Midtown Lunch

Photo courtesy of Lunch’er Katie

Reports are pouring in that Cafe Zaiya (on 41st btw. Mad+5th), winner of best Japanese Fast Food in Midtown 3 years running, has been shuttered for non-payment of taxes.  They’ve had their fair share of trouble over the years, mostly with the DOH, but this sounds pretty serious.  A person who answered the phone at the store said they are hoping to be back open tomorrow, so it doesn’t sound like this is the end of one of our favorite lunch spots in all of Midtown.  Here’s hoping  the problem will be resolved quickly!

When I passed by Harry’s Italian in the concourse at 30 Rock on Monday, I took a few other photos of the new shop. Get a closer look, including a menu shot, after the jump.

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If you checked the Twitter Tracker this morning you might have seen that Frites N Meats is gearing up to return four months after the horrible accident on the West Side Hwy that put one of the guys in the hospital and ended up with the owner being arrested and charged with reckless endangerment.  According to their blog they are going to be back on the streets Monday.  Can’t wait that long for some street food action?  Papa Perrone is on 55th w/ panelle sandwiches, Coolhaus is on 40th and 6th w/ Blue Bottle ice coffee, Crisp on Wheels is on 51st and Park, Kimchi Truck is on 47th & Lex, Wafels & Dinges has one of their carts on 60th & 5th, Eddie’s Pizza is on 46th btw. 5+6th, and Luke’s Lobster is on 55th & B’way.  As always check the ML Twitter Tracker before heading out.

Want to eat a delicious Korean lunch today while supporting a good cause? The law firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges is raising money to help print up a rights manual for immigrants, and Pro Korean (on 56th btw. 5+6th) has agreed to donate $1 from every combo lunch box they sell today to help the cause. Last month the guides were printed up in Spanish and Chinese, and with this money they hope to translate them into Korean, Russian, and other languages. Make sure you mention “charity” when you purchase your lunch.

This again? Last year when the DOH announced they would be giving letter grades to restaurants, there was also talk about doing the same for food carts. A few articles appeared this week in places like the NY Daily News and the NY Post saying that Mayor Bloomberg is pushing for the grading system, but the DOH says it is unlikely to institute it any time soon. They claim they don’t have enough inspectors (only 20 devoted to food carts) and it is difficult to do re-inspections since carts and trucks are not always in the same spot. It looks like we’re in the clear for now, but could this do more harm than good for the carts? I have no doubt the majority of them are just as clean (if not more so) than most restaurants in the city, but as we’ve recently witnessed at places like Cer Te, the DOH grading system doesn’t only include food safety and health concerns. On the other hand, this could help legitimize the cleanliness of food carts once and for all to the people who are hesitant to eat there in the first place.

• A new pizza place has opened in the food court on 3rd Ave. [Midtown Eating]
• Planning for the August happy hour/meetup has begun [Connections]
• Does the Comme Ci Comme Ca truck have a new saucier? [Midtown Eating]
• Is a new restaurant opening in the old Diamond Dairy space? [Midtown Eating]

Thanks to Mister Never for sending along this photo/tip… Artisanal, the cheese shop/bistro on the outskirts of the Midtown Lunching boundaries (32nd btw. Mad+Park) has just launched an cart in front of their restaurant serving hand made ice cream. A single scoop is $3 and they’ve got a chocolate featuring Mast Brother’s, and a sweet corn custard ice cream with blueberries that was described by the tipster as “AMAAAAAZING”.

Check out the full menu after the jump.

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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 Sean, the “Mayor” of Midtown West?

Name: Sean (but my colleagues call me “The Mayor”)

Age: 28

Occupation: Vice President at 21C Media Group, a public relations, marketing and consulting firm specializing in classical music and the performing arts.

Where in Midtown do you Work?: Midtown West (56th Street and Seventh Avenue)

Favorite Kind of Food: Anything and everything. I’m an equal opportunity eater.

Least Favorite Kind of Food: There are only two things I don’t really like: capers and sardines. Although I still eat and like them on occasion.

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Midtown: Tuna nicoise sandwich at Bouchon Bakery, braised fish filets with chili miso at Szechuan Gourmet, any of the sandwiches at Blue Dog Café (on 56th btw. 6+7th), Certé or D & S Market Place (a.k.a. “The Man Deli” on 56th btw. 5+6th), avocado, parmesan and pine nut salad at Cognac Bakery (on B’way and 55th), fish special or salmon at Between the Bread (on 55th btw. 6+7th), midtown lunch at Ma Peche, “build your own salad” specials at Bagel & Bean (on B’way btw. 54+55th) and the Great American Health Bar (on 57th btw. 5+6th), pizza at Angelo’s (on 57th btw. 6+7th), burgers at the Burger Joint in Le Parker Meridien, ramen at Totto Ramen (but not so much in the summer), tilapia or salmon at Kwik Meal cart in the West 40s (thanks for the tip, Patrick Tierney), and if feel like making the trek up to the West 60s, anything from ‘wichcraft and Epicerie Boulud (on B’way btw. 63+64th). Also, as a dedicated coffee drinker, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Zibetto, which I feel has some of the best espresso in the neighborhood (and also some great panini).

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Just a friendly reminder about something we casually mentioned last week… Cer Te is now serving its August sandwich of the month.  Meet the Montauk Hangover: a fried duck egg, creamed corn with pancetta, spicy lobster sauce, and crispy leeks, on a grilled potato roll.  Nice.