Midtown Lunch

Last week Piada NYC opened in the basement of the Citycorp building (on 53rd and Lex), becoming the latest place to bring some sort of strange, yuppiefied version of supposedly ethnic food stuffs to Midtown.  Following in the footsteps of Kolache Mama (Czech pastries by way of Texas), Kushi Q (yakitori), and Danku (Dutch croquettes), Piada’s menu is all about the authentic “Italian flatbread sandwich” (?)  There is already a location on the LES, so some of you might have already partaken in the joy of the piada.  For me, Friday in the Citycorp building was a first (a Piada virgin if you will.)

Check out what we ordered, after the jump…

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Forgot to mention this last week… the ladies of Lunch Studio and I hit up Xie Xie (on 9th Ave. btw. 45+46th) on Wednesday and stuffed our faces with 4 of their Asian sandwiches. Still messy with sauces, but I’m pretty sure I detected less dill in the fish sandwich.  All in all, though, everything was pretty tasty. Check out what my lunch companions had to say about the sandwiches (and their post lunch ice cream sandwich!)

Related:
Xie Xie Would Be Amazing With a Little Less Mayo
Midtown Happy Hour: Xie Xie is the Perfect Snack to Kick Off a 9th Ave. Pub Crawl

When it rains it pours! Last week we got a taste of what’s to come from Ma Peche, Momofuku’s Vietnamese inspired restaurant opening in the Chambers Hotel (on 56th btw. 5+6th). This week it’s O-Bao, the latest project from Michael “Baoguette” Huynh, another slightly upscale, Vietnamese inspired restaurant supposedly opening today on 53rd btw. 2+3rd (in the old Bunchberries space). Last week they had a free preview night, and both Joe Distefano and the Strong Buzz got to sample some of the menu. Both agreed that the pork belly skewers and ox tail pho were delicious.  Photo courtesy of Serious Eats NY

The menu is made up of a mix of under and over $10 dishes. I was disappointed to see that the Vietnamese noodle bowls (or bun) are all over, but if you’re looking for a bowl of pho, all but one is in the Midtown Lunch price range.

Check out the menu after the jump.

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The three terrine banh mi at Momofuku’s Ma Peche. Photo by Food in Mouth.

• My MomoMidtown lunch mate posts about our meal from her POV [Wandering Eater]
• Danny must have showed up right after we left! [Food in Mouth]
• These guys were there too… [TONY Feed Blog]
• This person went, and for some reason ordered the grilled cheese!? [Hotel Chatter]
• And I heard this guy went twice! [Dan Dickinson]
• Today, they were practically out of everything by 2:30pm [Eater]

Elsewhere in Midtown…

• Minar’s chicken tikka masala is better than Indus Express’ [Blondie and Brownie]
• The pork with miso is one of the best things to get at Dainobu [Chubby Chinese Girl]
• Jean Georges is still one of the best fancy lunches in Midtown [NYC Foodie]
• The quiche at the Street Sweets Truck is pretty good [Eating in Translation]

If you like to eat, chances are you like to drink (read: a lot of you are freakin’ lushes), so I thought maybe it was time to introduce a happy hour column to the site. Every week, our Happy Hour Correspondent “Mamacita” posts about a different bar in Midtown that fits the Midtown Lunch mentality: unhealthy food, not lame (unless it’s lame in a cool way), and most importantly… cheap.

This week I checked out Chef Yu in order to try their happy hour, but I was also really hungry so this wasn’t going to be just a liquid dinner. I showed up on the early side as their happy hour starts at 4pm (ends at 8pm). This isn’t your dirty Chinese take out joint. There are two levels of dining with a large back dining room for private parties. Seating is strictly table service and the lighting is dimmed down in the late afternoon to create a lounge feel.

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I’ve been a big fan of the just out of bounds Manchester Pub (on 2nd Ave. & 49th St.) ever since their stellar Midtown Lunch Sandwich Challenge entry. Our Happy Hour correspondent Mamacita hit up the place a few weeks ago, and had a different impression.  She liked the food and the atmosphere, although wasn’t a huge fan of the fried chicken and waffles (we had high expectations) and apparently the bathrooms are less than ideal.  Well, the Manchester Pub heard her cry- and are on the case!

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