Midtown Lunch

If you are observing Passover, then starting tomorrow Midtown Lunch’ing is going to get a whole lot tougher for you.  Thankfully the Treats Truck is saving your ass in the desserts department.  Kim just started serving apricot bars (on the right) which are made with matzoh meal, and plans on having macaroons and other assorted Passover cookies all week long.  She also was quick to remind me that her peanut butter cookie sandwiches are all gluten free, so maybe that means they’re Kosher for Passover?  Doubtful considering all the stupid non bread things you supposedly can’t eat (corn & rice? wtf!)  Then again I doubt Kim has a Rabbi there in the morning blessing her apricot bars… so if you want to get super technical, you probably can’t eat those either.  I’m going to avoid the hassle by sticking with the amazing looking pumpkin cake with cream cheese frosting on the left.  (What can I say?  I’m a terrible Jew.)

You can visit the Treats Truck on 45th & 6th today from Noon to 4 p.m., or you can follow them around using their website, or Twitter.

If you were bummed out about the Pinche Taqueria news from earlier today, this should immediately cheer you up:  There were a lot of comments and emails yesterday asking what happened to the El Rey del Sabor cart (on 60th & 3rd).  Apparently they were missing from their usual spot yesterday because they were… wait for it… wait for it… setting up a second cart on 49th & 3rd!!!  That’s right- El Rey del Sabor now has a second cart on 49th Street and 3rd Ave. So if you’ve been meaning to try what I think is the best Mexican food in Midtown, but couldn’t make it all the way up to 60th street and back to work in an hour, now you have no excuse.  And for those who were missing the original cart yesterday, fear not- it will be back in its normal spot today.

Related:
The New El Rey del Sabor is Serving Authentic Mexican Food from a Cart
El Rey Del Sabor Round Two: Mole, Tamales, and a Spicy New Creation You Won’t Want to Miss

I was pretty excited when Pinche Taqueria (with two well known locations downtown) announced they’d be serving food out of Mantra on 2nd Ave. and 52nd.  Well, almost two weeks have gone by and-despite promises of a “lunch service” that was supposed to start last Monday- nothing has happened.  I finally called Mantra yesterday and got a completely different story than the one they were peddling a week and a half ago.  Pinche doesn’t come in every day… in fact they have only been coming on Thursday through Sunday, and only for dinner.  Plus, there are no plans right now to open for lunch.  Lame.

Though, I’ve been hearing rumors that eventually the Mantra space will be converted into a full time Pinche Taqueria.  I guess we’ll just have to wait for that to happen before we get some lunchtime Pinche action.

Conflicting reports this morning about a new pizza place on Park Ave. btw. 41+42nd called Golosi. Urbandaddy says they opened yesterday and reported it this way: “In the shadow of Grand Central Station in a small, modern little shop is a new pizza and gelato maker quietly pumping out classic thin crusts and some fresh ice cream for your Midtown snacking needs.” It says snacking, because they sell their Sicilian style pizza “by the inch” (?!?)

Strong Buzz, on the other hand, is reporting that they open tomorrow, and will be giving away free gelato with every pizza purchase. That’s right… they also have 28 flavors of house made gelato.

I have confirmation that they are definitely going to be open today, but am waiting to hear back about the gelato.  Who among you early adopters will check out this madness and report back in the comments!?! (I have other plans for lunch today, but will definitely be showing up for the free gelato tomorrow- if it’s happening. More when I find out…)

UPDATE: Grub Street brings it all together with a slideshow, menu, and your first look at the pizza which is a kind of pricey sounding 99 cents to $1.50 per inch.  Plus they confirm that tomorrow is free gelato day! (“With the purchase of a pie.”  Whatever that means…)

Golosi, 125 Park Ave (btw. 41+42nd), 212-922-1169

Photo courtesy of Urbandaddy

In what would be considered a huge upset by many Josh Ozersky, the just out of bounds Five Napkin Burger (on 9th Ave. btw. 44+45th) won the Reader Choice award for “Best New Hamburger” at the Time Out New York Eat Out Awards last night. The other nominees were Black Iron Burger, Petey’s, and Midtown’s own City Burger (on 39th & B’way)

Related:
Original City Burger Better Than Black Label? Combo Comes Down By $1

Bar American (sic)?  No offense to Bobby Flay (I happen to think Bar Americain is a really good restaurant), but “best Midtown lunch restaurant”?  Katie… sweetie pie… I have a whole website full of places you and Billy should check out before declaring any lunch in Midtown as “the best”.

Related:
Midtown Lunch’s Twitter Page
Jamaican Dutchy to Help Bobby Flay Throwdown

Luncher Andrew was kind enough to remind us that now that baseball season has started back up again, we’re entitled to a free topping card at Go Go Curry (on 38th btw. 7+8th) the day after Hideki Matsui hits a homerun.  And a quick look at the box score from last night… TODAY IS FREE TOPPING DAY!!!  If you’re a Yanks fan, this could be a small consolation for them losing last night.  (And if you’re not, it can be a celebratory lunch!)

UPDATE: From a commenter “Just as an FYI, went by today around noon, they’re not honoring this HR because it was an away game. Only homers hit at Yankee Stadium count…sorry guys.”  Damn you Go Go Curry!!!!!!

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, meet David- an amateur foodie who is trying to make his way through the entire Tony 100.

Name: David

Age: 23

Occupation: Financial Services and Amateur Foodie (http://amusemybouche.blogspot.com)

Where in Midtown do you Work?: Bryant Park

Favorite Kind of Food: Is all of the above an option? Bagel with cream cheese and lox, chopped liver, pan-seared tuna, dumplings, hot pastrami sandwiches, fried calamari, meatloaf, seafood fra diavolo, barbecue pulled pork sandwiches, spicy mustard, cheeseburgers, eel sushi, and raad na, a Thai dish made with soft noodles and gravy; I love the fact that vinegar, hot chili flakes, and sugar are condiments used to temper the heat and sweetness of the dish).

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Green, red and yellow peppers, I’m a fan of grilled octopus, but I can’t seem to enjoy octopus sushi, capers, pears

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Midtown: Though I only just made it there recently, the fried pork sandwich from Sophie’s Cuban is certainly in the upper echelon of midtown cuisine. The falafel from Azuri Cafe (on 51st btw. 9+10th), pickle pork soup from Hing Won (on 48th btw. 5+6th), salads from Ranch 1 on 41st because it’s only $6.50 for soup and salad, buffalo chicken pizza from Cafe Duke (on 51st btw. 6+7th), enchiladas suizas from Viva Pancho (one of the only places I will go to for a sit-down lunch since for under $10 with tax and tip I can get a pretty good meal).

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