Midtown Lunch

I’ve been made fun of a lot in the comments since I decided to not eat one of those terrible looking, shrink wrapped sandwiches from the Walgreens in Times Square. For any of you who may have missed it, I’ll briefly recap: awhile back, I posted that if there was something you were afraid to try in Midtown you could “dare” me to eat it, and I would be happy to oblige. Whether it was banana sushi from a generic deli, or steak from Tad’s, or a beef liver sandwich from a cart, the idea was that I would be more than willing to try something that a Midtown Lunch’er was curious about, but didn’t want to eat themselves.

I was dared to eat a sandwich from the new Walgreens in Times Square- and fully intended to eat it, until I got there and discovered that the sandwiches were actually pre-processed and shipped from Massachusetts. It was like being dared to eat a Lean Cuisine or a Stouffer’s Pizza, and I thought it went against the spirit of the original “service” I agreed to provide. I put my foot down and decided not to eat it.

Most of the abuse and jokes about my not eating the sandwich are easily laughed off (I’m a big boy, and this is the life I’ve chosen), but yesterday one comment really bugged me:

“Zach, it’s just a damn sandwich! : ) All right. I’m going to get on my soapbox now. (Violins playing in background) I get the whole thing of not eating anything that’s less than delicious. But there is something a wee bit spoiled about refusing to eat something that’s probably not super yummy because it’s shrink-wrapped and it won’t be as heavenly as Panda Express (which still stumps me). Maybe it’s because I’ve been to a lot of third-world countries where a lot of the people don’t have this privilege of choosing what and where to eat. At the end of the day, it’s just nourishment. We’re lucky enough to be in a position where we can make choices. End soapbox. So, Zach, I really think you shouldn’t have chickened out on the bet. –Boo”

Really? That’s where you want to go with this? Midtown Lunch is more of a fun site, and doesn’t really ever get serious (mostly because I don’t think anybody wants to hear about my political or social views about anything, you just want to read about places to eat lunch), but this one I had to respond to.

The comment I posted in response to “Boo” is after the jump…

Read more »

Every since Cafe Zaiya (on 41st btw. Mad+5th) severed ties with them we’ve been getting emails complaining about the decline in the quality of food being served at Zest (on 47th btw. Lex+3rd).  So it should come as no big surprise that they closed at the beginning of the month (thanks to Lunch’er Gaji for the tip.) I’m sure the opening of Dainobu, on the same block, didn’t help matters either. The awning has been changed to read Amakusa (the name of the restaurant that used to occupy the upstairs space) but according to a sign on the door new management will be opening a new restaurant soon.  A photo of that is after jump…

Read more »

I don’t know who Danika is, or why she is making videos like this for the Roger Smith Hotel (on 47th and Lex), but this You Tube video of her going to lunch at Dainobu (the Japanese grocery store on 47th btw. Lex+3rd) is incredibly entertaining. The best part might be her “I don’t need to tell you what I think these look like” quip about a plastic pack of fish balls.  Actually, Danika, you do need to tell us.  What exactly do you think those look like?!? Surprisingly (after that comment) she had trouble fitting a whole piece of sushi into her mouth.

Check out the video after the jump…

Read more »

And to think I was actually considering eating at Energy Kitchen
today. With only 30 mins left in the promotion the line at the 47th
street location is too long for me… Plus they have people jumping
rope for extra free goodies. Aside from the free food aspect, I am
morally against this on many different levels.

I’m always hesitant to check out carts when they first open.  So few know exactly what they are going to do from day one, and their list of offerings ends up morphing multiple times before they settle on a set menu.  (Anybody remember those white bread bulgogi sandwiches?)  So when the Happy Well Being House Cart popped up on 50th btw. 6+7th a few weeks ago, I decided to stand back and wait.  Their unconventional fried fish or grilled chicken with rice or potatoes menu seemed destined to be a flash in the pan.  When they added bulgogi a few weeks later, things started to seem a little more promising.  Once I found out they were related to the Downtown bulgogi cart that has been operating for awhile, I felt these guys were probably here to say.

And now that I’ve tried the food… I *know* they are.

Read more »

Remember the profiled lunch’er who admitted that he didn’t like Thai food, and then became the most ridiculed Profiled Midtown Lunch’er of all time? Well, for once, your ridicule actually worked to effect positive change in the world- and “Matt” is happy to report that he tried Thai food again and… (well, I don’t want to spoil it.)

After the spirited feedback from the comments section (side note to the person who accused me of living in my parents basement: you’re insulting random people on the internet and I’m the one who lives in my parents basement?), I decided to journey out and try Thai food. The choice was Pam’s Real Thai Food (on 49th btw. 9+10th), although I generally don’t eat at restaurants that cite their realness in the name, I decided to trust the comments section. I selected a number of co-workers so we could maximize our order. While the shrimp roll we started with was typical, I found the Thai Beef Jerky to be quite a treat. I don’t even like regular beef jerky – could this Thai cuisine improve on other dishes as well? As the different entrees were passed around the table, I noticed the Pad Thai coming my way. This was the big moment.

Read more »