Midtown Lunch

Photo courtesy of Bionicgrrl

• Lan Sheng’s “Enhanced Pork” looks identical to the double cooked pork [Bionic Bites]
• Jessica prefers the Biriyani Cart’s kati rolls over Kati Roll [Food Mayhem]
• Not Everybody likes Momofuku Midtown [Always Hungry]
• Two more looks at the Dessert Truck’s new downtown storefront [Food in Mouth; Fork in the Road]
• Check out this tasty looking massive lunch from Taam Tov [Dumneazu]
• Burger King  to start selling beer in Times Square [Gothamist]

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” will post 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.

It seems you can’t chuck an empty bottle of Jameson in Midtown without hitting an Irish pub. In the shamrock showdowns between these bars few come out as real winners, but then again this is Midtown so we are forced to grade on the curve as it were. Sometimes around here we just need a quiet lunchtime hideaway or a convenient local bar to share drinks with coworkers and friends. That’s when Blaggards Pub steps in to smile its Irish eyes at you. Conventional in most ways, Blaggards does shine with its comfort food and, most importantly, its various happy hour specials.

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The hits just keep on coming from Barros Luco, the Chilean sandwich spot on 52nd and 2nd.  Last week I tried their new “bigger” sandwiches, and today they announced they’ll make them even bigger!  From the owner:

“Starting today we will give customers a truly Chilean experience by offering the option of making all the sandwiches just the way they make them in Chile, and I mean GRANDE! So for an extra $2.00 you can order any sandwich “Grande” and we will double everything. That means if you order the Chacarero Completo you will get double meat, cheese, string beans, tomato, avocado and banana peppers. This will be such a big sandwich that it will be served on a 9″ plate and for dine-in only.”

Dios mio man.  Also announced yesterday via twitter… a new lunch special. 3 fried empanadas + medium soda for $7.99+tax. For dine-in and take-out only. (Excludes shrimp & cheese empanada.)

Related:
Barros Luco’s Larger Sandwiches are a Big Improvement
Barros Luco Is Just What New York’s Chilean Food Fans Have Been Waiting For

So as painful as it is to say, this is my last week of full time Midtown Lunching. Don’t worry… the site isn’t going anywhere, but I’m moving to L.A. so this week I’m making sure to hit all the places I’ll miss the most. A “Farewell Lunch Tour” if you will. Here’s where I’ll be today…

For me this day is bittersweet. I’m excited to move to the west coast and start Midtown Lunch: Los Angeles, but I’m also sad to leave Midtown. That’s right. Next week I won’t be working in Midtown anymore, and I’m SAD about it. When I first started this site it was about “Finding Lunch in the Food Wasteland of Midtown Manhattan.” Well, after almost four years of eating lunch here I can tell you… this is no wasteland. In fact, I would venture to say there is no better 400 block area to eat lunch in the entire country. The amount of variety crammed into such a small place, there for the taking- provided you’re willing to walk more than 2 blocks away from your office.

And isn’t that what separates us from them? A willingness to walk somewhere (an activity that is good for you) to stuff our faces with amazingly tasty lunches (an activity that is decidedly not good for you.) This week was especially tough because I couldn’t fit all my favorites into one week. Margon, Cafe Cello, Cafe Zaiya, Woorijip, Newsstand Indian, XPL, all the new school carts (Cravings, Schnitzel & Things, Treats Truck, etc.), Hallo Berlin, Cer Te, Yakitori Totto, all the ramen spots (Sapporo, Menchanko Tei, Men Kui Tei), Crisp, Olympic Pita, El Sabroso in the freight elevator hallway… the list could go on and on.

It was tough choosing my final week of lunches… with one notable exception. There was never a question as to where I was going to end the week.

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Lunch’er “Chris” checked in yesterday with this tidbit of info: “Was walking home and noticed a cart on NW corner of Broadway/49th. Never seen one there so I took a look and was excited to see it was an El Rey Del Sabor cart. Haven’t gotten to try them yet but you always rave about them. Any idea if it is permanent o

Now that Downtown has its very own section of the site, what are we going to post on Fridays at 10am? Answer… how about a new column devoted to those lunches just south of the ML boundaries. Please give a warm welcome to Jason Lam from the blog Me So Hungry. Every Friday at 10am he’ll post about lunches in Murray Hill south, Grammercy, Flatiron, and everything in between… or as we’ll call it from now on: Flatiron Lunch.

Latin American Restaurant serves what you think it does, slow-cooked stewed Latino dishes accompanied with rice and beans. Think Sophie’s, but it’s not a franchise, it’s dingier and a dollar or two cheaper. Large lunch portions ranging from $6-8. While many office people lunch at Sophie’s only a few blocks away on 23rd, Latin American Restaurant is worth talking about since it’s hidden on a street most people wouldn’t venture on other than for Hill Country Barbecue.

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• Looking for Chinese food… can I interest you in some ramen? [Midtown Eating]
• You will need to take a shower after taking the phaal challenge [Midtown Eating]
• Where can I find Chinese beef and egg over rice? [Eating Outside of Midtown]
• Has anybody to Fresh N Fast lately? [Eating Outside of Midtown]
• Who’s ready for the next Midtown Happy Hour? [Connections]

From Lunch’er “Blondie”: “I just passed Profiled Midtown Luncher “Alan Colmes” walking west out of the Fox building on 47th.  First thought, wait…that’s Alan Colmes.  Second thought…I wonder if he’s going to the Evergreen Diner. Turn around, and the man is strolling in to pick up some take out.  I think he needs to check Midtown Lunch more frequently!”

Related:
ELECTION DAY PROFILE: Midtown Lunch’er “Alan Colmes”
Quality vs. Company: The loneliness of Midtown Lunch’ing

So as painful as it is to say, this is my last week of full time Midtown Lunching. Don’t worry… the site isn’t going anywhere, but I’m moving to L.A. so this week I’m making sure to hit all the places I’ll miss the most. A “Farewell Lunch Tour” if you will. Here’s where I’ll be today…

It’s no secret that I’ve always been down with the Jamaican Dutchy cart (on 51st and 7th Ave.)  Since the very first day they opened, almost 3 years ago, I’ve been a fan of their jerk chicken, sweet and sour chicken, oxtails, and curried goat- despite the long waits. But it wasn’t until a lunch back in October that my feelings for the Dutchy went from schoolboy crush, to complete and total adulation. It was the first day I tried their stew peas.

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