Midtown Lunch

I was planning on eating at the newly opened Lan Sheng yesterday (on 39th btw. B’way+6th), but found myself drawn instead into Madeline’s- the very good catering company/lunch spot on the same block that I wrote about last April.  I won’t lie, a specials sign touting a steak sandwich probably wouldn’t have registered a reaction;  but a “Korean BBQ Steak Sandwich” and I’m in. (What can I say, it’s not just Asian soups I’m addicted to.  It’s Asian everything.)

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After I proclaimed Aura Thai’s duck soup one of the best in Midtown last week, Lunch’er MikeNYC pointed something out in the comments that is hard for me to deny:

It’s strange: If one were to go by this site alone, one would think soup is pretty much an asian food. Try clicking on that food type “soup” link above. The resulting stories skew about 80% or more to asian soups. (I made up that ratio, but it’s a high number) That is not even close to the asian/non-asian ratio of soup sales or consumption, based solely on casual observation in places I go. Which is my long winded way of bitching about the lack of non-asian soup coverage on ML. BTW, anyone got a good chicken pot pie soup near rock center? Bistro does a good one, but not every day. Also, burning question: Pot pie soup – bits o’crust, or no? Maybe I should take it to the forum….

You are so right.  I’m completely prejudiced again non-Asian soups, and it’s not right.  Although, in my defense, a bowl of ramen or udon seems more like a full meal than anything you could get from Hale & Hearty.  Chicken pot pie soup does sound good…  so, I’ll do it!  My next 5 soup posts will be non Asian.  Got any suggestions for me?

Related:
Lunch’er Grace Reports: The Ultimate Midtown Soup List

39th Street btw. 5+6th is turning into one of the better lunch blocks in Midtown. Already home to Kati Roll, Szechuan Gourmet, Madeline’s Cafe, and Curry Dream, two new spots are now open for business: Lan Sheng and Mangia Organics. It will be tough for Lan Sheng to compete with Szechuan Gourmet, which is one of (if not the) best Chinese restaurant in Manhattan- and when we originally posted about it, they mentioned in the comments they were maybe going to add some of their Szechuan specialties to the lunch menu… but sadly the menu hasn’t changed. If anybody checks it out, let us know what you think. As a Chinese food addict, I’m still interested in trying it (naturally).

Mangia Organics on the other hand…

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• After a long hiatus, due to truck issues, Papa Perrone is back! [Midtown Eating]
• A new XPL Truck has popped up on 52nd btw. Lex+3rd [Midtown Eating]
• Balut is awesome!  Once you get past the feathers and the head… [Midtown Eating]
• Buy one get one free coupon from Qdoba [Midtown Eating]

“This is Why You’re Fat” the book comes out next week, and to celebrate they’re having a food truck scavenger hunt in NYC next Thursday. It involves taking your photo with 6 different incredibly gross items from 6 different NYC food trucks.  Here’s all the info direct from TIWYF co-founder Jessica Amason:

This is Why You’re Fat is taking over NYC’s most popular food trucks for a day, giving the nation’s fascination with fatty foods the 2.0 treatment, all over again! I’ve created a Twitter contest involving six of Manhattan’s most popular Twittering food trucks to join the *Gross Food Movement and celebrate the blog to book that made it all happen.

When: Oct. 29 (the week of publication), from 11am to end of day.

Where: Throughout Manhattan (mostly downtown locations).

All the contest rules, plus a sneak peak at the list of the 6 food trucks that will be participating is after the jump.

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I have never been to Foley’s (on 33rd btw. B’way+5th) and I know this is a stupid marketing gimmick… but any spot that wants to glorify Toots Shor (and by transitive property Frank Sinatra) is all right in my book.  Tomorrow (Weds 10/21) is Foley’s 2nd Annual Toots Shor day, celebrating the famous Manhattan restaurant with a special menu of Toots Shor’s dishes at their original 1959 prices.  That means an $8 “Sinatra” Sirloin steak, $4 “Mickey Mantle” corned beef and cabbage, $4 “Jackie Gleason” fried scallops w/ fries, and more.  Mamacita wrote about their Happy Hour, but only tried the pizza and onions rings.  Anybody eaten at Foley’s before?  It’d have to be really bad to not be worth it at these prices…

Related:
Midtown Happy Hour: Mamacita Loves the Balls at Foley’s Pub