Archive for September 2011

PROFILE: Midtown Lunch’er “Anna”

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 Anna, a marketing person looking for some good stuff in the upper east corner of Midtown…

Name: Anna (pronounced Ah-na, please)

Age: 25

Occupation: Marketing

Where in Midtown do you Work?: 55th & 3rd

Favorite Kind of Food: Mostly everything, although I tend to skew towards Asian. Thai, Japanese, and Dim Sum come immediately to mind, but I just love food in all forms. I don’t discriminate.

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Olives and peas. That’s pretty much it.

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Midtown: Num Pang (on 41st btw. Lex+3rd) is my new favorite, I’m still working my way through the menu. The Mackerel wins so far, with the peaches a close second. I also enjoy Korilla BBQ for the Wild Child bulgogi bowl (so sad to hear about the TGFTR cheating scandal, you guys are better than that!), Umi Sushi (on 56th btw. 1+2nd) for a 2 or 3 roll combo, A+ Thai or Rain Thai (on 53rd btw. 2+3rd) for their drunken noodle or pad thai lunch specials, pretty much everything at El Rey de Sabor.

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Eddie’s Pizza Bringing the Cart to 52nd: Comme Ci Comme Ca is on 36th & B'way, Schnitzel & Things is on 51st & Park, Papa Perrone is on 55th btw. Mad+5th, Red Hook Lobster Pound is on 47th & Lex, Luke's Lobster is on 30th & Park, Bob & Jo is on 48th & Madison, Wafels & Dinges is on 52nd btw. Lex+3rd, Coolhaus is on 38th & 6th, and Eddie's Pizza Cart is on 52nd & 6th. As always check the ML Twitter Tracker before heading out.

Vendy Finalist Chimichury El Malecon Coming to Midtown?

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The Inwood based Chimichury El Malecón ran out of food before a lot of Vendy Award attendees got a chance to sample their Dominican burgers, but we’re hearing that the truck might be a bit more accessible to Midtown Lunchers very soon. They spend nights and weekends on 207th Street and Sherman Ave, but the owner Manuel told us that the plan is to start testing out lunch spots in Midtown the first week in November. The menu will be very simple: chimis, yuca fries, rice, beans and carne frita lunch platters. With all the madness happening in our neck of the woods the past few months it could end up being more trouble than its worth, but these guys have been in business for over 25 years. Let’s hope all that experience will help them to navigate the mean lunch streets of Midtown. Track their progress on Facebook or Twitter, and check out their Vendy Awards video after the jump…

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New 2 Bros Pizza Location Opening Tomorrow

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2 Bros foray into burgers might have been a misstep, but it doesn’t seem to have slowed down the $1 pizza empire.  Tomorrow (Weds 9/26) a new location of 2 Bros Pizza will open on 6th Ave. btw. 37+38th.  It’s the 9th location of the NYC chain, their fourth in Midtown alone, 5th if you count the Flatiron (the other locations are on 9th Ave. and 40th, 8th Ave. & 38th and 46th btw. 5+6th).

A Few More Snapshots From the 2011 Vendys

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For those of you didn’t get enough of The Vendy Awards from Chris’s post this morning, we figured we’d end the day with a few more snapshots of all the food and folks what were out on Governors Island Saturday afternoon. We start with the gentlemen of Korilla BBQ celebrating their Rookie of the Year win.

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Get Half Off Piada: It's been awhile since we've hit up Piada, that Italian quesadilla/flatbread place in the Citigroup Building concourse (on 53rd & Lex) but this might get us to go back...  Today's Amazon Local Deal gets you $20 worth of food from Piada for just $10. [via @winedanddined]

A Fatima-Less Trini Paki Cart is in Midtown Today

Once again the Vendy Awards delivered as the best food event of the year in the New York City, but for fans of the Trini Paki Boys Cart (on 43rd & 6th) it was a tad bittersweet. Fatima Khan, the owner and “Trini” part of the nominated cart, spent Friday night in the hospital- so the Trini Paki Boys never made it to the event.  We spoke to her this morning, and it doesn’t sound like anything too serious so we hope she feels better soon!  In the meantime, her son is still running the cart… so if you find yourself in the mood for some chicken over rice with Trinidadian pepper sauce, you should still be able to find the cart in their regular spot on 43rd & 6th.

Schnitzel & Things Should Add Polenta to Their Permanent Menu

Schnitzel & Things Last Friday’s weather was horrible, but I did discover 2 very important things. 1) I have holes in the bottom of my shoes and 2) the polenta with caramelized onions from the Schnitzel & Things shop (on 3rd Ave. btw. 45+4t6) is a good cure for a stormy day.  We were used to the rare but occasional special from the truck (remember that  chicken stroganoff last year?) but now that they have more kitchen space to play with at the shop you’ll see them tweet special items far more often.

So when they tweeted on Friday that the special for the day was polenta, I had to check it out- even if the sky was dumping tons of water.

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Pupusas, Tacos, Souvlaki & Shaved Ice Shine at the 2011 Vendy Awards

2011 Vendy Awards

Another New York City Vendy Awards has come and gone, and this year’s certainly didn’t disappoint. This yearly event provides the Street Vendor Project one of their largest sources of funding, year over year, and allows them to provide free legal advice and support for street vendors across the boroughs. They’re the reason why we can enjoy a dirty water hot dog or an upscale Mexican fusion truck, and they also throw a great party to boot.

This year’s event, held on Governers Island, featured an impressive line-up of street vendors, all of which were invited through a nomination process. In addition to the great line-up of food, there were fantastic live music performances as well as free drinks provided by Brooklyn Brewery, Volvic, Carpe Diem Kombucha, GuS Grown-up Soda, and Lapostolle wines.

But the Vendy’s aren’t just about good food, friends, music and booze – there’s a serious competition at hand. All attendees were allowed to vote for the best Rookie vendor, Best of New Jersey, best Dessert, and best use of Makers Mark bourbon in a dish. The vaunted Vendy cup was decided by an esteemed panel of judges, featuring notable food writers, city council people, and Chefs. And we were on-site to try the incredible spread of food from across New York and New Jersey.

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Lunch Links (The “30% Off Early Bird Ramen” Edition)

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Photo courtesy of Chubby Chinese Girl

  • Get 30% off lunch at Tsushima from 11:30 to Noon [Chubby Chinese Girl]
  • Suchin Pak eats lunch at Han Bat [Grub Street]
  • The history of the Grand Central Oyster Bar [Eater]
  • You can get a deviled egg sandwich at Donna Bell’s bake Shop [Ramen & Friends]
  • Schnipper’s Madison Square Park is now open [Eater]
  • Fatburger is shopping around for NYC locations [Grub Street]