Midtown Lunch

Thanks to Lunch’er “David” who forwarded along this photo of the Five Guys opening on 34th btw. 8+9th.  Originally it was supposed to open in June or July (clearly that didn’t happen), but now we’re hearing October 2nd.  Seems like a lot to do in 2 weeks, but those who work in the area can hope- right?  And for those of you who think Five Guys is overrated garbage?  You have a friend in Josh Ozersky (who apparently, also doesn’t like In N Out Burger.)

Just because you didn’t score tickets to this year’s Vendy Awards, doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy some street food on Governor’s Island this Saturday. There will be a few Vendy winners from previous years set up and selling food to the public, including the Treats Truck (2008 Dessert Winner) and Thiru the Dosa Man (2007 Vendy Award Winner).  For those who do have tickets, we just saw this news on Midtown Lunch: Philadelphia… 3 food carts from the city of brotherly love have been added to the roster of participating vendors- Honest Tom’s, Denise’s Soul Food, and Birch Run on a Roll will all be making the trek to NYC this weekend. It’s the first time ever the Vendy Awards have invited vendors from another city, bringing the total number of participants to 18!!!

Related:
BREAKING: 2010 Vendy Awards Finalists Have Been Announced!
Vendy Award Dessert Finalists Announced
Mexicue & 99% Vegetarian Get Vendy Rookie of the Year Nods

On 33rd street between 3rd ave and Lexington, there’s almost nothing. It was on that nondescript block that I found Curry & Curry. They had a sign on the window proudly displaying that they got into a cheap eats issue of some magazine a few years back. The chalk board outside mentioned chicken/lamb curry for $8. That got my interest a bit, after all who couldn’t use more lamb curry in life? A look inside showed that the minuscule dining room was empty. I went ahead with it anyway because that what you do in the name of science, plus I was hungry.

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The Little Morocco cart returned to its spot at 39th and 7th a few weeks ago, but the food didn’t seem the same. Gone were the beans, corn, free french fries and cilantro. The hot sauce was noticeably weaker. This was cause for concern. Would the real Little Morocco ever return? Well, last week, there was talk in the forums that things were back to normal at Little Morocco, and that there was a new item being served (and that the usual operator had returned). Clearly I had to see it for myself.
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We’ve known that Cer Te (on 55th btw. 5+6th) was the best for awhile now, but now- with a little help from the DOH- everybody knows!  The WSJ was the first to notice this one, and we must say that it is refreshing to see a place so proud of their “B” rating. (Lord knows we’re going to keep eating there.)

How do we know they’re not ashamed?  The restaurant is the one that sent over the photo.

The Mega Ton Ramen from Hide Chan. Photo by Jason Lam

• Hide Chan‘s “Mega Ton” is the largest bowl of  ramen in the city [R&F;Me So Hungry]
• Angelo Sosa wants to serve noodles at Xie Xie, but not the one on 9th Ave. [Feast]
• Kathy is a fan of the walnut pesto sandwich at ‘wichcraft [SENY]
• Rickshaw Dumplings chosen to serve food outside Tavern on the Green [Crain’s]
• You can make 96 billion different burgers at 4Food… [CNN Money]
• … and here’s how (mathematically speaking) [Eatocracy]

Well, this is a crappy way to end the week! Lunch’er Dan sends over this photo of Pranzo, the generic deli on 50th btw. 6+7th.  In far sadder news, though, @ambitiousdelish just let us know that the DOH hit Gahm Mi Oak as well!  Hopefully it will all be sorted out by Monday…

If you like to eat, chances are you like to drink (read: a lot of you are freakin’ lushes), so 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.

In my wanderings around midtown recently I ran across Blarney Rock Pub. This easily confused lush initially thought, “Hey it’s another Blarney Stone!” Then I got a hold of myself and realized, “oh wait, this is Rock not Stone.” Established in 1969, Blarney Rock is very different than its similarly named pub on the eastside. This Blarney is more of a local sports bar then a greasy griddle dive for aging alcoholics and OTB aficionados. Unlike Blarney Stone and its cafeteria like seating, this pub is more open with a long dark wood bar and plenty of stool seating. TV screens abound and this is a fine place to go to watch a Rangers game or the Knick’s –if you are feeling especially masochistic. The sign outside reads, “Good food, good drink, low low prices.” How could I resist.

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