Midtown Lunch

It seems that every time I advise the new crop of trucks to find… how should I put it… less threatening corners of Midtown to park in, a common theme pops up among those who disagree: Natural Selection.  Survival of the fittest baby!  Let the carts all park where they want, and fight it out for ultimate supremacy.  The good ones will thrive, the bad ones will die. It’s the capitalist way.  Hell, it’s the American way.  And quite frankly, we all would gladly trade 20 dirty water dog carts for 1 schnitzel truck.

There’s only one problem.  Allowing that argument to play itself out in the streets of Midtown might actually undermine the survival of all carts (the good and the bad.)

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If you liked the pork tenderloin sandwich from the just out of bounds Manchester Pub (on 2nd Ave. btw. 48+49th St.) as much as I did, you’ll be interested to know that they just added a bunch of new stuff to their menu.  New items include fish tacos, pork belly sliders (!), slab bacon with chocolate fondue (double!!), and fried chicken and waffles (for $8!!!).  A few of the sandwiches are outside the ML price range, but you still get $1 off any sandwich during lunchtime.  Sadly, the pork tenderloin sandwich is gone, but they’ve more than made up for it with this new stuff.

Related:
Manchester Pub’s Sandwich Entry is Worth Going a Little Out of Bounds For

The voting for Cer Te’s crazy sandwich competition ends tomorrow, so this is pretty much your last chance to affect the outcome. Right now the Colonel’s Heart Attack has a decent sized lead (despite some lunch’ers complaining that it could have been better.)  If you’d prefer a different sandwich to be offered for the entire month of September, today is your last chance to vote.

The nominees for best dessert vendor were just announced for the 2009 Vendy Awards. The Wafels and Dinges Truck and the Dessert Truck were both nominated for a second year in a row, although the Dessert Truck won’t be able to participate because of everything on their plate.  The Cupcake Stop Truck and the Big Gay Ice Cream Truck were nominated for the first time.  The Treats Truck wasn’t eligible because they won last year.

The three nominees will all serve their sweets at the event, which this year is taking place at the Queens Museum of Art on September 26th.  They will join the 5 savory nominees, announced last week.  If you haven’t bought your tickets yet, what are you waiting for?!?  It is definitely going to sell out.  All proceeds benefit the Street Vendor Project, and the tickets are tax deductible.

Related:
2009 Vendy Award Finalists Announced!

I would never eat at Ted Montana Grill (on 51st btw. 6+7th).  What is this Mickey Mouse, owned by Ted Turner, we make bison burgers and are environmentally friendly BS. I’ve got much better places to eat lunch. What’s that you say?  They’re offering a $10 lunch special with mini burgers, meatloaf and more?  Well, I suppose I could check it out.  You know, for work purposes.

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When it rains it pours. Got this email from Lunch’er Brian late yesterday afternoon: “El Rey Del Sabor on 43rd and 6th got a summons today, as did the old lady. Appears it was one of the buildings across the street. I was talking to the guys in the cart. They are really nice but they are concerned that the police are going to chase them from the spot. It’s possible this is fallout from the confrontation on Monday.“