Archive for November 2010

Picnic’s Turkey Meatballs Are the Perfect Pre Thanksgiving Lunch

A little over a year ago we asked if Picnic on 57th was just a generic Midtown deli, or a spot worthy of further inspection. It look awhile, but Lunch’er Apikoros recently responded with a resounding yes! He sent us this station by station report, ending on his absolute favorite dish at Picnic…

Picnic on 57th

Like most of the readers of Midtown Lunch, I try to shun the generic New York Deli in favor of more eclectic fare. And yet, like most of you, I still often find myself at the local generic delis picking up something quick and easy to bring back to eat at the desk.

About a year ago, a “new” (are any of them really offering anything new?) generic deli opened on 57th street between 3rd and Lexington called Picnic. They offered the usual selections of sandwiches, sushi, steamed lunches, and soups. A few months ago they added a generic, though large selection, of make your own salads. I have sampled a lot of what they have to offer in the last year. From the Sandwich Area, I have had the Philly Cheese Steaks, with fries, for 7.95 which were worth the money but nothing to go up in arms about it. Their “Bahn Mi”, while a tasty sandwich, isn’t really a Banh Mi at all, lacking Pate, radishes, spiciness and some of the other accoutrements. The Shrimp BLT, with Bacon and Avocado is great, but again, worthy of a Midtown Lunch shout out? Nope. All the sandwiches are good, packed with fillings, tasty selections and reasonably priced. There are intriguing selections and quasi-unusual choices. They are all a step above Toasty’s and Fresh, the equivalent local competitors, but nothing is at the “WOW!” level.

If the selections were to get a B- to B+ rating, the steam table would be a B+ to an A.

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Contributor Stalking: Today's Post has an article about people who use their lunch hours to do something unique, and our man Ultraclay is featured for his Midtown Lunch'ing excursions! They also interviewed a guy who juggles in Bryant Park, a McGraw Hill Bldg worker who volunteers at a school, a guy in Times Square who goes to the movies, and a poker playing crew on 55th street.

Lunch Links (The “What Does a $10 Falafel Look Like?” Edition)


Todd English’s take on Falafel. Photo by Ramen and Friends.

  • The Plaza Food Hall serves up a $10 falafel! [Ramen & Friends]
  • Black Shack serves a grilled tofu sandwich!? [Fork in the Road]
  • Don’t go to Ichi Umi after 2pm [NYC Foodie]
  • Out of bounds Tulcingo del Valle makes it onto the list of 10 best Mexican restaurants in NYC [Fork in the Road]
  • Taim Falafel Truck launches on the 29th, but nobody knows where [Grub Street]
  • A Midtown Chef was fired for allegedly making a KKK joke on Halloween [NYDN]

Vlada Gives You Some Sass With Your Glass

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.

I thought for this week’s ML happy hour I’d branch out. My lush-ish tastes do not revolve purely around dive bars and hot Irish bartenders. Sometimes you need to work your thang and I found a fun place to get some sass with your glass.

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50% off Out of Bounds Bibimbap: We've always been a bit skeptical about the out of bounds, slightly yuppified B-Bap (on 9th Ave. btw. 54+55th.)   But if you're a fan, or you've always been curious about their design your own Korean rice bowl concept, this coupon will get you $12 worth of bibimbap for just $6.

At Lunch Now: Sophie’s Cuban Now Open on 45th

Got a tip that the new branch of Sophie’s Cuban (on 45 btw. 5+6th) had a bit of a soft opening yesterday, and our man Jeremiah just got visual confirmation.  They are officially open for business.  Online ordering won’t be up and running for a couple of days, and the actual “Grand Opening” isn’t until November 30th (when they promise they’ll do something “special”.)  But if you’re looking to change things up from your typical Latin lunch at Margon or Cafe Cello, you’ve now got another option in the area.

Related:
Sophie’s Cuban Coming Soon to 45th
Sophie’s Cuban (a full review… in pictures)

Film Crew Moves Treats Truck to 38th: The Treats Truck was forced out of their Friday spot, so they're now on 38th until 3pm. Eggstravaganza is on 52nd,  Rickshaw is on 50th, Schnitzel is on 52nd, Wafels are on 52nd, La Cense is on 47th, Green Truck is on 52nd with freebies, and after a lot of searching Korilla ended up on 36th- but you'll want to confirm on the ML Twitter Tracker before heading out.

Biryani Cart Gets New Logo, Adds New Items to Menu

Two time Vendy’s People Choice winner the Biryani Cart (on 46th and 6th) has been pretty active this month.  First, they debuted a brand new logo (What’s next? Twitter and Facebook accounts!)  But even more exciting than that is new specials they just added to their already super popular line up of kati rolls, and chicken and lamb dishes.  Recently they started serving  two new curries (Kashmari chicken and boneless fish) plus a chana dal- which you can order as a combo with either of the curries.  And on Wednesdays they are now serving a goat biriyani!  Have any early adopters tried the new specials?  Let us know how they are in the comments.

Flatiron Lunch: El Carrito Rojo Isn’t What I Expected. It Was Better.

Every Friday our man UltraClay goes south of the ML boundaries in search of a delicious lunch. Sometimes it’s Murray Hill south or the Flatiron District, sometimes Gramercy and everything in between- but we just like to call it Flatiron Lunch.

_MG_8535 - Version 2

El Carrito Rojo, the Mexican and Ecuadorian food truck on 19th Street and 6th Avenue is right in the middle of the ‘photography district.’ Between the color lab where I get my film developed and all the camera shops nearby, I pass it all the time, and yet somehow I never ended up eating there. Well… after stopping in a few times over the last couple weeks, I know that’s definitely going to change.

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Get Two For One Yushi Katsu Again Today: Just a friendly reminder, yesterday's two for one katsu deal at Yushi is happening again today until 3pm. Naturally, the same fine print applies, and you have to print this out to score the deal.