Midtown Lunch

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 Cheryl, a marketing manager who loves roast pork and oxtails.

Name: Cheryl

Age: 29

Occupation: Marketing Manager

Where in Midtown do you Work?: Midtown East – 46th Street and Madison.

Favorite Kind of Food: My goodness – there are just so many. But anything Asian (Japanese, Korean, Taiwanese, Chinese), and anything Healthy

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Beans and Peas (I know really random)

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Midtown: Hing Won (on 48th btw. 5+6th) – Beef Tendon with Turnip soup over those big broad noodles (awesome hangover or just need soup day food) & their Roast Pork (just because who can say no to Roast Pork?) Calista Superfoods (on 49th and 2nd) – Turkey Meatloaf Wrap (moist and super juicy), Bison Jalapeño Cheesesteak (ask for extra green hot sauce), and their PB&J smoothie. AND this place is healthy. WHAT? Margon (on 46th btw. 6+7th) – Oxtail

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If there was a guide to opening a generic deli in midtown, it would prescribe DIY salads, mediocre pizzas, predictable sandwiches, wan udon noodle soups, unnerving sushi, perhaps a by-the-lb buffet. The name should riff on variations of café, kitchen, market, fresh this and global that. It might also advise serving Korean food that’s practically decent, like Café Duke (on 51st btw. 6+7th), or a middling bowl of bibimbap, like the version found at Global Kitchen.
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Dumplings in Chili Oil from Cafe China. Photo courtesy of Grub Street NY

• Cafe China is now open on 37th, and some of their lunch specials are under $10 [Grub Street]
• Bis.Co.Latte makes a good risotto [Ramen & Friends]
• Another look at Totto Ramen [Law & Food]
• The chocolate covered grasshopper cake at Quality Meats is a trip back to childhood [FitR]
• Mother Burger in Worldwide Plaza is just OK [Tasty Eating]
• Wikipedia deletes the Famous Halal Guys cart’s page! [Eater]
• And here’s why we don’t accept invites to free PR lunches [Chubby Chinese Girl]

It looks like Mad For Chicken isn’t the only K-Town spot looking to reboot.  Restaurant Forte Baden Baden, a happy hour favorite of not only Ultraclay, but also of Peter Meehan from the NYT, has recently undergone a face lift and a name change. The slick new signage is more in keeping with its downstairs neighbor, Haru Hana, although the ownership and menu is the same. I guess a little re-branding every once in a while can’t hurt, although ‘Baden Baden’ is a lot more fun to say than ‘Dduk Tak’.

Related:
Midtown Happy Hour: Baden Baden is All About the Chicken

Photo courtesy of Lunch’er Daniel T.

If you haven’t had a chance to try the Bob & Jo Korean fusion truck we told you about back in July, today’s your big chance.  They’re parked on 52nd btw. Lex+3rd 51st btw. Park+Lex right now.  Also, Comme Ci Comme is on 36th & Broadway (with grilled tilapia), Bian Dang is on 46th & Vanderbilt, the Red Hook Lobster Pound Truck is on 46th btw. 5+6th, Gorilla Cheese is on 47th & Park (with a shawarma grilled cheese!?), Kimchi Truck is on 46th & Lex, Wafels & Dinges truck is on 49th & 3rd, and Korilla, Coolhaus, Cupcake Stop, and Feed Your Hole are in the Flatiron.  As always check the ML Twitter Tracker before heading out.

Yesterday’s free sandwich giveaway was just a test run… New York’s first outpost of the Earl of Sandwich chain (52nd St between 5th and 6th Ave) is scheduled to open for regular lunch service today at 11am. To celebrate the opening, the descendant of the original inventor of the sandwich, John Mantagu the 11th Earl of Sandwich, will be on hand for the ribbon cutting ceremony, along with pals Kenan Thompson (SNL) and Miss New York USA Amber Collins.

• Taim Mobile’s sandwiches are way better than their platters [Midtown Eating]
• BLT is opening a new restaurant on 45th btw. 5+6th [Midtown Eating]
• Has anybody seen the Caribbean Spice cart? [Midtown Eating]
• What the hell do people order at Kushi-Q?  [Midtown Eating]