Midtown Lunch

When Oceana (49th btw 6+7th) opened their lobster cart last week, I was less interested in the lobster roll (too expensive!) and more interested in the cookie they’re serving! I stopped by the other day just in time to snag one- it turns out the cart closes up promptly at 2 o’clock. The “Smooshed” cookie ($2) is a mix of oatmeal cookie dough and chocolate-chocolate chip cookie dough smooshed together before baking. As a long-time fan of oatmeal chocolate-chip cookies, I figured this would be good.

The cookie is full of butter making it large in diameter, but thin from spreading. Even with the thin-ness, the cookie is chewy and quite toothsome from the oats. The chocolate dough isn’t very heavy on the cocoa or the chips leaving the oatmeal to be the prevalent flavor. Considering the size and price of the cookie, I’d say this is the perfect deal for an afternoon snack, or REALLY good for making into a ice cream sandwich!  It’s a little too late to score one of these today, but I know where I’ll be just before 2pm tomorrow.

As promised Num Pang (on 41st btw. Lex+3rd) officially opened to the public today, and from the looks of things not even rain can keep the people of Midtown East away from Cambodian sandwiches. Also of note… between now and June 29th if you twitter a picture expressing your love for Num Pang (and cc’ @numpang and #mynumpang), you’ll be entered to win a dinner for 10.

Related:
Num Pang Midtown Opens Tomorrow (With Two New Sandwiches!)

It seems as if the ramp up in police pressure on the food trucks of Midtown has claimed its first permanent victim. The Treats Truck sent out this unbelievably sad email to their followers this morning:

To my dear customers,

We will not be midtown for the time being. The police have let us know that they no longer want food trucks in the midtown area. Two of our spots dear to our hearts (and our first two regular spots since the early days) have been 45th & 6th Ave and 38th & 5th Ave. We have so many wonderful regulars, and you all have made serving you such a pleasure. We are so sad to have to take our truck elsewhere. We hope to be able to return someday. For now, we cannot. We wish we could. You have all made the past four years very special. You can always order for delivery for your offices or come by our new spots. You can call to find out where we are each day.

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Ma Peche (aka Momofuku Midtown) brought their A-Game to our 5th Birthday Party, and the reaction to the special banh mi was so positive they’ve decided to add it to the menu. The sandwich features pork belly and beef, paired with crunchy pickled daikon, crab mayo and green papaya, in a crusty roll. It’s not showing up on their online order form, so we can only assume that for now it’s available for eat in only. UPDATE: The sandwich is $10 and available to eat in or to go from the balcony bar.

Ma Peche, 15 W. 56th St. (btw. 5+6th)

A few months ago we reported that signage had gone up for Mangu Dominican on 45th btw. Lex+3rd, and wondered what exactly a full on Dominican place would serve.  Well, the owners emailed us yesterday to say that they plan on opening next week and they sent along a copy of the menu.  Check it out after the jump…

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This month marks the second time the Chubby Chinese Girl lives in infamy via a sandwich at Cer Te (55th btw 5+6th). It’s hard to follow up to last year’s Chubby Chinese Girl, especially since it’s still available on Thursdays. But once I saw that this sandwich involved crisped pork belly braised with soy and beer, I knew it had to be a winner. They should seriously consider taking Chubby Chinese Girl on as a sandwich consultant.

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Smoked brisket from Mile End. Photo courtesy of Eat to Blog

Blondie was in Kansas and tried some of the food carts at the Lawrence Farmers Market, Donny had a great looking dinner at Mile End in Brooklyn, Brian H checked out 900 Degrees with 13 other pizza aficionados, and Chris H. bestowed 5 stars on the Friday only Tamales y Elotes cart in Elmhurst.  Also, if you’re a fan of Nespresso, Blondie and Brownie are giving away a Nespresso Pixie Machine to celebrate Blondie’s birthday.

Around the rest of the ML Universe… Andrea finally made it over to the Souvlaki GR Truck downtown, Jamie tried Senegalese food for the first time in West Philly, and I couldn’t help but hit up the new Los Angeles branch of Papaya King.

Num Pang’s official Midtown opening is not until tomorrow, but we’re getting reports that people are scoring lunch today!  We were told that only people who had some kind of special coupon would be served today, and the PR people insist that they are not open to the public, but Lunch’er NOLA Steve claims in the comments that he went down there and got a sandwich.  We have been told that the restaurant will close for a private event sometime between 3 and 4pm, so if you’re in the area looking for a late lunch you might just get lucky if you swing by.  Good luck!

Long before I was Flatiron Lunching, I was making special trips to Union Square to get to Num Pang’s original 12th Street location. Their Cambodian sandwiches aren’t just a twist on the Banh Mi we’ve all come to love. Instead they use the similar flavors as a jumping off point to play with ingredients from pork belly to mackerel in fun and interesting ways. When I found out that a new branch was opening on 41st btw. Lex+3rd (not 10 blocks from my office) I was psyched. The new shop opens tomorrow, but they did a preview on Tuesday as a test run of their ordering system, and we couldn’t help but go check it out.

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