Midtown Lunch

If there was ever proof that we are a bunch of fatsos, here it is.  The Frites N Meats free french fry tour never made it Downtown yesterday, because after a stop in Midtown and a stop in the Flatiron they ran out of frites! But fear not our fat friends to the south… they’ll be hitting up the spots they missed with more free fries over the next few days.  As for their return to Midtown?  The brothers told DNAinfo that because of all the trouble trucks have been having in Midtown these days, they will not be returning.  (So it’s a good thing you scored those free fries yesterday.)

Last summer, Quality Steaks transformed their charcuterie bar into a Willy Wonka-esque ice cream cake bar. Well, they’ve done it again and this year they’ve expanded the menu to include five different ice cream cakes, including one (the Monster Mash) from last year. The new options include a Strawberry Shortcake (with yuzu-yogurt icing), a Toasted Banana S’more, and a Chocolate Covered Grasshopper.

I sampled the Spicy Mexican Coffee ice cream cake with espresso ice cream, a spicy chocolate brownie cake, and an amazing cinnamon-tamarind icing. It was garnished with chocolate covered espresso beans and a mini churro. I was blown away by the intense flavors and it was too easy to get in touch with my birthday party crashing 12 year-old self. I came close to bingeing on the entire menu.

But, alas, these cakes are $8 each which is a good deal for the quality and size, but a little out of the price range for a Midtown lunch, especially considering this is dessert! However, these are dare I say it, a great alternative to a liquor-laced Happy Hour and you can wash it all down with one of their gourmet lemonades. They’ll be available at least through the end of August.

Quality Meats, 57 W 58th Street (btw. 5th and 6th Avenue), (212) 371-7777

Way back in October 2008, Zach called the soft shell crabs at Café Duke (on 51st btw. 6+7th) “the greatest thing I’ve ever seen at a by the pound buffet.” The problem was that not only were the crabs a seasonal item, availability varied from day to day. I fully admit to periodically checking the Café Duke on 41st just in case, and I haven’t seen the crabs yet this year (and the season is coming to a close!).  So you can imagine my surprise when during standard recon on unassuming new generic deli EZ Café (8th ave. btw 38+39th), replacing the similarly generic Rainbow Gourmet Deli, I spotted the white whale of Midtown Lunch’ing.
Read more »

I fell in love with the out of bounds Tacos y Quesadillas cart when I first visited it last year, but it was something of a long distance relationship – lots of longing, not as much physical contact. So, when I read in the forums that they had officially moved into ML bounds and were parking on 53rd btw B’way+7th, I jumped at the opportunity to actually be able to walk to one of my favorite Mexican places in Midtown. The cart is now in a more central, accessible location, which is great news for (most) Midtown Lunch’ers. Unfortunately, that convenience does come at a cost.
Read more »

As promised last week, the Frites N Meats truck will make its triumphant return today by traveling all around NYC giving out free french fries. And the best part is, they plan on starting off their run in Midtown! According to this schedule on their blog, the truck will be on 52nd and 6th from 11 to 11:30am with free frites, before making their way down to the Flatiron and Financial Districts. Of course the schedule is just tentative, so make sure you check their twitter or the ML Twitter Tracker before heading out.

Related:
Frites N Meats Set to Return on Monday

Photo by Robyn Lee/SENY

• wichcraft’s BLT could use some more bacon! [SENY]
• Diversification is the best strategy at Food Gallery 32 [Food in Mouth]
• Get $1 beers at Pizzarte for lunch through Sept 21 [Wined & Dined]
• The Times Sq. Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf should open at the end of this month [GS]

If you like to eat, chances are you like to drink (read: a lot of you are freakin’ lushes), so I thought maybe it was time to introduce a happy hour column to the site. Every Friday afternoon 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.

I met up with the ever fabulous Blondie in Midtown recently and she clued me in to a bar that had flown under my radar called Point Break. Whoa! Seriously, a bar dedicated to the bank robbing beach bum cult classic film featuring The Swayze?? Excellent, I was up for riding that wave.

Warning: Theme bar alert! This venue features a huge kitsch factor that may turn some unrighteous dudes off.

Read more »

On Wednesday as I was walking back from lunch I passed the “Famous Dal Wagon” parked on the NE corner of 39th and 6th. I was on maternity leave last summer when this cart first made an appearance in midtown, so this was my first sighting. But from what I can gather it looks like they are tricked out with a new look and promoting specials other than dal. Read more »