Midtown Lunch

And here we are, the fourth Friday in Lent. You can do it Catholics, two more to go! We’ve covered some of the fried fish options, but what if you gave up fried things (Brownie!) or have been sick enough that someone (Zach!) told you that if you’ve called in sick to work on Wednesday, you shouldn’t go have burgers off a truck as a sick-day lunch. Well, then it would be Asian vegetable soup time.

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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.

Around the corner on 29th from the Broadway sweatshirt and perfume wholesalers, lies some great spicy South Asian (Pakistani, Indian, Bangladeshi) food at two neighboring restaurants with similar food and prices. One is upstairs with a nicer dining room (although still worn down), while the downstairs one is even shabbier with bright florescent lighting. Of course nicer doesn’t always mean better… and in this case the latter is always more packed and the definitive people’s choice. This is Chandni.

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We rather enjoyed seeing NYT food critic Sam Sifton defending Midtown Lunch’ing options to his co-worker and well known food writer Mark Bittman via Twitter yesterday.  Sure, Pick a Pita (on 8th Ave. btw. 39+40th) hasn’t been as good since it moved out of their semi-hidden 38th street location, but there are far worse places to work (lunch-wise) than 41st and 8th!  (And we are super curious about this “Chicken Man” you speak of…)

Related:
Sifton Not Down With Chicken House

• If only that Monty Python sketch was set in a Korean diner instead [Midtown Eating]
• 4:20 time: Wrapping a 99 cent slice around a carnitas crunchy taco?!? The mind boggles! [Midtown Eating]
• Working by 28th and 5th Avenue? Here are some lunchtime recommendations [Midtown Eating]
• What? You mean I can’t trust everything I read on the interwebs?? [Midtown Eating]

On Saturday,  March 27th Niall’s Pub (218 East 52nd btw. 2+3rd) Barros Luco will be holding a special fundraiser to support aid efforts to nuestro Chile lindo after the country’s devastating 8.8 earthquake. The $30 donation at the door will enter you into a special raffle and the chance to win all sort of prizes donated by area merchants. Food will be provided by Barros Luco and Niall’s Pub will offer drink specials all night. All proceeds got to the Chilean Red Cross.

Tri Tip Grill, the California based fast food chain that is taking over the old Tossed & Mendy’s spaces in the Rock Center Concourse has finally set an opening date. Construction was delayed a bit, but they’re hoping to open their doors on April 5th with an official Grand Opening on April 17th.  We also snagged a copy of the menu, which (as promised) is entirely under $10. It features a whole mess of tri tip sandwiches with various toppings, plus chicken, salmon, and a portobello option (you know… for people who don’t eat steak but feel compelled to eat at a steak place!?)  There’s also burgers, entrees, salads, side dishes and soups.

Check out the complete menu, after the jump…

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My brother just got back from a vacation to jolly old England. Out of all his trip photos, I’ll admit that I was most captivated by a photo of a chicken tikka sandwich from Subway in London. Say what? Why don’t our Subways serve chicken tikka sandwiches?!! And more importantly, where can I get a chicken tikka sandwich in midtown?

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*Sigh*  You’ve got to love the local news… Last night CBS2 filed this overdramatized report about the perils of eating street food. Apparently two guys in New Jersey were found guilty of running an illegal (and gross) commercial kitchen out of their house in New Jersey, so it clearly calls into question the cleanliness of all street vendors (it must be dirty… look at those black and white shots of the griddles!)  We’re not claiming all street vendors are clean, but it is a fact that the DOH gets far more complaints about people getting sick from restaurants than street vendors (a point glossed over in the piece.)  The report ends on a lighter note, pointing to “clean” vendors like the Dosa Man, Wafels & Dinges Truck and Street Sweets as the “good guys”, and also mentions that “with more licenses expected soon” (doubtful) and “more TV chef superstars expected to get into the business” there is no end in site.  Really?  Maybe those people should read this.

Speaking of Yushi, they have a special running only through the month of March. Any 3 plates from their refrigerated conveyor belt sushi and dessert line is only 9.95.  Green plates are excluded (of course!), but filling up on 3 of the $4.75 plates would still make this a pretty good deal.

Related:
Midtown Lunch’ers Report: Yushi’s New Refrigerated Conveyor Belt