Midtown Lunch

Fresh on the heels of my lunch with Ralph Brennan, I get this news- Bourbon St. New York is tentatively scheduled to open April 15th on Restaurant Row (46th btw. 8+9th). As a fan of New Orleans I can’t decide whether to be excited or horrified. Apparently the chef was born and raised in New Orleans and “ran the kitchens in places such as Commanders Palace and Dickie Brennas”, whatever that means. Plus side, they have a Bourbon St. style balcony with something that appears to be wraught iron. The negative side, that balcony looks out over 46th St. We shall see…

• Jezebel, the shuttered front half of Midtown Lunch out of bounds favorite “Piece of Chicken” will become “Five Napkin Burger” [Eater]
• Patsy’s Midtown is suing Patsy’s Long Island over who was Sinatra’s favorite [NY Post]
• Dr. J had lunch at Hawaiian Tropic Zone the other day! [NY Post]
• Profiled Lunch’er “Rachel” popped up on the Martha Stewart Show talking about Cupcakes [Gakwer]
• Naked Cowboy to Shill for Qdoba & Spotlight Live [NY Mag]

It seems like every day I’m posting one of these.  First it was the buffets, and then Del Frisco’s raised the price of their steak tips deal.  Now, the incredibly popular Burger Joint, “hidden” in the lobby of the Parker Meridien Hotel on 56th btw. 6+7th, has raised their prices.  That’s right- the hamburger that you voted “Best Burger” in the 2008 Midtown Lunch Readers’ Poll, now costs $7 (up from $6).  The cheeseburger gets a $1 price hike as well (to $7.50) and the grilled cheese, french fries, brownie, milkshake, bottled water and a beer now cost you 50 cents more.  While soda and lemonade get a token 25 cent increase.  Apparently the whole pickle is the only item immune to the recession.

I’m sure it won’t effect the line of tourists you currently find packing the place everyday, but with Five Guys now open a few blocks away, and Goodburger continuing their expansion, this price hike could have an effect on their lunchtime business.

With the price of food all over the city going up, and a Burger Joint hamburger and fries now going for $10.50, are these places no longer Midtown Lunches, or is it time we adjusted the $10 cap for inflation?

What the good ‘ole days looked like, after the jump… Read more »

Even though I posted about City Burger’s grand opening yesterday morning, I was out of town, so I missed out.  City Burger’s Day 2, on the other hand, rivaled Five Guys on opening week.  Super long wait times, a large crowd of pretty unhappy people, and a staff struggling to learn the ropes, while simutaneously being slammed by huge lunchtime crowds wanting their burger fix. Oh and the seating is limited to about 15 stools, no tables.Some promising signs… the burger are pretty big and thick, as are the rings- which are beer battered. They’ve also got thick steak fries which look excellent (if you’re into that sort of thing). Oh, and they’ve got wings… I’d give ’em a little time to work out the kinks before I rush over to eat.

Every Tuesday I turn over the site to a different Midtown Lunch’er for his or her recommendations for the best lunch in Midtown. Today’s Lunch’er is pretty special.  He doesn’t work in Midtown, he *lives* in Midtown.  And not in Hell’s Kitchen or Murray Hill, but smack dab in the middle of Midtown Lunch’ing central- on 46th St. btw 5+6th, above Akdeniz (!), the Turkish restaurant on Little Brazil.  Oh, and he’s also a Magician.  Meet Josh, possibly the most amazing Midtown Lunch’er of all time… 

 Name: Josh

Age: 28

Occupation: Entertainer (Magician/Comedian)/Foodie (www.nycfoodie.com/)

Where in Midtown do you Work?:I live on Little Brazil, 46th bet. 6th and 5th (right above Akdeniz).

Favorite Kind of Food: Sushi, Thai, Everything

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Love everything

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Midtown: Buffet at Sun Yip/Ho Yip (45th btw. 5+6th), Anything from Cafe Zaiya (41st btw. Mad+5th), Beef with Peanut Sauce from Pongsri (48th btw. 7+8th), Duck Panang Curry from Pam Real Thai (49th btw. 9+10th), Sultan’s Delight from Akdeniz, Cheeseburger from Five Guys (55th btw. 5+6th), Sushi Special Entree from Hatsuhana (48th btw. Mad+5th), Lamb from the Kwik Meal Cart (45th & 6th), Chicken dishes from The Jamaican Dutchy Cart (51st & 7th).

The “go-to” lunch place you and your co-workers eat at too often: My goto Lunch spot is Cafe Zaiya. For fast, authentic Japanese delights, this place is the best.

If you could work anywhere (just because of the lunch) where would it be and why? I’d like to be the Full-Time Momofuku Ssam Magician based at 13th and 2nd in the East Village, but will travel to 1st between 10th and 11th to Noodle Bar and Ko. To be able to entertain at any Momofuku(I have actually been known to whip out card tricks while dining at Ssam and Noodle Bar in the middle of my meals) and be able to eat any Chang and Co. creation, would be ideal.

Is there anything you’d like to ask the Midtown Lunch readers?: 1. Who makes the best Italian Hoagie in Midtown? 2. Any single gal interested in dining with a magician/foodie?

Wow.  Two very difficult questions.  I don’t know what’s more ambitious, finding a great Italian sub through Midtown Lunch (I’ve tried many and still haven’t settled on the best), or finding a date (many have tried, has anybody succeeded?).  Commenters, I turn this one over to you…

And as always, if you want to be the next Profiled: Midtown Lunch’er, or you’d like to nominate somebody in your office, email me at zach@midtownlunch.com

Spent the weekend in my hometown of Miami, and had two lunches which are now going to be added to the Midtown Lunch wishlist.  First up, Pollo Tropical:

This Florida fast food institution is not as great as it once was, but if given the choice between a whopper combo and a quarter chicken combo with rice, beans, and plantains, I think it’s pretty obvious what I’m going to choose.  It can’t hold a candle to most of the latin food here in Midtown, so we don’t really *need* a Pollo Tropical, but it still holds a special place in my heart… (I’ve seen the sign for one off of the freeway in Jersey when you come out of the Lincoln Tunnel.  Anybody ever been?)

And yesterday, we had the lesser known, sweet bastard son of the Cuban Sandwich.  Check it out after the jump… Read more »