Midtown Lunch

In all my years of midtown lunching I can probably count the times that I’ve had lunch at Rock Center’s Cucina & Co on one hand. I’ve gone to their sit down restaurant a couple of times for business lunches and I’ve had lunch time take out once or twice, but frankly in my experience they sell pretty generic and pricey sandwiches and salads. That said, I have been intrigued by their early “Chef’s Table” lunch special that they offer every day from 11:30 until 12:30.

It’s rare that I get out for lunch until sometime after 1pm or later, but last Tuesday after missing breakfast, I found myself stepping out at 12:15 for a somewhat early lunch and for the first time in a long time I was both in the Chef’s Table window and within striking distance of Cucina so I decided to check it out.

The special lunch is $9.50 each day and tends more towards the restaurant’s fancier sit down menu than their regular generic deli takeout fare. They have limited quantities, hence the early lunch from 11:30 until 12:30 (or when they run out). According to the chef, the Monday and Friday specials (Grilled Beef Sirloin and Cheeseburger Sliders respectively) remain constant and the other days of the week rotate. I hit the Chef’s Table last Tuesday and they were serving Pork Tenderloin Medallions with a meaty and flavorful reduction over a garlicky pasta. With the exception of one piece, the pork was nice and tender and the chef was good about ladling plenty of sauce over the meat and pasta. Normally I don’t like paying in the upper end of the ML spectrum, but you do get a good amount of food for the $9.50 and it was overall a satisfying lunch.

Beef lovers might be tempted by their Monday Grilled Beef Sirloin special. Last week I saw them dishing up their very last serving to another customer. It comes with mashed potatoes, crispy onions and the beef looked like it was cooked to a nice medium rare. Anyone else had any other Chef’s Table experiences here?

Cucina & Co, 30 Rockefeller Center, Concourse Level, (212) 332-7630