Midtown Lunch

Grub Street took Philadelphia native and cheesesteak lover Joey Campanaro (Little Owl) on a tour of Manhattan’s cheesesteak purveyors, and when the dust cleared Carl’s Steaks (with a location on 3rd Ave. and 34th St. ) was victorious. More surprising than the Carl’s victory was the fact that Shorty’s came in 5th out of 7 places. Shorty’s, which is located on 9th Ave. btw. 41+42nd used to be an outpost of the famed “Tony Luke’s” in Philly until they got sick of paying the royalties for the name. You would think they would have learned a thing or two about making a cheesesteak in that time (although in fairness, ML commenters have said that their pork sandwiches with broccoli rabe are where it’s at.) Also included in the list, Philly Slim’s (on 9th Ave. and 53rd) and 99 Miles to Philly (52nd & 2nd)

Related: Carl’s Steaks is a Greasy Mess (And I Mean That in the Best Possible Way)

It’s time for the 2nd Annual Midtown Lunch Readers’ Poll. Between now and the end of the year I’ll be asking all of you to decide on the best Midtown Lunches in a whole range of categories. You can only vote once per category (so choose wisely), and official results will be posted after the new year.

In a lot of ways the falafel is what launched Midtown Lunch. Two and half years ago “Falafel Week” is what got Midtown Lunch noticed (and made fun of) by Gawker, and for that reason many of you are here. There is no shortage of good, authentic, and even strange falafel in Midtown- as evidenced by the list of nominees for Best Falafel in Midtown:

• Bread and Olive (45th btw. 5+6th)
• Crisp (3rd Ave. btw. 43+44th)
• Kosher Deluxe (46th btw. 5+6th)
• Kwik Meal (45th & 6th)
• Moshe’s Falafel (46th btw. 5+6th)
• Olympic Pita (38th btw. 5+6th)
• Pick a Pita (8th Ave. btw. 39+40th)
• Prince Deli (3rd Ave. btw. 43+44th)

Vote for your favorite, after the jump.

Read more »

When they cover up the sign, I think it’s safe to say the mini Food Court on 8th Avenue btw. 44+45th is gone for good. So, say goodbye to Midtown’s only Church’s Fried Chicken. Thankfully we still have Popeye’s and a few other good options in the area… plus if you noticed in yesterday’s profile, there is a rumor going around that Bojangles is looking to expand to New York City (with a reported 41 new stores in 2009.) I contacted the corporate office, and their response is after the jump.

Read more »

It’s time for the 2nd Annual Midtown Lunch Readers’ Poll. Between now and the end of the year I’ll be asking all of you to decide on the best Midtown Lunches in a whole range of categories. You can only vote once per category (so choose wisely), and official results will be posted after the new year.

You know I love me some Korean food. It’s a little known fact that I set the southern boundaries of Midtown Lunch at 32nd Street (instead of 34th Street) just so I could include Koreatown in the places I write about. But, what’s great is now you don’t have to go all the way down to 32nd for Korean food… it’s all over Midtown (and oftentimes in the strangest of places.) Here are the nominees for Best Korean Fast Food:

• Ambrosia Deli (45th btw. 5+6th)
• The Bulgogi Cart (49th btw. 6+7th)
• Cafe Duke (51st btw. 6+7th)
• Han Ah Reum (32nd btw. B’way+5th)
• Pro Hot Korean (56th btw. 5+6th)
• Woorijip (32nd btw. 5+6th

Vote for your favorite, 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 Ranjan an ‘Emerging Markets Trader’ with a taste for the spicy food.

Name: Ranjan

Age: 28

Occupation: Emerging Markets Trader

Where in Midtown do you Work?: Bank of America, right on Bryant Park

Favorite Kind of Food: All types of asian food, spicy foods, and fried chicken (I heard a rumor that Bojangles is finally coming to town!).

