Midtown Lunch

“Imposter” Waffle Truck Spotted Near the West Side Highway

Been getting tons of waffle truck sightings in the inbox lately, and Blondie & Brownie confirm. The OG Waffels & Dinges truck has been parked on 46th btw. 5+6th the past two days, and plans on being there again today (and probably tomorrow) until 3:30-4 pm. The rain looks like it may keep them off the street today, but one thing is clear- W&D appears here to stay. You can check their twitter page for updates.

I also spotted the “Imposter” Waffle Truck parked in Midtown West the past two nights. Many carts and trucks have parking spaces near the West Side Highway, and it doesn’t necessarily mean they are setting up shop in Midtown, but it would seem like a convenient option. We may even end up with our own Truck War, like the one brewing in Union Square.

Waffle truck sightings are totally welcome in the comments…

Last Friday I told you that Papa Perrone’s, the new pizza truck parked on 55th btw. Madison & Park, was going to be serving their special artichoke pie on Monday.  Well I went and checked it out, and it turns out artichoke pie is literally artichoke pie.  Not pizza, but pie- like a quiche (but not as lame.)

As first I was a little disappointed puzzled by the whole thing.  I thought I was getting a slice, and ended up with a little tin foil package.  Of course that didn’t stop me from eating the thing, and after one bite, there was really only one thing to say: “Welcome to the neighborhood!”  Mozzarella, artichokes, and little chunks of pepperoni baked in a pie crust.  For $2.50 it’s a steal.

Pranzo Pizza Truck (the last truck to take on the famous Jiannetto’s Pizza Truck) was such a big disappointment, I had pretty low expectations for Papa Perrone’s- but after trying their artichoke pie and rice balls, I can honestly say I think this little guy is going to make it.  Especially if he starts serving the artichoke pie every day.

A shot of the rice ball after the jump…  Read more »

It may not actually be on the street, but don’t be fooled- Taj Delhi Chat, in the newsttand that’s been converted into a Midtown Lunch’ers paradise, is the best Indian street food in Midtown.  I’ll admit, before Indus Express (on 48th btw. 5+6th) and Taj Delhi Chat opened, I didn’t really even know what chat (or chaat) was.  I was quickly schooled by more knowledgeable Midtown Lunch’ers, who graciously donated their food porn to the cause.  

For those who are still in the dark, chaat is actually just a generic term for a savory Indian snack, usually sold on the street, and consisting of cumin, amchur (mango powder), red chilies often mixed with some fried snack in combination with any of the following – potatoes, onions, tomatoes, yogurt, tamarind chutney, cilantro, cilantro chutney, and mint chutney. The “fried snacks” that get mixed in can be samosas or pakoras (both well known here in the states) or more commonly, papri (flat, round cracker looking things), bhel (puffed rice crispy looking things) or sev (the little crunchy noodle looking things.)

There is some tasty looking chaat at Indus Express, but reviews have been mixed.  For the best in Midtown (and possibly all of New York City), you’ll want to hit up Taj Delhi Chat.  When I went, I brought along my friend Chandrika to translate the menu for me (and conversely all of you).  What we got, plus a full translated menu, after the jump…  Read more »

In the past two months alone, the New York Times has discovered numerous Midtown Lunch’ing favorites.  There was the Treats Truck piece, and the mention of the Jamaican Dutchy cart, plus the under $25 review of Sophie’s Cuban.  But this… this is much much bigger.  Midtown Lunch’ers have know about Szechuan Gourmet, on 39th btw. 5+6th, for awhile, but now the secret is officially out.  Frank Bruni awarded the Chinese restaurant 2 stars in this mornings New York Times.  Not a fun little piece about our favorite sit down Chinese restaurant in Midtown.  Not even an under $25 review (amazingly lunch is still under $10).  A full fledged, rate it like you’re eating at Le Bernardin, New York Times review.   Two mother-fucking stars. That is some crazy shit.  A Midtown Lunch people!   

Back in March I wrote about how much of a madhouse the place had become during lunch.  I can’t even imagine what it’s going to be like now.  As long as the lunch menu stays under $10 I’m not gonna be mad…

Related:
The Best Chinese Food Dishes in Midtown… As Picked by You
The Most Offal Lunches Midtown Has to Offer

Yesterday Lunch’er Max sent me this photo from the line at Cafe Zest (on 47th btw. Lex+3rd), the new Japanese place opened by the owners Cafe Zaiya (on 41st btw. Mad+5th.) For their grand opening celebration they decided to offer everything for 50% off, yesterday and today, from Noon to 3pm. As you can see from the photo, yesterday got pretty bad, and they had run out of most everything but vegetarian bento boxes and white bread sandwiches by 1:45. Apparently today, it’s even worse. From the comments:

Walked over at 12 today, and man – the line was horrendous. For the usual folk who have just an hour lunch, it’s def’ not going to work out. We thought the 12pm lunch would be less crowded as 1pm is the more favored lunch slot – but we thought wrong. Apparently, Zaiya fans have all heard about Zest already. The line outside the door was about 70 deep at 12:15ish. There goes my plan for stocking up on ITO teas!

A review from somebody who stuck it out, after the jump…  Read more »

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 James, a possibly homeless editorial director with big dreams of a new Midtown street cart…

Name: Jim

Age: 37

Occupation: Editorial Director

Where in Midtown do you Work?: 49th & Madison

Favorite Kind of Food: Thai, Indian, Middle Eastern. Pretty open to everything.

