Midtown Lunch

Thanks to a tip from Lunch’er joer, we learned that the old Kolette’s Kitchen space on Lexington and 56th Street, which shuttered a few weeks ago, will reopen as SoomSoom- another kosher vegetarian falafel bar with a location on West 72nd Street. They say that this one will open sometime in July and another store is planned for 46th Street and Fifth Avenue later this summer. The logo and menu look similar to Maoz, but they also serve a sabich sandwich. I wonder how it will stack up to Taim’s monster? Has anybody been to the Upper West Side location? Let us know in the comments…

Last week the Biryani Cart (on 46th and 6th) added a new special to their menu in honor of our Birthday Party, featuring a kati roll, a bit of chicken biryani and a samosa all for $7. (I do love variety!) It was so popular that they’ve decided to add the combo to the permanent menu starting today. It sold out pretty quickly on Thursday of last week (once they run out of samosas it’s over), so if it looks good to you, you may want to hit it up early today just to be safe.

On Saturday we gathered together at City Winery with a couple hundred of our closest friends to celebrate the 5 year anniversary of Midtown Lunch (yes, we too are surprised this thing has been around for 5 years!)   A great time was had by all thanks to the amazing food (provided graciously by Kwik Meal, The Biryani Cart, Cer Te, Ma Peche, Food Gallery 32, El Rey del Sabor, Tri Tip Grill, Wafels & Dinges, Miss Softee & the Rolling Cones, Kelvin Slush, and Momofuku Milk Bar) and the endless drinks courtesy of Brooklyn Brewery and GuS’s soda.

Check out the highlights, after the jump…

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If you’re in the mood for a lobster roll for lunch, and frankly who wouldn’t be, lunchers around Rock Center have another option to get their lobster roll fix. Starting today, Oceana will be serving lobster rolls from 11:30-3:00pm from a stand that will operate behind the restaurant (weather permitting), in the public seating space between 49th & 48th St, between 6th & 7th ave.

Despite its 1 Michelin Star and 3 New York Times stars, Oceana will be pricing their lobster roll at $15, a buck cheaper than Luke’s Lobster and Red Hook Lobster Pound. They’ll also be selling a homemade ‘Smooshed’ cookie ($2), which combines two different cookie batters – this week it’s a oatmeal raising and chocolate chip cookie. Beverages will also be available for $3. Cash and major credit cards accepted.

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. Mamacita is taking this week off, so Blondie has stepped up to the plate.

It’s hard to imagine that after all these years, and all of Mamacita’s Happy Hour posts, we’ve never visited Tequilaville (Vanderbilt btw 42nd+43rd). It has become an old standby, especially for those going through Grand Central Terminal with it’s florescent curtains and colorful faux Mexican interior. And it has some pretty decent happy hour specials. With Brownie in tow, I stopped by to final give Tequilaville the write-up it deserves.

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Cafe R (32nd btw. 6+7th) the massive “international food court” has been opened for about 2 months now. When it first opened it was crowded and the lines were slow moving. Though going through the menus from each station, Cafe R looked promising. I was looking forward to trying the West Indies station, bulgogi burger and fried chicken.

After 2 months, I returned to see if anything had change and hopefully get some West Indies food.

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