Midtown Lunch

Ok, now we’re talking. City Burger (on 39th Street just East of Broadway) was not welcomed with open arms by the Midtown Lunch’ing public when it opened last March… but if there was ever a reason to give them a second chance- this is it! As a “recession special” City Burger will be selling their burgers for 99 cents every remaining Tuesday in the month of October (starting tomorrow 10/13.) The pandemonium of their initial opening made for a pretty hectic scene (and not so great burgers), and I’m sure tomorrow will be just as crazy. But hopefully the extra staff they’re planning on supplying will make up for it… either way, you can’t really complain about a burger for $1. Offer only good from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Lunch’er Bossman sends word that Obika (the Italian mozzarella bar in the atrium on Madison and 56th) is officially open, and even more surprising- everything on the takeout menu is under $10!  This is unexpected, and very exciting.  Takeout is available from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.  A full readable version of the sandwich portion of the menu is after the jump.

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Kashmir, the Indian place on 8th Ave. btw. 39+40th was closed by the DOH, and their creativity had me almost believing they actually were just “Closed For Renovations.”  The first tactic they used is nothing new… they pulled the gate down half way, covering up the DOH sticker that was put on their take out by the lb buffet shop that is above ground.  But their cover up on the actual downstairs restaurant, was something I’d never seen before.  Check it out after the jump…

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Cafe Zest (on 47th btw. Lex+3rd), the semi-upscale Japanese bento place from the owners of Cafe Zaiya (on 41st btw. Mad+5th) is about to get some competition. A few doors down, the space that used to be a Burger King now has signs for “Dainobu” a Japanese Grocery/Bento/Sushi/Deli coming soon from Japan. Their website is no help at all, but I’m always up for more Japanese fun in Midtown! I’ll keep an eye on the progress…

T-Boz (?) and Joan Rivers Selling Cupcakes for Celebrity Apprentice. Photo by Blondie and Brownie 

• The new Crumbs location on Madison will be opening on October 25th, and another Midtown location is coming next year [Cupcakes Take the Cake]
• Why eat the cupcakes from Magnolia Bakery, when everything else they serve is so much better [Serious Eats: New York]
• Tina weighs in on her free sandwich from AQ Kafe [Wandering Eater]
• The best ramen in the city can be found in Midtown on Wednesdays [Umamimart]
• If the Treats Truck isn’t parked near you, there are decent cookies at Dishes, Goodburger, and Pret [Dessert Buzz]
• Another endorsement for Lazzara’s chicken parm sub [Life With Food and Drink]
• A list of good options in the far reaches of Midtown East [Neighborbeeblog]
• A new hipster lebanese restaurant has opened in Midtown East [Eater]
• I’m so against coming to Midtown on the weekends, but on Sunday there is a huge pizza eating contest in Times Square [Slice]
• Danny hits up Szechuan Gourmet and the Biryani Cart [Food in Mouth]
• I wrote another one of those Vendy Award profiles for Serious Eats, this time about the Kwik Meal Cart [Serious Eats: New York]

If you like to eat, chances are you like to drink (read: a lot of you are freakin’ lushes), so I thought maybe it was time to introduce a happy hour column to the site. Every week we’ll post about a different bar in Midtown that fits the Midtown Lunch mentality: unhealthy food, not lame (unless it’s lame in a cool way), and most importantly… cheap. For this week’s recommendation we’re back to Profiled Midtown Lunch’er Kate.

This one goes out to the commuters. Or the non-commuters who just like to hang around train stations, like me. Grand Central Station is a veritable treasure trove of deals for cheap drinks and tasty bites, if you’re willing to deal with the hustle and crowds. Gathered in its lower level are food stands that rep for some of the more notable restaurants New York has to offer, along with some of the most reasonable drink deals I’ve ever seen. So here I bring you my mini-tour of what Grand Central has to offer.

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It’s over now, but if this photo is any indication, it was complete pandemonium at AQ Kafe today during their free food giveaway.  Danny from Food in Mouth sent us the photo and had this to say: “Insane in the membrane…yo i couldn’t get in that line, it wasn’t moving and it was LONG. so no idea how good it was…”  A few reports of the scene and food were posted as comments to yesterday’s post (if such a thing interests you, they’re after the jump- along with another photo of the madness.)

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My sinuses are kicking my butt this week and for relief I’m looking for face-meltingly spicy food in midtown. Yesterday’s lunch included the paint-peeling, neon green hot sauce from Kwik Meal. Besides that, and a handful of those little peppers near the checkout at Minar, do you or the readers have options for blindingly hot midtown food? A loyal reader, EJ

Well EJ, Kwik Meal’s sauce may be hot- but I don’t think there is anything hotter than the red sauce from the famous chicken and lamb over rice guys on 53rd & 6th (now with a new cart on 53rd and 7th). If you ask for it on the side, they give it to you in a container that is smaller than a thimble. And with good reason. You don’t need any more of that.

But both of those may be more of a steady burn than a clear out nostrils kind of heat. For a true sinus clearing lunch there is only one place to go.    Read more »

Surprisingly the new location of Pick-A-Pita (on 8th Ave. btw. 39+40th) did in fact open on Tuesday- before shutting down on Wednesday night, and all of Thursday to observe Yom Kippur. They’ll be back open for business today… and just in time too.  On Wednesday amNY named them one of the falafel places in New York City worth waiting in line for. As for the original Pick A Pita location, which is now closed, they owners still have the lease for another 6 months and haven’t decided what to do with the space yet. We shall see… but if you work in the area, and never knew about the semi-hidden Pick a Pita location on 38th, you should check out this new location. Especially if you like french fries stuffed in your shawarma sandwich.

The Dessert Truck will not be at its normal spot in Midtown (52nd and Park Ave.) today, Monday or Tuesday.  Today, there’s filming in the area- but on Monday and Tuesday they’ll be filming a “demo” for the food network.  From their newsletter:

“Monday – we will be closed for day service at 52nd/Park but will be open at St Marks Place from 12-1:30 to shoot for Food Network. No changes to night hours. If you’re in the area, do stop by. For the Food Network demo on Tuesday, all are invited to attend. Here’s the blurb they asked us to post:

FOOD NETWORK LOOKING FOR AN AUDIENCE – FREE BREAD PUDDING!!!

Food Network is filming a new one hour special called “Food
Roadies” exploring the hot new trend of mobile food trucks in
America. One of the food trucks we’re profiling is DessertTruck,
located in Manhattan. If you’ve been there then you know that they
make an amazing chocolate bread pudding!

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