Midtown Lunch

Chicken Souvlaki from Kefi (UWS)

We were pretty excited to read on Fork in the Road yesterday that Michael Psilakis (the chef of Kefi & Anthos) is planning on opening a Greek street cart by the end of the year. I’ve had his chicken soulvlaki sandwich at Kefi on the UWS (delicious!) and you know I how I feel about the lamb burger at Anthos. Sadly, his “people” were a little less optimistic about the prospects of a cart. “There are no immediate plans for a street cart in the works, it’s something he’s considering, but I wouldn’t say it’s imminent. His focus right now is Gus & Gabriel, and the release of his first cookbook in October, How to Roast a Lamb.” That’s ok, I’m still excited. (It’ll be in Midtown, right?)

Related:
My Lamb Burger Plea to Michael Psilakis
At Lunch Now: Birthday Splurge at Anthos

Photo courtesy of Lunch’er “Matt”

It’s good to see that a little heat doesn’t stop Midtown Lunchers from coming out for the schnitzel! (Considering it was the Schnitzel & Things truck’s first visit to Midtown, you know there was going to be a crowd.) By Noon one commenter reported that the line was ten deep, at it seemed to remain that way until at least 12:45. (Although 15 minutes seems to the be longest wait time recordeed.) Reports poured in from Midtown Lunchers, and were pretty much universally good. Here’s what Lunch’er Matt had to say (who also emailed the photo above):

Since the Schnitzel Truck made their debut in Midtown today and I promised myself I’d be there day one, today was the day. My partner in crime at the office Melissa and I showed up about 10 minutes after they had opened according to their twitter. There were about 8 people already there with 4 or so in front and the rest waiting for their food. The wait was very short, for everyone so it looks like they have this cooking/serving thing down to a science. Maybe staying away from Midtown for the first few weeks was a good idea. On to the food!

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Tonight is the second to last summer movie showing in Bryant Park, and since it’s sponsored by Time Warner Cable their $1 ice cream truck will be parked on 40th btw. 5+6th again from around 4:30pm until 9pm tonight. (Oh, and if you care about the movie, it’s The Magnificent Seven and starts at sunset.)

At the beginning of the month, Cer Te (on  55th btw. 5+6th) announced that they would be offering a whopping 5 specially designed sandwiches every Monday and Tuesday throughout the month of August. Lunchers would then be asked to vote on their favorite, and the winner would be offered every day in September as Cer Te’s official entry into the Midtown Lunch Sandwich Challenge.  It took me two weeks to get it done, but I finally tried every one of the five entries.

Check them out after the jump…

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I twittered about this earlier last week, but Lunch’er “Joseph” wants to see more!

“I was desperate – I forgot my lunch and had no cash today. Couldn’t think of a decent card-only idea so I searched for Midtown Popeyes. [The one on 40th btw. 7+8th] came up on Google, but the lead posting was the one about the bankruptcy declaration. Luckily I went anyway and they were open and good. I’m not sure if it warrants another posting to remind people that they really are open – might help show them some business and improve the likelihood of someone taking over the franchise??? I’d have to go to 14th or harlem on my lunch hour for popeyes if they close. :(“

There are some decent fried chicken alternatives in Midtown, but I think I speak for everyone when I say that we don’t want to lose Popeyes.

Related:
8th Avenue is the Fried Chicken Corridor of NYC
Cafe Cello May Have the Best Fried Chicken in Midtown

Grub Street has a great look at all the things that go into opening a food truck in New York City, including start-up costs, obtaining permits, and finding a location. It’s spot on about permits and the difficulty finding a spot to vend in, though I would caution that it’s a little too optimistic about profit margins:

“According to one business plan we’ve seen (but never came to fruition), a pizza truck seeking $300,000 in start-up capital expected to make money right away. High volume and excellent margins can be a reality for trucks. For this pizza concept the profit margin was estimated to be over 50 percent, as compared to a good restaurant, where the margins aren’t greater than 10 percent, if you’re lucky.”

Is that true?

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Weeks and weeks of preparation (played out in other areas of the city) have finally lead us to this moment in time. As promised on Friday, the Schnitzel & Things Truck will finally make it’s way to Midtown today.  They plan on trying to park on 49th Street btw. Park+Madison by 11:30am this morning, but first day parking can always be ruined by unforseen “obstacles”.  Be sure to check their Twitter feed, or the ML Twitter Tracker before heading out. UPDATE: As of 11:15 they’re set up on 48th btw. Park+Lex.

New York City’s prohibitive rules and red tape surrounding the issuing of licenses and permits to street vendors has claimed its first “hipster” victim. The Dessert Truck announced in a letter posted to their website that the city has refused to renew the vendor’s permit they use on their truck.

August 7th, 2009

WTF?

We can’t open.  Yesterday the city notified us that the mobile food vendor’s permit used by the DessertTruck is no longer valid.  For reasons too confusing and vague for us to understand, the city denied the permit holder the right to renew his permit.

What does this mean?

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