Least Favorite Kind of Food: At the risk of offending the fierce ML anti-vegetarian crowd, I’ve been trying to stay away from assembly line meats (ie: animals that need to be pumped full of hormones/antibiotics to live long enough so I can eat them). That said, I’m not a vegetarian.

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Midtown: Okay, the first admission right off that may or may not DQ me from a profile. I generally bring in my lunch. This is because I’m cheap/poor but also because I learned I can make myself a much better lunch for less money then most generic midtown options. But I very often only bring part of my lunch and have to supplement it. I sort of make a game out of how cheaply I can do this. IE: scallion pizza ($2.50) from Cafe Zaiya (on 41st btw. Mad+5th) along with my homemade lentil curry soup=cheap, good lunch.

“Go-To” Lunch Place You and Your Coworkers Eat at Too Often? Several women in my office have a Mangia fetish. They go there and bring back these huge bags that have nothing but greens, seeds and air. It’s all a little frightening. That said, I go there sometimes for their bread. Many times I make part of a lunch but don’t have fresh bread at home. Their whole wheat bread is outstanding and .50 for a (big) slice. They also have good condiments there (honey, mustard, good butter). I could go on about the free-condiment salad dressings I’ve created from places like this but I’m aware that I’m sounding like a homeless person… Oh, off topic but another option when I don’t have my own bread is my local street meat vendor. A few months ago it occurred to me when I had my own lunch fillings to go buy just this guy’s bread. He gave it to me for free. I’ve been back several times since, he won’t take my money for his awesome bread even though I’ve never bought anything from him (I keep meaning to go back for lunch). Heartwarming. But again, I sound like a homeless person

Place(s) you discovered thanks to Midtown Lunch? The usual suspects: Japanese trinity on 41st btw. Madison & 5th (Cafe Zaiya, Chiyoda & Yagura), Pampano Taqueria (on 3rd btw. 49+50th), oms/b (on 45th btw. Lex+3rd), Woorijip (on 32nd btw. 5th & B’way), and the favorites of falafel week. I usually get my lunch out on Fridays and try to make it count. (James, do you realize Falafel Week occured on Week 2 of Midtown Lunch’s existence. That’s over 2 years ago… -zach)

If you could work anywhere (just because of the lunch) where would it be and why? Well, Thailand first. The street food there is just ridiculously good, fresh and cheap as dirt. I have a friend who lives there and I curse him every time I pay for overpriced Thai and think about the incredible meals I had there for under $2. Next choice is downtown. Lower East Side/Chinatown for cheapness, East village for Yaffa and drinks at the holiday cocktail lounge, West village for Mamouns and Murray’s cheese.

Is there anything you’d like to ask the Midtown Lunch readers? I want to start a Thai food cart. Fresh ingredients, authentic recipes, reasonable prices (for midtown). I did some cursory research and the NYC food vending policies seem prohibitive for a novice, so ideally I’d like to find a partner (or partners) who has a license and/or knows the deal with getting one. I’m vaguely serious about this. Short of such a connection, would like to know from ML readers: a) what would you be looking for in the ultimate thai cart? b) how much would you pay? c) what should it be called? If I pursue this, the support of the Midtown Lunch readers would be part of the business prospectus.

Oh yeah?  Well, I don’t think you’ll find anybody on this site who wouldn’t support a Thai food cart.  My suggestion is, if you want to make it good, you should focus on just one thing, and make it awesome.  I find that carts that try to do too much stuff, end up doing everything mediocre.  My suggestion for a Thai Cart Prototype, after the jump…  Read more »

It’s like all carts, all the time on Midtown Lunch this week.  Fresh off the heels of our massive Street-Meat-Palooza post comes two big pieces of street meat news.  First up:

The Rafiqi’s on 47th & Madison has raised raised the price of their street meat.  A combo platter is now $5.45.  I’m not sure if this is just this cart or all of them, but I do know that we paid $5 for a combo at the Rafiqi’s on 44th and 5th.  It seems weird that different Rafiqi’s carts would have different prices.  Considering they came in 2nd to last, nobody should care too much about this, although sadly it is probably a sign of more price increases to come.  It joins Kwik Meal as just another addition to our ever expanding Price Hike List.

Speaking of Kwik Meal…  Read more »

I try my best not to be too negative on this site, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be able to vent. Every once in awhile I’ll share some of the more angry useful emails I get in a post called “Airing of Grievances”. (If the Eater Complaints Dept. would like royalties, I’ll be happy to pay up…) As a former Los Angelino I can relate to this one (although I don’t know if authentic is the word I’d use for Baja Fresh and Wahoo’s.)

Tried the new Qdoba today. More like Qdon’tbother. Blech! More Mexican food for people who’ve never been west of New Jersey. It’s like a Subway with tortillas and beans instead of lettuce and bread with big knives baked into it. I went for the “hot “ salsa and couldn’t even taste it. Also opted for the “3 Cheese Queso” burrito. I thought it would be three actual cheeses like a real Mexican place might provide… It was pump cheese. Pump cheese! Pump cheese belongs on your 2am, 7-11 nachos not on a friggin burrito!

Upside? The massive, albeit bland, burrito was only 5 bucks and it came with a sweet “I heart Qdoba” t-shirt and a fancy customer loyalty card. I don’t heart Qdoba but I do heart a big-ass, $5 dollar lunch on 50th St. (btw. 6+7th)

But wait, there’s more (not alot, but some things need to go after the jump to protect the children)  Read more »