Midtown Lunch

It looks like Manhattan’s first location of Baja Fresh (on Lexington btw. 45+46th) is set to open on Tuesday (5/26) as scheduled.  One of the owners emailed yesterday to invite me to sample their food, free, before they open.  Sadly for me though, I don’t take free food from places that I write about- and as tempting as it is to make an exception for this exciting occasion, I’d much prefer going on opening day and tasting the food like a regular customer. I want to try the food they serve to paying Midtown Lunchers… not the free stuff they’re giving to people they know are going to promote the place.

BUT… that doesn’t mean you can’t have the free food.  I asked the owner if I could give my slot away to one of my readers, and he agreed! In fact he said he’d be happy to give away spots to three Midtown Lunch readers (plus one guest each.)  So, if you’d like to try Baja Fresh for free this weekend, before they open to the public, just comment below why you think you deserve to win.  3 winners will be drawn randomly on Friday afternoon.  (And if you don’t win, I’ll see you there on Tuesday!)

Related:
What To Expect From Midtown’s New Baja Fresh

Well that didn’t take long. The Kashmir all you can eat Indian/Pakistani buffet on 8th Ave. btw. 39+40th is now $7.95. That’s a $1 reduction since they reopened in March, and only $2 more than what you would pay for just one pound of food at their street level by the pound deli. $8 for an all you can eat Indian buffet is unheard of! (Even Rangole was $9.) Which begs the question… are we excited that the price has been lowered, or terrified of an all you can eat Indian buffet that only costs $8. Only one way to find out… full report coming tomorrow. (Btw- do you think that “30 Years Hospitality Special” is code for “Price To Get People to Eat Here Again”)

Photo courtesy of wonderlustforlife

Throwdown’s obsession with Midtown Lunch continues… via Twitter: “At Schnippers in midtown (on 8th Ave. and 41st) and they’re filming a Sloppy Joe Throwdown with Bobby Flay”  No word on whether or not Bobby Flay is actually throwing down with Schnipper’s (Dessert Truck Style), or getting help from Schnipper’s for a sloppy joe throwdown with somebody else (Jamaican Dutchy style.)  In related news, the falafel Throwdown with Taim, in which Flay gets help from Kwik Meal (on 45th and 6th), is airing tomorrow night (5/20) at 9:30pm EST.

UPDATE via Twitter: “Didn’t get a picture but Bobby Flay won. I got a vanilla milkshake so technically a win for me too!”  Guess it was an actual throwdown…

RELATED:
Schnipper’s May Have the Best Mac & Cheese in Midtown

It’s outside the Midtown Lunch boundaries, but the shockwaves from this will be felt through NYC. The Papaya Dog on 42nd Street and 9th Ave. has closed. While this isn’t as upsetting as the Papaya King on 14 St. being put up for sale (or anything happening to one of the beloved Gray’s Papaya locations) it kind of makes you wonder- if a recession friendly, popular hot dog place can’t make money behind Port Authority, where is it going to work?

Ironically enough, Oscar Meyer is handing out free hotdogs in Times Square today. What a world!

(Thanks to Janine from Life With Food and Drink for the tip.)

UPDATE: Just in from commenter “steve123”:

“Zach…you disapoint. Maybe you are tired, the kid keeping you up late at night. Your info is usually accurate. If you took 4 seconds and looked directly across the street, youd see that Papaya didnt close, they just moved to the opposite corner of the street where the dunkin donuts was.”

And that’s why this site would be nothing without tipsters! They send the misinformation… and also correct it! (What can I say, it’s been a long two days.)

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 Ian, a podcaster who is looking for some fried zucchini.

Name: Ian

Age: 25

Occupation: Editorial Assistant (and Podcaster)

Where in Midtown do you Work?: America’s Tower (Sixth Avenue b/t West 45th and 46th)

Favorite Kind of Food: I’m a big fan of Japanese food, primarily sushi and various forms of teriyaki. Miso soup does for me what chicken soup does for some people; it’s my comfort food. I grew up on Fried clam sandwiches, so a good one of those will make me a happy man. Indian (usually curry), Caribbean jerk chicken, Chinese (dim sum, roast pork, beef and broccoli), Mexican burritos and quesadillas, and a good Grandma slice of pizza or a Hawaiian pie. Oh, and veal. Sorry to those who think it is cruel, but I think it is yummy.

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Kosher pizza (I have nightmares about their faux cheese), hot capicola (tastes like feet), raw white onions, kimchi, and interesting enough, lettuce. Well, at least the flavorless lettuce lunch places will put on a sandwich that really add no flavor at all to the food at all. And most vegetarian food made to taste like meat is lacking to me, since I am a meat eater and get to experience the real thing.

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Midtown: Roast pork over yellow rice and red beans at Margon (46th b/t 6th and 7th), Kati rolls from the Biryani cart on 46th and 6th (and the kashmiri curry when they offer it), the pulled pork waffle from Waffles and Dinges (which I haven’t had in forever since they’re usually not there on the days I work :( ), and the newest creation from Café Zaiya (41st btw. Mad+5th): the Omu Soba, which is a thin pancake with Soba noodles, vegetables and meat stuffed inside it. Once a week I can go for a chicken and broccoli and a Hawaiian slice from Pronto Pizza (the one across from the Nintendo store, on 48th btw. 5+6th, not the other one), and I think I can add the fried chicken from The NYC Cravings truck to the list after eating from it on Monday, even if I did have to wait 20 minutes for them to make more rice. Well worth the wait! I can go for the occasional Magdy’s double meat cheese steak when the weather’s good (on Park and 46th). Oh, and I’m a fan of Park Italian Gourmet’s (45th b/t 5th and 6th) chicken parm sandwich. It’s not the best, but it’ll do.

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The final chance to qualify for the Go Go Curry Eating Championship is this Wednesday from 6 to 8pm (on 38th btw. 7+8th), but if you don’t think you can eat 2 small orders of curry over rice in under 73 seconds- don’t bother.  The top 5 qualifying times advance to the finals (which are scheduled for May 30th) and right now according to the official Go Go Curry website the fifth place qualifying time is 1 minute and 13 seconds (although Lunch’er Eric checked in to say that he and another eater eater broke the 1:08 barrier, but haven’t been added to the list yet. So really you’ve gotta be around 60 seconds to make it.)

But then, even if you do qualify, you’ll run smack into 3 (possibly) professional eaters.  Don “Moses” Lerman was the first pro-eater to enter– throwing down a 1:00 prelim score which was quickly destroyed by “Gentleman” Joe Menchetti (also a pro eater, of sorts.)  Now we’re hearing that Dale “Mouth of the South” Boone will try and qualify on May 20th.

None of these guys are members of the IFOCE (the official pro eating organization that runs the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating thing on July 4th) because they don’t allow participation in unsanctioned events like this… but they are all experienced competitive eaters. I don’t know anything about this stuff, so I checked in with Crazy Legs Conti, the official Midtown Lunch expert on all things competitive eating.

His thoughts on Joe, Don, Dale, has-beens, hobbyists, picnickers, and The Godfather are after the jump.

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