Midtown Lunch

Sunday was the Grub Street Food Festival at the Hester Street Fair. As expected, the food was extremely diverse and, all-around, pretty incredible. But, with over 100 vendors, no human — not even myself — could possibly taste one of everything. Of course, I did my best, and while there were some Midtown Lunch favorites like the Big Gay Ice Cream Truck and Mexicue, the real stars seemed to hail from out-of-bounds spots like the Lower East Side and Brooklyn.

Here are three vendors that we should all hope will make their way to Midtown ASAP! Please?

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Good Nature Deli looks so generic on the outside that most people probably don’t even notice it when they walk by. I went in randomly one day when I needed to grab a soda and I was extremely surprised at what I found. It may look like just your average corner bodega, and it’s one avenue out of bounds.  But Good Nature Deli has some surprises within…

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Now here’s something completely different! We got word at the end of last week that El Rey del Sabor will be serving chapulines as a special this week from all three of their carts in Midtown. For those of you who don’t speak insect, chapulines are grasshoppers and they’re commonly eaten in many areas of Mexico, including the owner Rosa’s hometown of Puebla. They’ve been imported from Mexico, and you’ll be able to order them in a taco, burrito, quesadilla, or torta- but there is only a limited supply, so if you want a taste you might want to get there early in the week.

If you’ve been by 52nd Street in the last few days, you may have noticed some signs taped up announcing a public hearing by the Vendor Task Force Committee. The meeting will address regulations regarding street vendors and it’s open to the public. So I urge all of you who have an interest in the future of food trucks and carts in the city to attend and show your support. It starts at 6:30pm tonight in the auditorium of the New York Blood Center, which is located at 310 East 67th Street (between 2nd and 1st Avenue).

Lamb Korma from Minar. Photo courtesy of Tasty Eating.

• Get to Minar early to beat the 12:30pm rush [Tasty Eating]
• A look at some of the vegetarian options at Bi Lokma [SENY]
• IGK’s Korean style fried tofu ramen is hearty and filling [Ramen & Friends]
• One of our favorite blogs has an iPhone app now, and it’s FREE! [Immaculate Infatuation]
• More details on Papa Perrone doing something Downtown [ML: Downtown]

I’ll freely admit that when I was on a froyo jag, Red Mango easily topped Pinkberry for me. And Frogurt from Bloomingdales’ Forty Carrots topped them all. Since then Pinkberry has unveiled new flavors and I’ve summarily dismissed them. But being an obsessive peanut butter fan, I couldn’t pass their PBJ by.

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The Bob & Jo Korean Fusion Cuisine truck braved western midtown the other day in the rain, and to show my appreciation for trucks continuing their business in this precarious area, I also braved the rain to check out some of the dishes Donny didn’t get to in his initial visit to Bob & Jo over the summer.

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In August, the Times Square Alliance announced the first round of vendors who will have the opportunity to sell food from kiosks in Times Square. Salume was the first to open in September, and it looks like Snack Box is currently under construction at the 47th street end of the Times Square pedestrian mall. Here, we’re expecting American street food from the owners of Republic and BONDST. Gourmet hot dogs, milkshakes, espresso, bagels, muffins, etc will range in price from $1.50- $6.

Workers at the kiosk anticipate a Monday opening and, eying the caramel macchiatto in my hand, told me to expect “better coffee than Starbucks.”