Midtown Lunch

Three new spots have opened on the east side that are most definitely not what I consider to be Midtown Lunch material… but I won’t discriminate. Just because I’m a fat bastard doesn’t mean you all have to be. (Plus it’s Earth Day, right?)

The Green Room Cafe (on Lex and 45th) opened this past week- and it turns out it’s not a health club cafe from Singapore, but a total Pret rip off playing up how fresh and organic their lunch stuff is.  The free sample (and make no mistake about it, I will never turn down free samples) of tuna sandwich I tried tasted like every tuna sandwich on wheat bread I’ve ever had. Thanks but no thanks.

The second place, Recharge (on Lex btw. 39+40th), has probably been open for awhile now, but I hadn’t walked by in a long while.  I made fun of their menu back before they had opened… but nothing could have prepared me for the scene inside this Pump Energy Food/Energy Kitchen wannabe.

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If you were interested in entering the Go Go Curry eating contest, there is good news and bad news.  The good news is: only 10 people have entered over the course of 3 preliminary rounds.  The bad news?  The time to beat is 1 minute… and it was set by Don “Moses” Lerman, a professional eater you may recognize from past Nathan’s Hot Dog eating competitions.  One thing though- I was under the impression Go Go Curry’s event would be off limits to professionals since it is not an officially sanctioned IFOCE competition.  What gives?

I checked in with our resident competitive eating expert “Crazy Legs” Conti, who cleared up the brewing controversy.

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I don’t know if it’s the weather or what, but this could be the shortest free cone day line I’ve ever seen. Last year the Rock Center line came all the way back down and around the corner. Not sure if it will get better or worse as the day goes on Apparently it will get worse as the day goes on (update below)… Feel free to post updates in the comments. 1:30pm wait time for my cone: under 10 mins. (And keep in mind, if you tip they usually give you more.)

UPDATE via comments: “Nice pic. Just went down again but line has gotten longer since you took this.” “20 minutes just now, it has snaked back and around the corner all the way to the pharmacy.”  Holy mackerel.  I guess 3:30 is the prime ice cream time.

Last week Lunch’er Marisa asked for some strawberry shortcake help.  You responded with suggestions, and here is what she ended up with:

“We went to Café Zaiya. Honestly, the shortcake was fresh, but the whipped cream wasn’t real whipped cream and there were only 3 or 4 strawberry slices (so maybe one or two whole strawberries?) in the whole piece. It was enjoyable, but didn’t measure up to the real thing. Also of note, my boyfriend was absolutely shocked by how cheap everything is at Zaiya. I bought a edamame and bacon roll plus the piece of cake for under $5! He bought this delicious panko breaded chicken sandwich with a spicy mayo sauce for $3. Great place.”

Yes it certainly is. More strawberry shortcake porn, plus a shot of that edamame and bacon roll, and links to more Cafe Zaiya posts, all after the jump.

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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 Harry- an IT guy who hates tofu and wishes he worked in Greece (or at least could find a decent gyro in Midtown.)

Name: Harry

Age: 32

Occupation: IT Manager

Where in Midtown do you Work?: Madison in the 50’s

Favorite Kind of Food: Burgers, fries, greasy, organic, sausages, seafood, bacon, eggs, flat noodles, spicy, BBQ, Greek, Mexican, South American, and anything else that tastes good.

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Tofu and other forms of mush. Anything with the word “curd” in it. Uni sushi.

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Midtown: Burger with the works at Goodburger (multiple locations). Two meat platter (steak and sausage) at Carnegie John’s (on 56th and 7th). Anything at the Hallo Berlin Cart (on 54th & 5th). Salads with fried chicken and Tex-Mex Ranch dressing at Chopt. Braised Beef Noodle Soup at Pearls (7th Bet. 48+49). Pearls is a hidden gem discovered by my old boss. Korean dishes and the salad bar at Café Duke (on 51st btw. 6+7th). Especially the Thursday Korean special (Spicy Chicken stew). Whole Foods (Columbus Circle).

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Wasn’t the horrible economy supposed to put an end to this?  That was going to be the one good thing about complete and total economic collapse:  no more random FroYo places with terrible names.  And then this comes along inside the Church’s Fried Chicken food court on 8th Ave. btw. 44+45th.  Are you joking?  WTF is Voguert?  Seriously.  What… the… fuck… is Voguert? With Red Mango located just one block away, I give this one 3 months top.

There is some semi-worthwhile news from the 8th Ave. food court…

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Today is a Ben & Jerry’s free cone day! Sadly the branch on 8th Ave is now closed, so you’ll have to settle for the one in the concourse below 30 Rock, or the one inside Macy’s (on 34th btw B’way+7th).  They’ll be giving out free scoops of ice cream from Noon to 8 p.m. And on the coffee front, Dunkin Donuts will be selling small iced coffees at the might-as-well-be-free price of 50 cents.  Sadly though, they’re making the promotion complaint proof by donating proceeds from every cup to the non-profit organization Homes for Our Troops. [Ben & Jerry’s ; Dunkin Donuts]

Anytime the Burger Joint comes up in conversation, usually somebody mentions its neighbor Norma’s– the breakfast/lunch restaurant also in the Parker Meridien Hotel (on 56th or 57th btw. 6+7th). With almost everything on the menu topping $20, even half off won’t get you into Midtown Lunch price range… but if you’ve always wanted to try this place (and I’ve heard it’s pretty awesome), this would be the week. Lunch at Norma’s is 50% off through this Friday, April 24th. [Serious Eats: New York]