Least Favorite Kind of Food: A boring pasta with red sauce

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Midtown: A secret i will reveal for spicy food lovers: at Dunhill Cafe (on 45th btw. B’way+6th) they have a prepared cajun chicken… throw it in a whole wheat wrap with lettuce and onions and enjoy; the Spicy Bulgogi with rice dish at Cafe Duke on 51st street (the one near Bryant Park sucks); the Roast Pork Special (broccoli rabe and roasted pork) from Tony Lukes/Shorty’s on 9th Ave. btw. 41+42nd, and be sure to get a side of their Parmesan Fries. The Kra Prow lunch special at Seeda Thai on 50th and 8th; and the best bacon, egg, and cheese is from D&S Marketplace on 56th and 5th.

Read more »

It appears as if all of our sandwich making at Murray’s Salami in the Grand Central Market has gotten noticed. Starting this week, Murray’s is offering a selection of “Lunch Trays” for those interested in making their own sandwiches (but don’t want to gather three friends together to split the bill.) You’ll still have to provide your own bread and condiments, but the lunch trays will feature an assortment of meats and cheese hand picked to make a great sandwich. Here are some of combos already being offered:

• The Italian Job (Prosciutto di Parma, Mortadella, Genoa salame, and Provolone)
• Cubano (Pork loin, Niman Ranch ham, and Swiss Emmenthaler)
• Some Like It Hot (Salumeria Biellese pepperoni, Columbus Calabrese salame, and chorizo)
• The Classic Revisited (Niman Ranch applewood smoked ham, house-roasted turkey, and aged Cabot cheddar)

The packs will run you anywhere from $8 to $9, which admittedly doesn’t leave much room for bread and condiments to get you under the $10 Midtown Lunch price cap… but the packs have over 1/2 pound of meat, so you could easily buy two rolls and get two sandwiches out of it if you wanted.

But here is the best part: Murray’s is offering Midtown Lunch readers the chance to suggest the ingredients for a special “Midtown Lunch” tray, and the lunch’er whose creation gets chosen will win a huge meat platter.  Details after the jump…

Read more »

It’s time for the 2nd Annual Midtown Lunch Readers’ Poll. Between now and the end of the year I’ll be asking all of you to decide on the best Midtown Lunches in a whole range of categories. You can only vote once per category (so choose wisely), and official results will be posted after the new year.

Let’s kick it off with a big one shall we? Best fast food hamburger in Midtown. The nominees are:

• Blarney Stone (3rd Ave. btw. 44+45th)
• Burger Joint at the Parker Meridien (56th btw. 6+7th)
• City Burger (39th & B’way)
• Carnegie John’s Cart (56th & 7th)
• Five Guys Burgers and Fries (55th btw. 5+6th)
• Goodburger (Multiple Locations)
• Pop Burger (58th btw. Mad+5th)
• Zen Burger (Now Closed)

Vote for your favorite, after the jump…

Read more »

I have to say I’m a little shocked by this one… walked by Zen Burger today (on Lexington btw. 45+46th) to discover that this past Friday was their last day open for business.  This one year old vegetarian fast food chain from the owners of Zen Palate (which has also been plagued by money issues over the years) was disliked by many meat lovers, but I was kind of into their whole premise: fast food that is almost identical to McDonald’s, but without using any meat. 

The letter blamed “extremely high rent” for the closing, and said to watch out for news about “future locations”.  No word on how this will effect their West Hollywood, CA location supposedly opening at the beginning of 2009.

The full letter is after the jump.

Read more »

I’ve walked by this cart on 55th btw. Park+Madison many times, and each time was equal parts turned off and intrigued by the sign. What exactly is “healthy” street meat? Is that even possible? And what would it taste like? Well, last week the question was partly answered when a couple of commenters recommended the Greek salad topped with chicken from this very cart.

Now, if you read this blog regularly you know my feelings on salad. I generally can’t bring myself to do it. If I want to eat healthy, I’ll get a “salad style” bibimbap from Cafe Duke on 51st btw. 6+7th (that’s about as healthy as I’ll get). But salad from cart? Well that is kind of interesting. I think I could get away with that, without ruining my reputation… plus it’s a Greek salad- so you throw in some feta cheese and grape leaves, and this fat guy is ready to eat some greens!

Read more »