Midtown Lunch

From Eater’s Sideshow of the Simpson’s Food Blog Episode

• 4 of the 10 weirdest restaurants in NYC have been in Midtown.. [FitR]
• …and one of them turned away Shaq the other night! [Eater]
• Flex doughnuts pop up in Grand Central again [FitR]
• Pizzarte is now offering delivery [Eater]
• A love letter to the 31st street branch of Minar [Food Republic]
• Totto Ramen is not “amazeballs” [Fesity Foodie]
• The tuna salad at Machiatto Espresso Bar is great [Ramen & Friends]

If you like to eat, chances are you like to drink (read: a lot of you are freakin’ lushes), so it seems only natural to have a happy hour column on the site. Every Friday afternoon our Happy Hour Correspondent “Mamacita” will post about a different bar in Midtown that fits the Midtown Lunch mentality: unhealthy food, not lame (unless it’s lame in a cool way), and most importantly… cheap.

One of the many reasons we work in the city and put up with the various daily nuisances involved boils down to convenience. There is an exceptionally wide array of desirable goods and services available within a concentrated area that is relatively easy to access. This is generally a good thing, but we all know what they say about too much of a good thing. Convenience is a lovely, seductive lady, but she comes with a dark side. She can lead you to places you really didn’t want to go. And so it was that one afternoon, while on the Eastside and feeling a mighty thirst, I found myself at another Connolly’s. I had my reservations, however the mistress that is convenience has a way of bending your elbow. Read more »

Hello,

I recently read about Margon’s whopping 60 violation points on
8/24/11. Then, the restaurant re-opened on 8/31 and only had 11
violation points.

I want to eat it but am pretty grossed out (60 is the worst I’ve ever
heard of). What’s your honest take?

Thanks,

Margon Fan

Honestly? Don’t even give it a second thought.

Read more »

You can always count on Magdy’s Cheesesteak Cart (46th btw Park + Lex) to have a line, always about a dozen people deep. I know they’re famous for their cheesesteaks and have been meaning to give it a try. But whenever I try a new street meat cart I can’t help but get the chicken and lamb over rice.   If only there was a way to combine the two…

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If there’s one thing that Midtown Lunch loves it’s the chicken parm sandwich. It dates back to when Zach ran the site, and from time to time, I feel the need to continue his search for best cheap chicken parm around. So when I stopped by to check out the newly-opened Tappo (24th btw 5+6th), I skipped the thin-crust pizza part of their menu–though there were some pretty awesome pies spotted–and went straight for the $9 chicken parm sandwich lunch special. And what I got was one high-quality sandwich that may not qualify in the “cheap” criteria, but is definitely going for the crown.

Read more »

The Norwegian Seaman’s Church’s annual fair isn’t the only Scandinavian Christmas action happening in midtown this week. The Church of Sweden on 48th street kicks off their holiday bazaar today, too. Read more »

It looks like Australian meat pies are coming to Midtown. Lunch’er Hightemp emailed in this tip yesterday:

Was out walking the dog when I passed by the corner of 53rd & Broadway. The space used to be the CBS store and is two storefronts down from the Steak & Shake moving in next to Letterman.

Apparently Its becoming something called Pie Face Bakery & Cafe. Based on the logo/coloring it seems to be a NYC branch of an Australian Meat Pie / Sandwich / Pie shop.

Based on the logo on Pie Face’s website, it looks like he’s on to something. If you’ve tried these pies in Australia, let us know what we can expect in the comments!

Pie Face, 53rd & Broadway

Who doesn’t like a good old fashioned Scandinavian kickoff to the holiday season? The Norwegian Seaman’s Church (on 52nd btw. 1 + 2nd) annual Christmas fair begins today and runs through Saturday 11/19, noon to 6pm each day. According to their website:

Visit our Christmas Fair to buy Norwegian handcrafts, nisser, knitwear, jewelry, Norwegian fashion items, decorations, ornaments, table cloths and much, much more!

Large selection of Norwegian food.
Cafeteria w/Smorgasbord.
Raffle tickets for several beautiful items.

If you’ve been, let us know in the comments!

The Norwegian Seaman’s Church, 317 E. 52nd St (btw. 1+2nd), (212) 319-0370