Midtown Lunch

Late last year, Uncle Mario’s Brick Oven Pizza (9th ave btw. 49+50th) opened to little fanfare and Yelp reviews ranging from overly enthusiastic to apathetic all the way to contemptuous. What else would you expect from a slightly gussied up version of a generic pizzeria like Abitino’s, the local chain owned by the same people? None of this made me eager to try it, but when I walked by and spied a macaroni and cheese pie, I felt compelled to investigate Uncle Mario’s world for myself. Here we go!

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• Get 50% off both Carl’s Steaks locations [Downtown Eating]
• Miss K’s Italian Eatery makes a solid hoagie [Midtown Eating]
• Has anybody tried the new deli on 53rd? [Midtown Eating]

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 we’re excited to welcome Zeina, the lucky winner of the Vendy Citizen Judge slot. On September 23rd she’ll get to join the distinguished Vendy Award judging panel (which includes Writer John T. Edge & Eatocracy’s Kat Kinsman, and she just so happens to be a Midtown Luncher as well!

Name: Zeina

Age: 27

Occupation: Media Manager

Where in Midtown do you Work?: Conde Nast, Times Square

Favorite Kind of Food: Depends on my mood. My go-to is Indian – ANY type; kati rolls, dosas,
biryani, curries, you name it. My comfort food is Japanese Ramen or Lebanese lebneh with manaeesh, and when I go out I like to indulge in Farm-to-Table concoctions. And I’ve never said no to a good grilled cheese!

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Pay-by-the-pound Chinese

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Midtown: Kati Roll Company (on 39th btw. 5+6th) for paneer roll or aloo unda roll, and The Biryani Cart (on 46th btw. 6+7th) for chicken biryani.

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Even with all the moving of spots and excessive ticketing, the Comme Ci, Comme Ca Truck has been continually offering weekly specials since June. For example last week Chef Samir served grilled tilapia over pasta, and he is still serving it this week. I’ve been thinking about these guys since their recent Vendy Award nomination leak and so I found myself in line at their colorful lime green truck ready to dig in.

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If you follow the street food scene in Midtown, there was an interesting article on DNAinfo yesterday about how carts have been effected by the food truck crackdown in Midtown. Not surprisingly most of the cart owners are happy to see less competition, but with one exception… the owner of Bap Cha (on 49th btw. 6+7th) said that more people came to eat when the trucks were on his block. It also mentions an increase in food carts (like Wafels & Dinges, and the new Kati Cart by the owners of the Desi Truck), a fact that caused Gothamist to proclaim carts the bigger winners in this whole battle. But let’s not break open the champagne just yet.  Even though carts don’t fall under the meter law, they still face prohibitive laws of their own (laws that are usually ignored until there is a complain lodged, just like the meter law.)  We’ve been hearing that many food truck owners have been asking around about starting a cart, as a hassle free alternative to running a food truck.  And it’s true that carts are taking less flack right now, while the cops focus their attention on the trucks. But it won’t take long for them to turn their attention back to hassling carts, especially if those new carts attract the same crowds and attention as the trucks have over the past 6 months.

When Quality Meats (58th btw 5+6th) offered up ice cream sundaes last summer, I never did get the chance to try out the fantastic looking creations. So when Brian reported that they’d come back for another month, you bet I made my way over. In the past week, I’ve managed to stop by twice, trying two different sundaes. Now I know what you’re thinking.  This has already been covered!  Why are you writing about this again?  Well… if you have any sort of decadent sweet tooth, you NEED to get over there before time runs out next Wednesday. These things are that good.

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