Midtown Lunch

Another super depressing sight on the streets of Midtown today, this time involving my favorite food of all time.  Never have I wanted more to be a Midtown pigeon.  (It was the French crueller… I freakin’ love French cruellers.)  Though unlike “the cookie incident”, I didn’t cause this disaster I just happened upon it (I think it was on 53rd btw. 5th & Madison, but I’m can’t remember for sure.) Which leads me to this final thought:  Who drops a dozen doughnuts on the street!?!  Stale bread is one thing… but doughnuts?  It should be against the law.

Related:
Midtown Snapshots: The Saddest Thing I’ve Ever Seen

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 Nicholas, a blogger/student/web guy who may be the only person in the world more addicted to Chinese food than I am.

Name: Nicholas

Age: 20

Occupation: Web Developer, American Express Publishing/Student, Columbia/Blogger

Where in Midtown do you Work?: 43rd & 6th

Favorite Kind of Food: I absolutely love Chinese food (I try to pay tribute to my cultural identity, specifically a good bowl of beef noodle soup, knife cut over hand pulled), which is followed closely by Korean barbecue. Add to the list Japanese ramen and you get the whole gamut of Asian foods! This isn’t to say I would say no to a finely crafted burger or slice.

Least Favorite Kind of Food: I can’t stand the generic halal carts anymore, even though I used to adore the 53rd and 6th cart (before I started working in midtown and had immediate access). I will have the occasional chicken tikka from Biryani cart (on 46th & 6th), but only as a last ditch fallback when it’s impossible to walk more than a block. Oh, and vietnamese pho, it just pales in comparison to a good bowl of beef noodles…

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Midtown: In no particular order, the steam tray option at Ho Yip (on 45th btw. 5+6th) was the first place I went to on my interview date, and I fell in love. Greasy and cheap at its finest, especially after 2:15. Szechuan Gourmet (on 39th btw. 5+6th), as introduced by my coworkers, never disappoints with their double cooked pork… requested extra spicy of course. Hallo Berlin cart (on 54th & 5th) was pretty solid as I remember it for their ‘dictator special.’ Finally, perhaps the most versatile of all my midtown spots… Cafe Zaiya (on 41st btw. Mad+5th), their convenient placement of pastries next to bento holds a special place in my heart/stomach.

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So, we’re a month and a half into the Midtown Lunch Sandwich Challenge, and I thought it would be a good time to give a quick update on where we are. Most of the sandwiches being offered, which are all listed on the bottom of the Sandwich Challenge page, are still around… but there have been a few changes:

• I stopped by the Sophie’s Cuban on 3rd Avenue (btw. 49+50th, in the Crystal Pavillion Food Court) and they are no longer advertising the sandwich, but will make it for you if you ask for it. They plan on adding it to the permanent menu in the near future.
• FreeFoods NYC’s Duck Pastrami Reuben was supposed to just be for the month of February but it’s been so popular they’ve extended it indefinitely. Also, you guys inspired them to recreate their “sandwich area with some meatier options, for example, (Barbecued Pork, Smoked Tomato, Pickled Lime, Chipotle Cilantro Dressing).” Nicely done Midtown Lunchers.
• Certe retired its Feb sandwich (the Thanksgiving Dip) and introduced a March sandwich called “The Bayou”.  A review of that is coming tomorrow… and the Thanksgiving Dip is still available on Thursdays as a special.

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“Not lunch per se, but where is best Irish Soda Bread in midtown? I get a craving for it every year around St. Pat’s Day and so many places make dry horrible Irish Soda Bread — not like Mom used to make!” Being a short fat Jew, I know nothing about Irish soda bread.  Anybody got a suggestion?  Put it in the comments, St Patty’s day is only a week away.

Bionic Bites has a really great post about all the mini meal options at Golden Krust, the Carribean chain with multiple midtown locations. “All the options come with cooked cabbage, a slice of fried plantain, and a choice of rice or rice and peas. Prices are dependent on what you order, but everything hovers around $6.” Her favorite is the jerk chicken wings, but she also reports that the cow’s foot special and the curry chicken are good as well. 

Related:
Recession Special: Jamaican Dutchy Mini Meals Are Now $5

The Garrett’s Popcorn location on the SW corner of 46th and 5th, which hosted Top Chef Richard Blais and his frozen popcornsicles back in July, is now closed. I guess when the economy goes bad, people don’t spend as much money on fancy pants Chicago popcorn.  I never actually bought any popcorn, but partook in free samples whenever they were offered.  Oh… maybe that was the problem.  According to their website, the location on 34th btw. 7+8th is still open.

As much as we complain about Midtown as a “culinary wasteland”, the cart scene is probably the best in the city (rivaled only by Jackson Heights, perhaps?) When it comes to variety, we pretty much have everything- with few exceptions.  2 1/2 years ago, we even had a Japanese teriyaki cart (on 50th btw. 6+7th)- which disappeared as quickly as it popped up. Well, I’m excited to report that teriyaki has returned to the Midtown cart scene (on the NW corner of 49th & 3rd), and it is a huge improvement on the original.

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The only thing greater than my love of conveyor belt sushi, was my disappointment in Sakae Sushi (the kaiten place on 43rd btw. Lex+3rd that opened and closed last year.) And make no mistake about it, the disappointment had nothing to do with the conveyor belt.  The conveyor belt was awesome.  I think they closed because the food was expensive, and just not that good.  In other words, I’m convinced that conveyor belt sushi can work in Midtown… and apparently Yushi agrees with me.

The belt revealed(!) after the jump…

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