Midtown Lunch

(image via urbanspacenyc.com)

The Columbus Circle Holiday Market is going on now through December 24th. According to their website, it is open Monday through Saturday from 10am to 8pm, and Sunday from 10am to 7pm. There are stalls with gifts and goodies, as well as food and dessert vendors.

Lunch’er Jill mentioned it in the forums the other day, and seemed pretty excited about Pies & Thighs (which was at the market last year). Sadly, I don’t think Pies & Thighs is back. But I did manage to drum up some other tasty treats.

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As you might remember, a couple of weeks ago, I passed by a deli called Taz. This is the kind of place that ML readers would most likely never frequent, except that there were signs for Vietnamese food heavily advertised outside and in the back of the deli. Excited, I made a mental note to return, but when I did, the workers there were perplexed, because Mr. Vientamese food didn’t show up for work on day two.

The past couple of weeks have been supremely annoying, because the more I returned to try the food, the less the guy showed up for work. It’s almost like I dreamed up the whole thing, except I am in possession of the original menu.  Anyway, according to the workers who do come in for work, it seems that during the first week — which, I would like to point out was Thanksgiving – they didn’t sell enough Vietnamese food (maybe because Mr. Vietnamese food didn’t show up!), so the guy has given up the whole idea. Oh well!  Back to the drawing board.

Robert Sietsema calls this the best katsu in NYC. Photo courtesy of FitR.

• Katsuhama makes NY’s best Japanese katsu [FitR]
• PJ Clarke’s makes some great tater tots [Kathy YL Chan]
• Salumeria Rosi is looking to come to Midtown! [Eater]
• ‘wichcraft’s seasonal braised beef sandwich is great [SENY]
• Russ & Daughters might be coming to the Flatiron [Gothamist]
• Word is that Shake Shack overpaid for their Grand Central lease [NYP]
• Dave Cook can polish off two noodle bowls at Pure Thai Shophouse [EIT]

A couple of nights ago, I was treated to a homemade wonton dinner that my friend did. She invited few people over and served a couple of variations on wontons (pork and fish). Lucky for us, she did most of the work so all I had to do was arrive, sit down and eat. Ever since then, I’ve been dreaming about good wontons. I know the stuff they serve in restaurants will rarely be as good as the ones my friend made. So I wasn’t hoping for much when I got a wonton noodle soup at Hop Won (45th btw Lex+3rd).

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Fans of Uncle Gussy’s Truck know to stalk the Twitter Tracker to see what special owners Nick and Franky’s mom has made for the day. Lamb chops and pork chops are popular in the rotation (it’s hard to beat mom’s oven roasted lemon potatoes), but keep your eyes peeled for Pastistio.

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Have you been craving delicious Filipino baked goods lately? Have you been scouring New York for hard-to-find Philippine pastries and rice desserts to no avail? No? Just me?  Pan de Sal, a sister restaurant/bakery to Grill 21 popped up on the corner of 21st + 2nd not too long ago (okay, maybe a year or so, but it takes a while to get to these things when you don’t work in the area). The bakery’s name sake, pan de sal, is a sweet-ish bread from the Philippines and one of my favorite childhood breakfasts, so it has been high on my list of places to check out for a while.

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• You have to try the Tacos y Quesadilla Cart’s Torta Cubana [Midtown Eating]
• No Pies N Thighs at the Columbus Circle Holiday market today! [Midtown Eating]
• A quick report from Little Morocco’s old corner [Midtown Eating]
• Korilla is definitely putting less food than they used to in their burritos [Midtown Eating]

Rocco DiSpirito’s new Eat This Now Truck is parked on Broadway between 51+52 streets today offering healthy versions of classic dishes all for $7.  There are Mama’s Meatballs with Penne Marinara (345 cal.), Turkey & Black Bean Enchillada (319 cal.), Chicken Noodle Soup (248 cal.) and General Tso’s Chicken & Broccoli (199 cal.) And if you’re interested in meeting him, the man, himself, is there, too! (You can see him texting inside the window.)  According to Facebook, the truck will be there until 3pm.