Midtown Lunch

That headline is cruel to anybody who has ever been to the real Cafe du Monde in New Orleans. I’m sorry… but I couldn’t help it. Clearly New Orleans’ Cafe du Monde is not opening up on 37th btw. 5+6th in Midtown. There is no mention of beignets on the sign, and the logo is terrible. I kind of have to wonder- are these people idiots? I know technically it just means “Cafe of the World”, and there is no fear of anybody confusing a generic Midtown deli with one of the greatest coffee shops/fried-dough-covered-in-powdered-sugar makers in the world. But is this legal?

Beignet lovers… I’ll make it up to you after the jump Read more »

The blog Hungry Travels points out the horribly amazing logo of the Oriental Noodle Shop on 45th btw. Lex+3rd.

I’m waiting for the P.C. police to come storming in and shut the place down. That’d be a shame, because if you ignore the mildly offensive logo and name, you can get tasty noodle dishes and noodle soups here at reasonable prices, especially for midtown (lunch will run about $7-$10). I especially like the thick, almost chewy texture of their pan fried noodles.

After last weeks (still going in the comments) debate about the Trini Paki Boys Cart (on 43rd & 6th) I shudder to think of what people are going to say about this.

There will probably never be consensus on the best chicken parm sub in Midtown, but the search will continue on. I had a enjoyable one at Tuscany Catering (on 55th btw. 5+6th), but was surprisingly disappointed by Little Italy Pizza (on 46th btw. 5+6th) and Park Italian across the street. The best I’ve had so far is probably at Labeleca on 40th btw. 7+8th (and their sister location La Bellezza on 49th btw. Lex+3rd.) In order to keep up with lunchtime demand, none of these places fries their chicken cutlets to order- and while they’re all fine, none will end the search.

So on Friday after I walked by the still plywooded Washoku Cafe (the new Cafe Zaiya’ish Japanese place that is opening soon on 37th btw. Mad+5th), I decided against my better judgement to check out Mondello’s, a standard take out pizza and subs place right next door. I say “against my better judgement” because I pride myself on my strange sense for good Midtown Lunch’ish food. There is a vibe a place gives off that lets you know it’s going to be good, and this place didn’t have it.  But there were alot of people in there, and sometimes you just feel like a chicken parm.   Read more »

Last week a lunch’er sent word that a Kati Roll cart had popped up on the NE corner of 45th and 2nd Ave. It has since disappeared and there has been no further word.  At first I thought it may be the Biriyani/Chapati Roll Cart (on 46th btw. 6+7th), which has plans to roll out their second cart on the East side in the next few weeks. But a quick check revealed that it’s not them… this is a another deal altogether. Last june a mysterious Kati Roll cart popped up on 46th btw. 6+7th (next to the Chapati Roll cart) but quickly disappeared as well.  I wonder if it has returned? 

Have you seen this cart? Email any info to zach@midtownlunch.com

Bukkake Udon from Chiyoda Sushi (on 41st btw. Mad+5th.) Photo by Food in Mouth

• Chiyoda Sushi makes a good bowl of cold udon noodles with toppings poured over it, known in Japanese as bukkake udon (seriously) [Food in Mouth]
• Chai Home Kitchen on 8th Ave. is a good lunch choice for thai food [Man Eat Food] 
• Kim from the Treats Truck says compared to other areas of the city, the workers of Midtown love the treats with peanut butter in them [Cakespy]
• Compared to Joe and the Art of Coffee, Machiatto Espresso Bar is terrible [Tremble]
• Carrie Underwood ate lunch in Midtown on Wednesday [The Boot]
• If you want the spaetzel at Hallo Berlin Express, make sure they don’t hear “pretzel” [Ramen & Friends]
• They serve Peets Coffee at the ING Cafe, and here is a coupon for a free beverage [Blondie and Brownie]

A lot of good looking snapshots have been posted to the ML Flickr Photo Pool lately. Feel free to use them for a little lunchtime inspiration today…

Roast Duck from Ying Du (on 38th btw. 7+8th.) Photo by bionicgrrrl

Indian food from the cart on 53rd & Park. Photo by 52 Projects

Read more »