Midtown Lunch

When I saw the great deal for Shorty’s last week, I grabbed it immediately. I’ve been a fan of Philadelphia food ever since I started visiting it regularly ten years ago, and Shorty’s is one of the few places in New York that approaches Philly authenticity.  Looking back at all of our old posts about Shorty’s I was surprised to see cheesesteak this and cheesteak that. Sure, I love a good cheesesteak, but in a bar briefly known as Tony Luke’s, it’s not the first thing that comes to my mind. The original Tony Luke’s in South Philly does serve cheesesteaks, but they are best known for what I consider one of finest delicacies Philadelphia has to offer – The roast pork sandwich.

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It’s been three weeks since the Cupcake Stop Truck and its two brick and mortar locations mysteriously shut down without any warning. We had heard that the owner Lev was leaving to pursue other opportunities and yesterday it was confirmed by their PR machine:

I just wanted to check in with an official statement from CupcakeStop founder Lev Ekster on the status of the company since you’ve covered the company since its launch. He’s unable to comment further during this negotiation period but I will be sure to keep you posted when the next announcement is made. “Within the last two months, I was offered another opportunity that I felt was extremely promising and decided to pursue it. Therefore, we are currently negotiating the sale of my portion of CupcakeStop with several parties.”

Well, that sounds very serious! Cupcakes shouldn’t be about secrecy and negotiations… they should be about sunshine and smiles.

• There’s a Pio Pio on 10th Ave, and they have an $8 lunch special [Eating]
• If you hate your co-workers, eat the brussel sprout sub at No.7 Sub [Eating]
• Au Bon Pain sucks more than it used to [Eating]
• The Cucina on 56th btw. 5+6th has closed [Eating]
• Anybody need tickets to Choice Eats tonight? [MISC]

Not sure if this really is the “World’s Largest Bakesale” (we’ll leave that to Guinness) but it has got to be the world’s largest line to get into a bakesale. Holy mackerel. And that’s just inside!

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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 Jason, a sports love auditor who loves things extra spicy.

Name: Jason

Age: 23

Occupation: Auditor / Very Part-Time Sports-Business Blogger @ TheSportsTomato

Where in Midtown do you Work?: Most recently in the 50’s between 6th and Park

Favorite Kind of Food: I crave fresh authentic Mexican at least 4 times a day (always extra cilantro). I’m also on a huge udon kick (always extra cilantro). Finger-lickin’ barbeque is a permanent staple in my diet, errrr, my consumption practice. I enjoy all things spicy, and not Frank’s Red Hot spicy, I mean real, habanero/ghost chile spicy. My favorite thing to order is the most unique thing on the menu that I can’t get anywhere else.

Least Favorite Kind of Food: I don’t understand how anyone can like those Indian pickles that come on the side. Any red meat that is cooked past medium rare is a travesty. Chipotle.

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Midtown: El Rey Del Sabor (multiple locations) – the tortas are so worth the mess & beef tongue tacos ftw. Taim Mobile – the sabich tastes like it’s imported from Israel. Hing Won (48th btwn 5th and 6th) – their crispy pork over rice is pure gold and gets the approval from my Beijing counterpart. Last but far from least is the Big Buck Tri-Tip Sandwich from Tri Tip Grill in Rock Center- it’s the best thing on a sliced roll since I had tri-tip in central California.

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Come tax season it’s a tradition of mine to visit Cafe Zaiya (41st btw. Mad+5th) every time I go see my accountant (his office is just around the corner, lucky guy). But now with the addition of Sunrise Mart, deciding where to eat on 41st St just got a bit tougher- although on my most recent visit the fact that I hadn’t been to the new Sunrise Mart yet made the decision a bit easier. I walked straight to the back and ordered their oyakodon, the Japanese rice bowl with chicken and egg. I wanted to compare the version at Sunrise Mart to the version I had at Sapporo few weeks ago.

And then I realized I should probably go to Yagura too (the ugly duckling of the Japanese stores on that street).  After all, they serve oyakodon as well. So how do all 3 oyakodons compare to one another? Will I ever get tired of eating oyakodons? Let’s fine out.

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Midtown East’s recent flurry of opening activity (Dee Daa, Schnitzel & Things, Bierhaus) isn’t over yet. Three more spots opened their doors for business yesterday, and one involves sushi with junk food! Yes, My Maki (43rd btw Lex+3rd), the make your own sushi spot with crazy ingredients like Doritos, potato sticks and mango, is now open for your sushi making enjoyment or blasphemy. You can see the whole menu on their website, but they won’t be doing online orders, phone orders, or delivery until next week (at the earliest).

But wait- there’s more…

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