Midtown Lunch

Today is the only day of the year where it is acceptable to use your
lunch hour for something other than stuffing your face.

Every Tuesday I turn over the site to a different Midtown Lunch’er for his or her recommendations for the best lunch in Midtown. Since today is election day, I thought it would be perfect to profile Alan Colmes from Fox News, who I discovered back in August is a Midtown Lunch reader! I must say, whatever your personal politics, you have to admire Alan for his bravery.  Think about how tough it is for him to go to work every day… if you’re a conservative, you hate him for being liberal.  And if you’re a liberal, you hate him for being on Fox News. But more than any of that, I think his strongest show of bravery to date… is agreeing to be profiled on Midtown Lunch.

Name: Alan Colmes

Age: ???

Occupation: Talk Show Host

Where in Midtown do you Work?: Rockefeller Center

Favorite Kind of Food: Burgers and pasta; I’m also a chocoholic and drink iced coffee 12 months a year, so thank goodness for all the coffee places that have popped up. But Dunkin’ Donuts has my vote over Starbucks, which is too bitter.

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Sushi, Indian, and anything too spicy. Not a big fish eater, except for shrimp and tuna salad.

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Midtown: The shrimp pasta at Bella Napoli (on 49th btw. 6+7th), the double cheese at Goodburger (45th btw. 5+6th); Bocca (underneath Rock Center) has a terrific thing where you can create your own pasta or sandwiches. I also like Variety Cafe (on 48th btw. 5+6th) for their very complete salad bar… every conceivable kind of food is available there. But Dishes on 45th (btw. Mad+5th) has the most unique and tasty salad bar.

“Go-To” Lunch Place You and Your Coworkers Eat at Too Often? Cafe Metro, the Evergreen Diner (on 47th btw. 6+7th), and Europa

Place(s) you discovered thanks to Midtown Lunch? Loved the pictures of Goodburger before they opened; just saw that Shake Shack has a new location so now I have to try it.

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Ying Du, on 38th btw. 7+8th, has reopened since being shut by the Department of Health for a second time, but the roast pork and duck station in the front window of the store is gone. They are saying it will be back on Wednesday, but my sense is that is more wishful thinking than guaranteed action. Not sure exactly why it’s gone… it may have something to do with their DOH violations. Ying Du is not nearly as good a lunch option without it- although there was one item on the steam table that caught my eye as a possible replacement…

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Eater confirms that Murray’s Salami (from the owners of Murray’s Cheese) has opened in the Grand Central Market (enter on Lexington & 43rd).  The good news? I am of the opinion that the more cured meats there are in Midtown, the better.  The bad news? They are prohibited by contract to sell anything premade- like sandwiches. I wonder if this has something to do with the food court downstairs?  However, salami lovers shouldn’t be discouraged.  Since Murray’s Real Salami will be located so close to Corrado Bakery, they’re hoping people will put two and two together (literally).

We got this tip from a lunch’er, and it was confirmed by the Starwich corporate office: “DUDE, this is serious!
Starwich on 38th btw. 5th+6th is closed. They did have extremely tasty sandwiches and salads although really expensive. Although your site is concerned with LUNCH, their breakfast sandwich is not something that can be ignored since it may have been one of the best deals in midtown. $4.28 (after tax) would get you a super-filling pile of veggies, eggies, fancy shmancy gruyere cheeses, and bacon on really good bread. Sorry to bore you with this nonsense but this greasy bundle of joy will always have a special place in my heart.”

This isn’t a huge surprise, considering the company filed for bankruptcy in August. They were trying to sell the business, and had interest from a buyer, but the deal fell through. The breakfast sandwich may be missed, but if you are interested in gourmet, smallish, overpriced sandwiches, there are plenty of ‘wichcraft locations to satisfy your cravings.

 

Michael Psilakis’ lamb burger at the Bon Appetit Pop Up Cafe and Supper Club fully lived up to expectations on Friday.  $10 for the burger and fries was easily the best deal of the week (if you got there just before Noon and didn’t have to wait a half hour in line); and the burger was pretty awesome (if you like the spices you’d find in a kofta kebab).  Greasy in the best possible way, not dry at all, and perfectly complemented by the roasted red pepper/feta spread.  So I was pretty excited to discover that Psilakis serves this at his upscale Greek restaurant Anthos (on 52nd btw. 5+6th)… and doubly disappointed to discover it costs $20 (or $28 as part of the prix fixe lunch deal.)

Come on man- can’t you throw us Midtown Luncher’s a bone? I understand Anthos is a super expensive restaurant, and you’ve got to pay the bills… but what about a bar deal?  Or a take out deal!?!  $10 lamb burger (with a small handful of fries), available for take out only.  Even if it’s only one day a week… I’ll take it!  Need… lamb… burger.  So good… but not worth $20.  Sorry, I’m a cheap bastard. Hook us up Psilakis!

Danku, the new Dutch fast food restaurant coming to Midtown (on 57th btw. 5+6th) is just a few weeks away from opening.  On friday the store was abuzz with employees being trained, and it looks as if everything is pretty much done on the inside.  They also have a full menu posted in the window, and it’s even better than I expected.  In addition to their fried “krokets” they are also going to have “Indonesian specialties” like chicken satay, two stews, MieDan (fried noodles) and PadiDan (fried rice).  I’m a huge fan of Indonesian food, and if their MieDan and PadiDan (stupid names aside) are even halfway decent versions of mie goreng and nasi goreng, I will be a very happy man.

The full menu is after the jump…   Read more »

Election Day is shaping up to be a freeloaders dream. We’ve already reported about the free Ben & Jerry’s from 5 to 8 p.m. for anybody who votes, and two more chains are getting in on the action.  You will also be able to get a free Krispy Kreme donut and a free tall cup of coffee from Starbucks, all for voting. If only my voting location was inside Penn Station, it would make tomorrow a whole lot easier…