Midtown Lunch

• Darbar Grill is better than Darbar [Midtown Eating]
• Gray’s Papaya on 37th and 8th is selling 50 cent hot dogs [Midtown Eating]
• My office is moving to 46th and Park… [Midtown Eating]
• Want to meet some Downtown Lunchers for drinks tomorrow? [Downtown Connections]

I’m sure you’re all tired of hearing us harp about Tri-Tip Grill, but I simply had to shamelessly brag about show you guys what happens when you combine one of those Groupon-like daily deals with the Tuesday Tri-Tip feast. For a paltry $15, we just picked up $30 worth of food, split amongst 4 people ($3.75 per head), and came out with more food than any of us could finish. This included the whole Tri-Tip, an XL mashed potato, a large order of their onion straws, a side of roasted veggies, and a small order of french fries. Even at full price ($8 each) it wouldn’t have been a terrible deal.  For $4, it’s a straight up crime.   (And if for some reason you missed the two Tri Tip coupons we posted last week, you have nobody to blame but yourself!)

Related:
Tri Tip Grill’s Tuesday Special is a Feast For 3

Every Tuesday we turn over the site to a different Midtown Lunch’er for his or her recommendations for the best lunch in Midtown. This week it’s Emily, a student who has a couple of good recommendations for Midtown South…

Name: Emily

Age: 21

Occupation: Student, studying mechanical engineering at the University of Pennsylvania

Where in Midtown do you Work?: I interned at ThomasNet in Penn Plaza this summer, and discovered Midtown Lunch after exhausting Google Maps’ results for “FOOD NEAR 8TH AND 34TH.” Unfortunately, my 10 weeks at ThomasNet were already coming to a close by then, so I tried to hit as many highlighted lunches as possible in my few remaining weeks. I learned a lot, though!

Favorite Kind of Food: CARBS. Preferably beige ones. Noodles, potatoes, rice, bread, you name it.

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Super spicy

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Midtown: Mooncake Foods on 30th between 7th and 8th. Try the Buckwheat Noodle Salad with chicken or tofu, or the Seared Tuna & Arugula Salad. The prices are totally outrageous (the good kind), both for lunch and dinner. I’ve also heard magical things about the Miso-Glazed Salmon but never got to try it myself. I have a feeling it might be worth a trip over on the Bolt Bus, though!

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Thanks to Lunch’er “Leslie” for passing along this news…  Grill 44, the Middle Eastern/Indian hybrid on 44th known for their dosas and kati rolls, has become 44 Curry House.  According to Leslie, the Middle Eastern food is gone… “Seemed like a relatively limited menu, but it was packed in there, and I heard a lot of people talking about ordering the biryanis.  I think they had 3 of them – chicken, lamb, and vegetarian.  They had the typical specials – 2 veg. curries, 1 meat and 1 veg., etc. and I’m pretty sure they were all under 10 dollars.” Sounds good to us!

We were hearing some rumors floating around on Friday that the new Souvlaki Truck was going to try and park in the 30s today for lunch… but they’ve decided to hold off for one more week.  From the owner: “After a huge first week… we realize that we need MORE food, MORE hands, and MORE hours in the day to prepare for the onslaught of Midtown Lunch. We are going to take this last week of summer while the city is still somewhat sleepy and get 200% ready for it.”    Can’t wait until after Labor Day for some Souvlaki Truck action?  They’re going to be testing out Union Square nightly this week, and Soho over the weekend before starting up “official lunches” next Tuesday.  You can follow them on Twitter for more details.

Related:
Souvlaki Truck Bringing Greek Street Food to the Streets

Eater reported this morning that Mono + Mono, a new music-centered Korean Fried Chicken spot is opening in the East Village this fall with another branch to open in Koreatown. Now, before you get too excited for even *more* Korean fried chicken on 5th Ave., it turns out that Mono + Mono’s K-Town branch is none other than Mad For Chicken (on 32nd and 5th, 2nd Floor). I stopped in during lunch and found out that the new location will be tied to a re-branding of MFC, which was (clearly) lacking a decent name since leaving the Bon Chon franchise last year. There’s no eta on the renaming, but according to the staff, there isn’t much that’s expected to change immediately. (Photo courtesy of Eater)

Related:
Korean-Fried-Chicken-Palooza: Kyochon vs. Bon Chon vs. Mad For Chicken