PROFILE: Midtown Lunch’er “Henry”

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 Henry, a Hell’s Kitchen bartender who really seems to know what’s up.

Name: Henry (whitesaucehotsauce to you registered MLers)

Age: 30

Occupation: Bartender, oh, and I write this little food bl…just kidding

Where in Midtown do you Work?: The Pony Bar! I live in the neighborhood, too, so I’m really getting the full Midtown experience.

Favorite Kind of Food: Any ketchup delivery system (I’m a Pittsburgh boy!) especially cheese burgers and french fries, as well as a special affinity for BBQ, Buffalo Wings, Gyros, and sandwiches of any kind as long as they don’t have…

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Mayo, raw tomatoes, eggplants, and mushrooms. In
that order.

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Midtown: I know it’s OOB but the corner of 47th and 10th (or Little Guadalajara as I like to call it) with Tulcingo del Valle, Tehuitzingo, and that new little place around the corner. Shorty’s (on 9th btw. 41+42nd) for a whiz wit or a pork sandwich or an italian or a buffalo chicken sandwich or just about anything, really, especially the parmesan fries. Bella Napoli (on 49th btw. 6+7th) for a plain slice, Kati Roll Co (on 39th btw. 5+6th), lobster roll from just about anywhere.

“Go-To” Lunch Place You and Your Coworkers Eat at Too Often? Well, at work I eat the chicken sandwich (no tomato) all the time, and I swear this is not a shill, but you guys are always complaining about shrimpy grilled cheese sandwiches that cost too much, so our grilled cheese costs $7.50 ($9.75 if you add bacon. You should really add bacon) and it is GIGANTIC. Seriously. As for when I’m not at work, I tend to indulge in the Henry Hangover Special a bit more than I should, and that consists of large fries, large coke from McDonald’s and a lamb sandwich from Famous Halal Guys (53rd and 6th, SE corner during the day.) But more on them later. I also enjoy Totto Ramen on 52nd btw. 8+9th (when I can get in) and the pho from Cha Pa’s (on 52nd btw. 8+9th).

Place(s) you discovered thanks to Midtown Lunch? All the lovely Midtown food trucks: Biryani, Famous 53rd, Carnegie John’s, Trini-Paki (shout out to my dad Kenny Joe who loves Mauby), Hallo Berlin, Jamaican Duchy, Desi Food Truck. Also Sapporo (on 49th btw. 6+7th), Pizza Suprema (on 8th btw. 30+31st), Margon (on 46th btw. 6+7th), Piece Of Chicken (RIP), Minar (on 46th btw. 6+7th).

If you could work anywhere (just because of the lunch) where would it be and why? Dresden, Neustadt, Babos, nuff said.

Anything you’d like to ask the Midtown Lunch readers? Well, I was going to ask about good gyros and toasted italian sandwiches, but then this happened…So I was at Famous 53rd the other day waiting patiently in line when some harried looking dude runs up to the front, says something to the guy, and shortly receives some food. When I get to the front of the line I ask why this person got to jump the queue
and the guy informs me that he was a cabbie and he was double parked and he didn’t want to get a ticket. I politely informed him that I thought this was bullshit, he explained his position to me, and I imagine neither of us felt very good about what happened. I understand he’s a businessman and he’s gotta make a living, but this really upset me in a way that I recognize is kinda silly, but I don’t think I’ll go back. Thoughts? Am I being unreasonable? Any one else have similar experiences? Also, could somebody please explain Cer Te (on 55th btw. 5+6th) for me. I don’t get it.

Thoughts on this? Put them in the comments. And, as always, if you want to be next week’s Profiled: Midtown Lunch’er (or know somebody you’d like to nominate) email editor@midtownlunch.com.

22 Comments

  • User has not uploaded an avatar

    I would never stop going to 53rd and 6th… with that said I’d be more pissed if someone tried cuttin right in front of me… id be pissed if someone got to skip either way, but they work so fast that its no reason to get so upset since they serve people at a rate of like 30 seconds per person.

  • User has not uploaded an avatar

    Cabbies get priority; it’s standard practice at a number of food carts/to-go places. I’ve seen it happen multiple times at 53rd and 6th among other places. Nothing new.

  • Maybe the dude was a regular? Regulars deserve special treatment…and the occasional line jump capability.

  • I’ll explain a lot of things to you.

  • I think the cabby line jump is more reasonable than the time I was at the Biryani Cart on a cold winter’s day where there was four of us who came up and ordered with no line, and a south Asian guy came up after us and ordered the exact same thing as me. He got served first, my order, which screwed everything up and everyone else I was with had to wait until his (now my) order got made up like 5 minutes later and we froze our samosas off. That kinda shit happens all the time there. Man, it’s tough being a white dude sometimes.

    Anyway, love the Pony Bar. Can we get discounts if we mention your profile? Served first maybe?

    • I get that anyway by being polite, and not wearing sausages around my neck.

    • Ditto for the white guy discrimination at Biryani Cart. I was standing in line for like 10 minutes once and right when it’s my turn to order this subcontinent-looking guy comes from out of nowhere and the guy taking orders totally blows me off and takes his order, I walked away and haven’t been back. It wasn’t Meru, he’s always been cool to me.

  • many times the cabbies don’t even get out of the car. they pull over and yell thru the window. given what their job entails (staying still = less income), I don’t mind it. Like what Lou said: it’s only about 30 seconds. They probably are regulars. And think about the instances when people / tourists get in a cab say say “take me to best street meet” after a night of heavy adult beverages. They take em to “their guy”.

  • I’m kinda ok with the cabbie thing.

  • Oooh Pony Bar. You guys make a delicious fried oyster sandwich.

  • FREAK OF THE WEEK

  • Thanks for all your input, guys. I feel less weird about the cabby situation but still not sure I approve. And please, feel free to come say Hi at The Pony anytime!

  • Your name has whitesauce in it, but you hate mayo! Mind = blown.

  • It’s definitely thanks to the cabbies that 53rd Halal Guys has gotten their glorious street meats recognition. When they first started, their main clientele were the cabbies, not the drunken hipsters.
    Things could be worse.

    Would you like them to put up an official B-Line for cabbies only? Better start driving your own yellow taxi if you want priority, whitesauce, or you can always just venture to other carts that do no give out favoritism if you still feel that slighted. GL.

    Pony Bar is awesome!

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