Midtown Lunch

Since the city arrested those guys involved in the vendor permit black market, and vowed to crack down on the vendors using illegally obtained permits, it’s no surprise that the Street Vendor Project issued this statement yesterday supporting the actions, while calling for the city to increase the number of permits offered ever year. (There is a bill being debated by the City Council now.)

“More than 9,000 New Yorkers are eager to be sidewalk chefs, but there are no food-vending permits available – so instead they’re languishing on a waiting list, hoping to secure one of about a dozen permits that free up every year.

The city only allows 3100 pushcart peddlers to sell curbside cuisine. By setting the cap far below vendor supply and public demand, the city unintentionally creates a thriving and exploitive black market, where aspiring vendors “rent” permits from illegal middlemen for more than $8,000. Other vendors are driven underground, where they’re unlicensed and unregulated.”

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About 2 and a half years ago, when I first ventured into the basement food court of the building on 3rd btw. 52+53rd to write about Fusion Grills (a typical Chinese/Japanese food court establishment), I got loads of emails recommending its neighbor Gourmet 53.  It might look like a typical generic Midtown deli, people would tell me, but it’s a really good deal- and the food is great.  Most  people recommended their coconut shrimp special (what can I say, the longtime readers know me so well!) and even though I put it off for way too long- I finally made to Gourmet 53 last week to see if all the hype was warranted.

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The results of Street Meat Palooza 2 are just two days away, but here’s a little discovery that is worth sharing with you now.  If you’ve been following Midtown Lunch, or the street food scene in Midtown, than you know about the “Famous Halal Guys” who park on the SW corner of 53rd and 6th at night, and the “imposter” cart during the day that pretends to be related to it. (It’s not.)  If you don’t know what I’m talking about, you should read this now.

When I first wrote about the “imposter” cart a year and a half ago, I noted that one of the ways you could tell the difference was the daytime cart had a rectangular tin, while the “famous” nighttime cart (and its daytime offspring on the SE corner of 53rd and 6th, and the SW corner of 53rd and 7th) all had circular tins.  Well, at Street Meat Palooza 2 we discovered that the imposter cart (in addition to wearing the signature yellow sweaters worn by the famous cart) has now changed their packaging to circular tins.  Meaning the two plates of food are now virtually indistinguishable.

Can you tell which is which?  Larger shots are after the jump.

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2009 Summer Restaurant Week starts on Sunday, and to kick things off there’s going to be some free food action this Thursday (7/9) on the second floor of the Time Warner Center in Columbus Circle.  From Noon to 2pm enjoy “VIP gourmet tastings from five top NYC Restaurant Week eateries — Tribeca Grill, Porter House New York, Spice Market, Bice Ristorante and DB Bistro Moderne.” Freeloaders, you may want to mark this one on your calendar.

My kid eyeing the new Roast Pig Special from Hing Won (I think that might be chin drool)

• You can get some pretty tasty looking snacks off the bar menu at Michael Jordan’s Steakhouse in GC [Serious Eats: New York]
• Another Crumbs is opening on Lexington and 44th [Blondie and Brownie]
• The post confirms two Baja Fresh factoids previously reported here: the off the menu dos manos burrito, and the new location on B’way and 40th [NYPost]
• Crisp has added some sort of new “pita roll” to their menu [Cooking With Casa]
• The Treats Truck has improved their conecakes [Blondie and Brownie]
• The actual cupcakes from the much publicized Cupcake Stop Truck are not as good as the bakery they ripped off [Always Hungry NY]

The annual summertime Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory stand has returned to Pershing Square.  It is set up on 42nd and Park, right next to the restaurant Pershing Square, and Blondie and Brownie are reporting that they will be open from Noon to 7pm seven days a week until August.  The dirty little secret… Pershing Square (the restaurant) sells Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory ice cream all year long on their menu (but it’s obviously a lot more fun buying from an outdoor stand!) [Blondie and Brownie]