Midtown Lunch

The wings at Pok Pok Wing. Photo by Blondie.

Blondie says Pok Pok Wing may have the best (if very pricey) fried chicken in New York right now, Brownie made a five-layered sweetheart cake for her boys at home, Brian explores Paulie Gee’s legacy by trying all the pizzas at Barboncino, Donny rode the 7 train at rush hour to check out Thai food at SriPraPhai in Queens, Rachel thinks that Maoz’ belgian fries are a better than their falafel and I photographed the final edition of Something I Ate in New York.

Elsewhere in the ML universe… Andrea went to Chinatown for lunch at Banh Mi Saigon, Jamie had dim sum for lunch at Ocean City in Philly and Zach has gone native and endorsed the veggie burger at Shaka Shack in Los Angeles.

Anybody who wishes you could get a good Chicago-style hot dog in the city needs to pay attention to this one. A new food truck concept called Snap Food is hoping to bring specialty hot dogs, flame grilled burgers, Belgian style fries, and other ML-worthy dishes like panko crusted avocado fries to the streets of New York.  Not only does this food sound mighty tasty, but it will also be good for the environment. The plan is to re-use the oil from the fryer to fuel the truck. Food Republic posted an interview with owners Zeph and Liz Courtney yesterday, and they might look familiar from their handful of pop appearances around town (at places like the Hester Street Fair and Artists & Fleas). The musician couple are raising money for the venture on Kickstarter. Liz told me they initially plan on sticking to the food truck lots in Battery Park and Long Island City, but definitely have Midtown on their radar. I think a little bribe couldn’t hurt – even from cheap bastards like us, so check out their Kickstarter page (every $1 helps) and keep your eyes peeled for them in the future.

We’ve been tracking the Domo Taco Truck since they tweeted that they were attempting to settle down in Midtown a few weeks ago. I’ve been excited by the prospect of inventive new tacos that were for once not specifically Korean-themed. These tacos seem to be influenced by different Asian cuisines (mainly Japanese, but Chinese and Filipino too). If it’s worked for Korean food, why not expand the options, right?

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Yesterday, Brownie and I happened upon this free hot chocolate tasting in the Rock Center concourse, in front of the ice skating rink. All the Rock Center chocolatiers are represented: Jacques Torres, Bouchon, La Maison du Chocolat, and Godiva. Each is handing out little samples of their hot chocolate, gratis of course.

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Big news! Kati Roll has announced that they’re opening a new Midtown location on 53rd btw. 2+3rd, in the now shuttered Tadka space (although you wouldn’t know it from the outside so far!) The plan is to open on March 7th, but from the way things looked yesterday afternoon, when this photo was taken, it looks like they have a lot to do. We could not be more excited for the expansion of this Midtown Lunch favorite. You know who else must be stoked? Angelo Sosa. I guess that means the next time he collaborates on a new Kati Roll, all he’ll have to do is cross the street from Social Eatz.

Kati Roll, 229 E 53rd St (btw 2nd+3rd)

• One of the Bryant Park kiosks is serving a FALAFELRITTO!? [Midtown Eating]
• The Yogi Korean BBQ cart has moved to 47th & 3rd [Midtown Eating]
• Royal Grill Cart should be in Street Meat Palooza 5 [Midtown Eating]
• If you checked into Bon Chon with Foursquare today you would have gotten free wings! [Midtown Eating]

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 Lunch’er JD, a Brooklynite who wishes he lived in Singapore.

Name: JD

Age: 31

Occupation: Hungry Freelancer

Where in Midtown do you work? Cobble Hill, Brooklyn

Favorite Kind of Food: Most anything between two slices of bread.

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Smoked fish — which disheartens my grandmother.

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Midtown: Red Hook Lobster Pound (CT style, salt and vinegar chips, ginger ale), Mexicue (taco/slider combo: burnt ends chili, brisket, smoked beans, rice and beans), Island Burgers and Shakes (Hermosa Beach churrasco)

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