Midtown Lunch

Last week we posted the news that two of NYC’s Bon Chon Korean fried chicken locations (Koreatown & Flushing) had changed their name to “Mad for Chicken”.  They claim the chicken is exactly the same as before, but Bon Chon wants to make sure that you know it’s not.  From their official website:

Ah yes- the old open a franchise… steal the recipe… decide you don’t want to pay the royalties anymore game.  If this whole thing sounds familiar, it’s because it is.  Shorty’s (on 9th Ave. btw. 41+42nd) did the same thing to Tony Luke’s.  Thankfully for Midtown Lunch’ers one commenter is reporting that the chicken pretty much tastes the same as it always has, but I’m guessing it still takes forever to get your order. Thanks to Lunch’er Paul for passing along this link to the Bon Chon Website.

Related:
BonChon Changes Name to “Mad For Chicken”
Bon Chon is So Not a Midtown Lunch… But Damn That is Some Good Chicken

Last October, I was pretty excited to find soft shelled crabs on the by the pound buffet at Cafe Duke (on 51st btw. 6+7th).  Well, soft shelled crab season started up again last month, and Lunch’er “David” reports seeing them at the 41st and Broadway Cafe Duke yesterday.  I stopped by the 51st Street location today, and they were nowhere to be found.  Please report positive sightings in the comments below (preferably before lunchtime.)

“The Dude abides.”

For those who mourned the loss of Two Boots inside the Rock Center concourse, its replacement is finally opening in the next few weeks on 9th Ave. btw. 44+45th.  Sure, it’s outside the official Midtown Lunch boundaries, and most of you are probably closer to the Grand Central Terminal food court (which still has their Two Boots)- but this is a full Two Boots location, complete with artwork that has become a staple of all the non-food court Two Boots locations. (And as a fan of New Orleans, and the Big Lewbowski I most definitely approve.)

Your first look at the newly painted windows, is 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, it’s Andrew an analyst who loves lobster rolls, and is mourning the loss of Mitzy’s Macarons.

Name: Andrew

Age: 22

Occupation: Analyst

Where in Midtown do you Work?: 52nd and Lexington

Favorite Kind of Food: Pho, Banh mi, Ramen, Yakitori, Seafood (in particular: Sushi, Sashimi-I love uni, Lobster rolls, crabs, both soft and hard shell, oysters, clams, mussels, pretty much anything that comes from the sea, really), Corned beef and pastrami sandwiches (with hearty mustard), Macarons, Baked goods in general (cookies, breads both sweet and savory, pies, cakes)

Least Favorite Kind of Food: I tried Ethiopian food once and didn’t like injera, so I guess there’s that. I’m open to trying anything at least once though

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Midtown: Tacos and Quesadillas from Pampano Taqueria on 3rd Ave. btw. 49+50th (love the free chips and salsa, I usually get the chilorio, shrimp, and fish tacos or one of those fillings in quesadilla form), Sophie’s Cuban (either a roast pork sandwich with plantains or the fried fish sandwich with plantains, and with extra green sauce), Fried Coconut Shrimp and French Fries from Gourmet 53  in the food court on 53rd & 3rd (awesome place that almost always has a long line, but they are very efficient about moving the pace and they give samples so that helps too, lunch comes with a free cookie and soda for under $10, and the rest of their food is tasty too.)

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Apparently the Chef at Channel Four took exception to Grub Street’s post about the bacon explosion now being offered at the restaurant. He emailed them to complain that they had used words like “hilarious” “puke” and “vomit” to describe something they had never even tried.  (If you are a little behind, the Irish pub Channel Four, on 48th btw. 5+6th, is serving a version of the “Bacon Explosion” a monstrosity that made the food blog rounds at the beginning of the year.)  Hilarious, puke and vomit all come to mind… as does “deliciousness” and “omg must have”.

GS also admits to being sarcastic about ordering it a day in advance… apparently it’s “tastefully served” as two thin slices inside a slider bun. Slider? You mean… a sandwich!  If this thing is under $10,  it would be perfect for the Midtown Lunch Sandwich Challenge!

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I have to give Danny from Food in Mouth full and complete credit for this one. On Friday he posted about the newest truck to hit the mobile food scene here in New York City: NYC Cravings. Terrible name… but the food sounded intriguing.  At the end of his post he begged them to come to Midtown for lunch, and yesterday they obliged- parking on 45th btw. 6+7th. Huge crowds turned out for their Taiwanese style fried chicken, served over rice with “a secret pork sauce” and by 1:15 they were out of food.

I was lucky enough to be there on the early side, and got to try what could be my new favorite truck in New York City.

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I try my best not to be too negative on this site, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be able to vent. Every once in awhile I’ll share some of the more angry useful emails I get in a post called “Airing of Grievances”. (If the Eater Complaints Dept. would like royalties, I’ll be happy to pay up…)

First up is Flavors, the generic deli in the passageway at the bottom of the Fox News Building (on 47th btw. 6+7th).  It looks like they’ve responded to the first grievance that was aired against them by shrinking the size of the plastic containers their salads come in.  Clearly, though, not everybody is happy about it.

“We all just trekked over to Flavors over on 47th as we normally do and found they reduced the salad bowl sizes to half the size of what we’re used to. They’re normally pretty awesome salads. Kind of like a bait and switch that radio stations do when they launch. They play all good music and then voila, one day it’s all commercials once they have their loyal listener base. All good, but prices didn’t reduce. So we decided to trek elsewhere, no biggy, but on the way out I asked the manager why they have decided to go with salad bowls half the size of the original ones. Their answer – Corporate says it’s to reduce our carbon footprint, but it still holds the same amount. We all failed to see how a bowl visually half the size could hold the same amount. Wish your team could have been there – priceless”

First people complain that you don’t fill your salad containers all the way up.  Then you shrink the container to fit the salad, and people complain about that.  Even I have a bit of sympathy for you on this one.  Clearly you can’t win Flavors. Maybe you should just give up on the whole generic deli thing and become a… I don’t know… Chinese buffet? (Just a thought…)

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In case there was any doubt before today, this picture should seal it: Midtown loves Chinatown style fried chicken from a truck. NYC Cravings, the new Taiwanese fried chicken truck parked in Midtown for the first time today (on 45th and 6th) and this was the scene at 1pm just before they informed the 30+ person line that there were only 18 orders of chicken left.

If you missed out, they’ll be at Park and 24th tomorrow- and have said that they plan on parking at this location in Midtown every Monday… which is great news, b/c I tried the chicken and it is pretty freakin awesome. A new powerhouse in the NYC food truck scene has arrived. Full report coming soon.