Midtown Lunch

If you like to eat, chances are you like to drink (read: a lot of you are freakin’ lushes), so I thought maybe it was time to introduce a happy hour column to the site. Every week, our Happy Hour Correspondent “Mamacita” will post about a different bar in Midtown that fits the Midtown Lunch mentality: unhealthy food, not lame (unless it’s lame in a cool way), and most importantly… cheap. This past week it was Mamacita’s birthday… so she decided to get down and dirty at Port 41.

I heard stories told about Port 41 but had avoided reviewing it, that is, until this week when I needed somewhere special to go for my birthday. This is not exactly the place ordinary people would consider celebrating their birthday, but I’m not an ordinary gal. So I gave myself a tetanus shot and ventured forth to celebrate.

Back when I wrote about Dave’s Tavern I stated that, “Dave’s inhabits the armpit that lies between the Lincoln Tunnel and Port Authority.” Commenter Wayne noted at that time that if “Dave’s is in the armpit then Port 41 is in the asscrack.” Truer words were never spoken. Anyone who has walked by or dared trod inside the seedy den that is Port 41 knows that it rife with filth and depravity. There are bikinied bartenders in their skivvies dealing out cheap beer to fat bikers, day laborers and tattooed hoodlums. In the mix are worn pool tables, a boxing game, and for some reason a taxidermy hippo’s head that beckons you to give in to the drunkenness.

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Wow… this was the line at Moshe’s Falafel at 1:45pm today (on 46th and 6th), which reopened along with a few more of your favorite Kosher spots, after being closed for the Passover holiday. The New York Times reported this morning that bagel places would be mobbed today… I guess that applies to falafel carts as well.

Not only is Kenny Lao, the co-owner of the Rickshaw Dumpling Truck, a Brown Grad (class of ’98, who knew!?!), he’ll be giving a lecture entitled “Dumplings to Dollars” as part of a series of events organized by the Brown University Club. It might only be open to NYU, Yale & Brown alumni (I’m not really sure), though judging by how incredibly intelligent Midtown Lunch’ers seem, I’m making the assumption that a lot of you went to those three schools. (Either that, or you’re smart enough to finagle your way in.)

The truck is parked next to the Treats Truck on 45th and 6th today.

I’ve seen a lot written about that fried chicken restaurant named after our President, but what about our beloved Kwik Meal owned street meat cart “Meal Obama” (on 37th & 7th)?  It seems to me this would be the perfect place for the Daily Show to visit, don’t you think?  And we already know that they are into the street meat.  Anybody know anybody who knows anybody who works on the Daily Show?  Forward this along.  If it worked on Usain Bolt, maybe it would work on Jon Stewart right?

Related:
Kwik Meal Names New Cart After (Irish?) President Obama
Hallo Berlin Mentioned on the Daily Show
Gold Medalist Usain Bolt Visits the Jamaican Dutchy Cart!

Got this question from Lee, the guy behind NachosNY, a blog dedicated to finding… well… the best nachos in New York. Right now the only Midtown entry on his site is Tequilaville (on Vanderbilt btw. 42+43rd), but it would appear as if he’s looking for more.  “I’ve been scouring your Mexican food posts for great places to get nachos and I was wondering if you had any suggestions for me? We’re trying to really hit a lot more places in the next month. Let me know if you have any suggestions.”

I know Mamacita (our Happy Hour Correspondent) has tried the nachos at The Australian, and Lunch’er Liz loves the “BBQ Nachos” from Virgil’s… but beyond that, I’m not sure.  Anybody got a recommendation?  Put it in the comments.

I very rarely post any of the crap sent over as “press releases” from PR people (because it’s kind of lame, and makes for lazy blogging IMHO), and this particular one has nothing to do with eating lunch in Midtown, but I just couldn’t resist (look at those lambs!)  Obviously none of us would ever want to come to Midtown over the weekend (M-F is quite enough thank you), but the 12 whole lambs that Estiatorio MILOS will be roasting in front of their restaurant (on 55th btw. 6+7th) this weekend for Greek Easter is making me consider it. Halal vendors take note… this is what real lamb on a spit looks like. What you serve is gyro over rice.

For more on the Greek Easter lamb feast go to TONY’s Feed Blog or Wined and Dined.

If you have always dreamed of being a competitive eater, and you love Japanese curry, there is finally an event for you. According to The Feedbag, last night was the first open-to-the-public preliminary round of the Go Go Curry Eating Championship.  Don’t worry if you missed it, there will be 7 more qualifying time trial events every five days between now and May 20th.  Qualifiers pay $20 to enter, and will be timed on how long it takes them to eat “two servings of the Original Walk (12oz) that is sold at Go Go Curry” cabbage not included.  The top 5 times across all of the qualifying events will make it to the grand finals on May 30th, which will also be broadcast on the internet.  If you’re interested, all the info is on the Go Go Curry Website– including a long list of pretty amazing rules involving shoveling (it is permitted), forks (they will provide a regulation fork), and vomiting (where you can and can’t do it).

If anybody thinks they have a shot, and wants to be sponsored by Midtown Lunch (UltimateBet style) shoot me an email.  I might be willing to put up the fee for somebody who is willing to paint MidtownLunch.com on the side of their body. [Official Contest Web Page via The Feedbag]

Related:
Go Go Curry Hits a Japanese Kare Grand Slam
Opening Day Means The Return of Free Toppings at Go Go Curry

Lunch’er Josh, aka NYC Foodie, tipped me off to a new cart called Aamir Halal Food- which is serving chicken tikka and lamb over rice on the opposite corner diagonally across the street from the Biryani Cart (on 46th and 6th). According to Josh, the new cart is run by Aamir Hussein- who just so happens to be the father-in-law of Meru, the owner/chef of the Biryani Cart. When I stopped by to ask Meru about it yesterday, he called the new cart “competition” and admitted that it was in fact his father-in-law running the cart, and serving very similar food. He stopped short of saying it was causing “a problem in his family” (my words, not his) but I could see he wasn’t too psyched about the whole situation.  If I had to translate the look he gave me into words, I think it would be: “it is what it is”.

Totally in the mood for some street meat (I’ve been on a street cart tear lately) I headed over to this new unauthorized copy of the Biryani cart to see what was going on.

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