Midtown Lunch

Thanks to fellow Lunch’er pshinnyc for giving us heads up about J&V Pizzeria inside the same basement food court as Urban Lobster Shack on 805 3rd Ave. Their website said the original J&V is in Bensonhurst and has been making pizza since 1950. Reviews on Yelp seem to be mostly positive (if Yelp reviewers give good reviews, it must be good right?) I had high hopes that there might be more good pizza close to my work than just Previti Pizza.

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Got a bit of sad news for fans of Fay Da Bakery (34th btw. 7+8th) courtesy of @tzurin yesterday. It seems as if the bakery has pulled out of the space they were sharing with Lunch Box Buffet. Luckily they’re not totally gone from Midtown. The girl behind the counter informed me that they plan on moving into a space somewhere around 32nd St. and 6th Ave. The space is being renovated right now and they hope to open in 2 months.

And I don’t know about the bubble tea but if you work in the area and are fiending for some Chinese baked goods, Fuji Bakery (35th btw 7+8th) offers a nice selection, and Ying Du (on 38th btw. 7+8th) has a ton of stuff available after lunch.

I don’t often find myself east of the Midtown Lunch boundaries, but a few months ago, I got invited to a dinner at Bao Noodles on Second Avenue. I sort of have a love/hate relationship with the Bao empire. For all the tasty food they come up with, the random openings, closings and rearranging starts to get annoying. Maybe I’m still sore about Baorrito swapping for Mikey’s Burger without any notice.

Anyway, I learned two things that night: first, Michael ‘Bao’ Hyunh hasn’t been a part of the restaurant for years, so it’s not likely to change format next week. Second, they offer a $10 lunch special that pairs a soup or a sandwich with a reduced size starter. The dinner that night was definitely tasty enough to warrant a return, and the price for the lunch special seemed right, so I headed back last week to see what it was all about.

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Crain’s announced earlier in the week that Roberto Caporuscio, co-owner of Kesté (one of my favorite pizzerias in the city) and Antonio Starita his mentor and owner of the oldest pizzeria in Naples, will open up a Neapolitan pizzeria called Don Antonio in the fall. It will be on 50th Street just west of 8th Avenue and will serve wood-fired Neapolitan pizzas, those crispy, pillowy delights. Only two of the pies at Kesté are under $10, so I imagine this restaurant might also be a little out of our price range. But here’s hoping they offer some lunch specials. [via Eater]

• If only Midtown real estate cost the same as Queens real estate… [Midtown Eating]
• Looking for good street meat near 35th & Madison [Midtown Eating]
• Is the dirty water dog being replaced? [Midtown Eating]
• Chain restaurants are holding their own, while independent restaurants are disappearing [Miscellaneous]

Last week we got a tip from Lunch’er Laura that Kabab &  Grill on 36th bewteen 7th and Broadway had been closed by the DOH. I ventured out in the rain the other day to do some investigating and it turns out they are back open for business with a Grade Pending sign. I also noticed a sign advertising a Ramadan Special for $5.99. Of course, this isn’t available for lunch (since the fast is not broken until after sundown), but if you’re working in the office late, this might be a great cheap meal, regardless of your religious beliefs.

I love Chinese food. I can eat it 3 meals a day, every day of the week. So obviously when I started this new job in Midtown east, I had to find a new go-to Chinese place (my previous go-to Chinese place was Fuji Bakery on 35th btw. 7th+8th). The easy/obvious answer seems to be Hop Won (45th btw. Lex+3rd). I had high hopes for this place since it is the twin sister of Hing Won (and you know how much we love Hing Won).

To decide if Hop Won could become my go-to Chinese spot (I’m quite picky with my Chinese food), I tried few different dishes and luckily for me Hop Won delivered. Check out what I ate after the jump.

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Last week I got an email from Tasting Table alerting me to a special summer dish at Koreatown favorite Kunjip. Kong Gook Soo is a Korean soup I had never encountered before consisting of a ground soybean broth, cold noodles, and cucumber slices. Tasting Table called it “air-conditioning for your insides.” I’m a glutton for air conditioning and new, unusual dishes, so I figured I’d stop by to get a taste.

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