Midtown Lunch

Just a friendly reminder… as promised last week, Cer Te (on 55th btw. 5+6th) is bringing back the Mr. Potato Skin sandwich for one day only today. It’s $8.95 and features a “chicken cutlet w/ bbq sauce sandwiched between two baked sea salt and vinegar potato skins stuffed with aged cheddar and apple wood smoked bacon, served with sour cream and chives on the side.” Please address all of your thanks to Eater, since it was their crazy sandwich map that inspired the comeback.

Related:
Cer Te’s Mr. Potatoskin is Like a Fried Chicken Stuffed Baked Potato

Remember Eliana, the $1 hot dog lady on 43rd and 6th whose cart was seized by the NYPD back in September of last year?  Her cart was returned a week later, but everything had been thrown away.  As a result the Street Vendor Project (the non profit organization that runs the Vendy Awards) has filed a case in federal court seeking damages, not just for her lost merchandise but also for lost business, and “mental distress” (according to Sean Basinski, the head of the SVP, she can’t even talk about what happened without breaking down.)  Sean sent this note over hoping to get some help from Midtown Lunchers…

We are looking for anyone who witnessed the cart seizure or any other interactions between Eliana and the police during August or September of last year. You could be an important witness in helping Eliana get justice. Please write svp@urbanjustice.org with your name and contact info if you know anything.

Related:
Street Vendor Project Going to Court Today to Fight For The 43rd St. Hot Dog Lady
$1 Hot Dogs Are Safe and Delicious, if You Get Them From Eliana

Usually 9th ave is out-of-bounds from an ML perspective, and the opening of a new Thai restaurant in this area of town is hardly sensational – in fact, there’s no less than 15 Thai restaurants within a 4 block radius of the newly opened Pure Thai Shophouse. But after reading Grub Street’s opening report, and learning of the pedigree of Chef David Bank, who previously worked under Jean-Georges Vongerichten at the Mercer Kitchen, I decided that this would require an out-of-bounds journey. And boy am I glad I made that trip.

A meander down 9th ave in search of Thai sustenance can be overwhelming. One Thai restaurant might cater to customers who prefer to dine amongst garish bubblegum pink décor, while the next Thai venue offers an exclusive ‘secret’ menu to the knowledgeable few with an old copy of the Zagat guide or access to Yelp.com. All serve the same highly fungible crowd pleasing dishes of pad thai, drunken noodles, and curries in various earth toned colors. However, if you’re ever in doubt as to which Hells Kitchen Thai joint to pick for lunch, I’ll suggest that Pure Thai Shophouse is perhaps the only Thai restaurant worth visiting on 9th ave.

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MomoMidtown aka Ma Peche (56th btw 5th+6th) has been switching it up lately, offering new sandwiches and making the switch to cake truffles-an item that is hot on the black market of my office. It was during the procuring of said truffles that I got my first chance to try their new croissants. There are four new ones, one sweet and three savory. Since mine had to make do as my lunch, I ended up trying one of their savories: rye croissant with pastrami, sauerkraut, and Russian dressing! It takes croissants to a whole other awesome level.

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Thanks to Lunch’er Mangostrawberry for giving us the heads up about Bread & Honey, a new Deli/Supermarket/Buffet/Sandwich/Udon noodle place on 8th Ave between 55th & 56th. Normally this sort of venue wouldn’t be worthy of investigation, but when we hear the words Mongolian BBQ station (possibly the only one of its kind in this area) all bets are off. I did a quick cruise through the store to inspect.

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