anywhere (just because of the lunch) where would it be and why? The Nexus of the Universe (1st and 1st for non-Seinfeld fans). It’s close to the LES (Georgia’s Eastside BBQ, Katz’s, Tiny’s) and the East Village (too many to list) and ABC City. No greater concentration of cheap and awesome eateries.

Interesting that you mention Bella Napoli on 49th btw. 6+7th.  It has sort of flown under the radar on this site- I think because I take it for granted.  Bella Napoli is right downstairs from my office building, and the go-to pizza place for my entire office.  It can get a little pricey, but it certainly is good pizza.  And once I had a meatball sub there that made me want a nap for the rest of the afternoon…

They actually have an amazing video up on You Tube that may warrant the invention of  a new term:  The Pizza Porno.  Check it out after the jump… Read more »

 

“Burger was decent, but no way in hell worth the wait,” seems to be the theme of a Friday that was supposed to be the “Grand Opening” of Five Guys on 55th. btw. 5+6th Ave.  I was on a plane to San Francisco on Friday, and missed out on all the excitement, meaning that my Five Guys experience was limited to Thursday’s surprise opening, where the wait time peaked at around 30 minutes.  Not so on Friday, where burger “Early Adopters” were forced to wait over an hour and a half for what is supposed to be fast food.  Comments flooded in, and even Eater covered the madness.

I was pretty angry to have to wait 30 minutes on Thursday, so I can’t even imagine what Friday’s customers were feeling. 

Over the weekend, I got this email from Sal Rincione, the Executive VP of Operations for Five Guys NYC (and “Manager” who was deserved a “big punch in the puss” according to some of Midtown Lunch’s readers):

Zach,
It was utter madness [Friday]! I would like to go on record saying how much we appreciate the support and the AWESOME turnout.  We humbly apologize for the long wait.

Five Guys normally does call in and faxed orders but due to the high volume [on Friday], we obviously will limit the amount of call in’s and faxed orders we will take [going forward].  Please let everyone know that if you fax in an order, unless you get a VERBAL Confirmation from either myself or my staff, assume we are not preparing the order. Unfortunately, we just dont have enough square footage to handle all of the walk in’s along with the called and faxed orders.

My #1 goal is to make the BEST BURGERS IN NYC! Thanks :)

Sal

What I think of the burgers & fries, plus some meat porn, after the jump… Read more »

_{Sandwiches from the Bon Appetit Pop Up Cafe, which closes after today
Added to the Midtown Lunch Flickr Photo Group by thewanderingeater}

• First Look at the decor of the new Blue Ribbon Sushi Bar & Grill in the Time Warner Center 6 Columbus… [Zagat]
• …And here’s the first word on the food [Ed Levine Eats] 
• One of the original Original SoupMan Locations (the one on 3rd Ave. in the 40s) has closed [Zagat]
• The Hawaiian Tropic Zone gets a “Cabaret License”, so now the “dancing” is legal [NYPost via Eater]
• The Pork Belly w/ Chili Leeks from Wu Liang Ye looks pretty awesome [Food in Mouth]
• Alto Gets Upped to Three Stars from Bruni [NY Times]
• The Banh Mi from Boi to Go gets the lowest score in this round up of the city’s best Vietnamese sandwiches [Citysearch]
• Yum Thai has been closed by the Board of Health [Email Tipster]

• The Brooklyn Kitchen are celebrating their 1 Year Anniversary with a “Bodega Challenge” and I’m a judge!  Get all the info here… [The Brooklyn Kitchen]