Midtown Lunch

Do you wonder what the ML contributors do when they’re not eating lunch in Midtown? (They’re actually pretty easy to stalk!)

Photo courtesy of Blondie and Brownie

Danny had some decent dim sum at Royal Seafood in Manhattan’s Chinatown, Brownie was back at Shopsin’s eating ebilskivers (aka chocolate doughnut holes?!), Ultraclay somehow managed to score a reservation at the amazing looking Morini, Amy had eggs benedicts made with scones at Alice’s Tea Cup, and Chris H. had a great bowl of gamjatang at Guh Shee Gee in Flushing.

Curious about the other areas of the ML universe? Andrea discovers comfort food goodness Downtown at the Ear Inn, Jamie turns the Philly site over to Nick from My Inner Fatty who lets us know about a great Chinese spot inside a Sheraton Hotel, while I’m in Los Angeles wishing I went to college at UCLA.

Time Out New York released their annual 100 Best Dishes and Drinks list, and they managed to include a few worthwhile Midtown Lunch’ish options worth pointing out… like the Ma Po Tofu from Szechuan Gourmet (Best Pork), the Hakata kuro ramen at Hide Chan (Best Soups and Stews), the Gujarati thali at the just out of bounds Bhojan (Best Veggies), the Great White Way concrete only available at the Times Square Shake Shack (Best Sweets), and jars of spekuloos from the Wafels and Dinges Truck (Best Condiments). And if you’re into liquid lunches the bars at Ma Peche and the Lambs Club got mentioned in the best cocktail category. Check out the complete list on the Time Out New York website.

Somehow I’ve worked in midtown for 7+ years and have never tried Park Italian (on 45th btw. 5+6th) until recently. While I wasn’t terribly impressed with their chicken parm, I did notice that awhile back Mr. Brooks promised that “Park Italian will get their day in the sun” and yet here we are 3 years later and Park Italian still hasn’t had an official +/-.  Don’t you think it’s time we made that happen?
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Earlier this week Crisp (the craaaaaazy falafel place with two locations in Midtown) unveiled their brand new VIP “Green” card.  We don’t normally promote marketing crap like this- but this bad boy is kind of a good deal if you eat at Crisp enough.  The card lets you buy any sandwich, hummus bowl, or salad for just $5 with the purchase of any drink all day, every day.  Plus $2 desserts, access to special buy one get one free deals, and reward points for every $1 you spend at Crisp, which can be  used as credit for future purchases.  The card costs $49, and lasts for 13 months (aka $3.75 a month) so if you go to Crisp at least twice a month the card should easily pay for itself (or so they say.)  If you can’t be bothered to do all the math mumbo jumbo necessary to see if the card is worth the $$ to you, we’ve got one to give away for free to one lucky luncher.  All you have to do is put in the comments why you should get the card, and you’re automatically entered to win.  You have until Friday (10/15) at Noon to enter.

File this under “we weren’t paying attention” but at some point in the last couple of weeks, Junior’s opened in the former Murray’s Salami section of the Grand Central Market. I knew they were taking over, just wasn’t sure on the date- but as of last Thursday, they were up and running. They’re selling pretty much the same stuff as their stand downstairs in the food court, like slices of cheesecake- which I would have taken a closer photo had anyone distracted the eager workers with an order. Alas that didn’t happen and the Corrado ladies were eyeing me. Wonder what they think about the encroachment on their dessert territory?  Don’t worry Corrado ladies… I’ll probably stick with your fancy desserts.

• We need a Jewish deli truck [Midtown Eating]
• The original Little Morocco chef has opened his own cart? [Midtown Eating]
• Here’s a coupon for a free drink at Lily O’briens [Midtown Eating]
• Luncher calls for another Rafiqi’s Boycott [Midtown Eating]
• There’s a new taco truck serving pastor on 58th St. [Midtown Eating]

Great news for anybody who has been eagerly anticipating the launch of the new Korilla BBQ Truck (aka us!)  Not only are they hoping to be in Midtown this Thursday with the truck, but tomorrow they are throwing a launch party at Kum Gang San (49 W. 32nd St.) where they will be giving out free tacos to anybody who knows the secret password:  “Watch Out For the Cops”. The party starts at 7:30pm.