Midtown Lunch

The Famous Halal Guys know how to bring the heat. Ask for a little hot sauce and unless you can handle serious spice, you may find your mouth in flame long after lunch time. Last week when I was getting a chicken pita (from the Famous Halal Guys daytime spot on the SE Corner of 53rd & 6th, natch) I noticed for the first time ever that among the cans of soda and bottles of water that they also sell bottled mango lassis (lassies?) I typically don’t get drinks with my pita because I don’t drink soda (and I’m cheap) so maybe they’ve carried these for sometime. The drink itself is on the sweet side, but it’s the perfect antidote if you over do it on the spice.

• Oceana’s lobster rolls look really small [Eating]
• Looking for good vegetarian stuff near 50th & 6th [Eating]
• The spanikopita from the cart on 47th & Park is great [Eating]
• Soom Soom is better than Maoz [Eating]
• What was your favorite part of our B’day Party? [Eating]

The oft beleaguered generic deli, Pranzo (on 50th btw. 6+7th) has been in a perpetual state of flux for as long as the DOH started serious cracking down on sanitation standards. Last year, we noted that they had been temporarily shut down by the DOH, and I walked by this week and noticed that they’ve been shut down for good after racking up 90 violation points.

We generally don’t like to celebrate failure on Midtown lunch, but here’s to hoping that a more interesting (and cleaner) lunch spot takes their place. And for anyone in the market for some heat lamps, hotel pans and other restaurant supply goodies, it looks like they’re auctioning off the final remnants of the restaurant this Thursday.

When Jacques Torres opened his store in the Rock Center Concourse earlier this year, I was a bit sad that they hadn’t set up a freezer for storing their AWESOME ice cream sandwiches. Jacques Torres ice cream sandwiches are the best and biggest among those available in New York. I don’t even want to think about the calorie count, it’s Epic Meal Time stuff. And then last week they dropped the bomb that the Rock Center store is now equipped with a freezer, and had received its first ice cream sandwich shipment on Thursday!

Read more »

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 Christina, a communications pro who eats gluten free.

Name: Christina

Age: 22

Occupation: Communications Professional

Where in Midtown do you Work?: Currently I’m working in the Garment district on Broadway in no-man’s land smack in between Timess Square and Penn station at LaunchSquad, NYC

Favorite Kind of Food: First of all, any combination of carbs and cheese is a win in my book. I started eating gluten free last summer which makes my passion for melted dairy a challenging one. Other favorites? Tacos (corn tortillas please!), halal (lamb, chicken or falafel I am not picky), burgers (In-n-Out or bust), and ice cream. I just went to the Village Voice’s Choice Eats the other week and was surprised by the huge variety of gluten-free friendly options available. Quick tip for fellow gluten-free readers: I was chatting up Sarah Jenkins of Porchetta and Porsena and she said that she always keeps a good corn pasta around in the kitchen. They also sell some really great gluten free stuff at Eataly imported from Italy. It keeps an al dente toothsome texture after cooking which is a real challenge with rice pasta.

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Since I eat gluten free I guess wheat is on the top of the “least favorite” list. Other pet peeves of mine? Poorly prepared pre-made sandwiches and salads – Subway I’m talking to YOU and bad grocery sushi.

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Midtown: Okay so this was a tough one to answer but I’ve boiled it down to a few. Lena Latin Grill (on 35th btw. 5+6th), particularly for their sauces and sides. I highly suggest going smoky chili pepper for your sauce. For sides? Check out their plantains, butternut squash (smoky and delicious when in season) and sinful coconut rice. For halal I’m really into Rafiquis for a quick bite of halal when I’m in a rush. Mostly I go to make jokes with the husband and wife chefs and indulge in the many free samples they always dish out. For Indian, my go to is Biryani Cart (on 46th and 6th) where I rotate whatever they have featured over rice, usually veggie or chicken Briyani. As you can tell, I’m really big on rice right now. For lunch meetings, I’m a huge fan of Market Cafe – the omelette du jour never ever disappoints and it’s a great cozy spot on a cold day. Be sure to have some of their cucumber water – so refreshing! Who knew?

Read more »

If you’re in the mood for a spicy food challenge for lunch, a la Man Vs. Food, you’ll want to check out Glaze Teriyaki’s ‘Hottest’ teriyaki sauce ($1.50 suppl), which they cooked up after hearing feedback that their spicy sauce wasn’t hot enough. They took the challenge seriously, by adding a hurting of habanero and other Asian chili peppers into their homemade teriyaki sauce.
Read more »

We here at Midtown Lunch have long recognized the precarious position that gourmet food trucks are. Stuck in a grey area between legal and illegal, most veteran food trucks have chosen to lay low and fly under the radar, rather than stand tall and fight the all powerful rent paying brick and mortar businesses who would love to see them disappear.  Well, now that the fight between cops and food trucks has escalated Lunch’er Meghan has said enough is enough:

I work in midtown (52/51st and 7th), and suddenly all of my favorite trucks are being driven off by the NYPD.  This used to be one of the best spots for food trucks, and now it is becoming a ghost town.  Apparently it just takes one business owner to complain and the cops will force the trucks to leave their spot.  Could you maybe do a post on effective ways to fight this?

Read more »

Walking on 49th between 7th & 8th Ave, I noticed plywood for a new restaurant called E&E Grill House, right across from Cycle Cafe. They have a website, which doesn’t divulge much information other than that they’ve billed themselves to be “A genuine, approachable, neighborhood grill house for everyone”, which sounds dangerously similar to Applebee’s and the like. Considering that this block has little to no viable lunch options, this may be something to get excited about.

E&E Grill House, 233 West 49th St (between 7th & 8th Ave)