Midtown Lunch

Looks like March will go out like a lamb at Certe (on 55th btw. 5+6th) which is introducing its March sandwich tomorrow, featuring “pulled” roasted leg of lamb with mint marmalade, smoked paprika aioli, and fried asparagus ribbons on a spicy garlic baguette.  Not to be outdone, Pizza By Certe (on 56th btw. Park+Lex) will also be starting a lamb special of their own. It’s a pizza topped w/ spicy lamb meatballs, fava beans, goat cheese and sautéed minted cherry tomatoes.  Both specials start tomorrow, and will be available for the entire month of March.

Cer Te, 20 W 55th St (btw 5+6th), 212-397-2020
Pizza by Cer Te, 132 East 56th (btw. Park+Lex) (212) 813-2020

Photo courtesy of Tasty Eating

• The pate a choux pastry from La Maison du Chocolat is perfect [Tasty Eating]
• Bill’s Gay Nineties last day will be March 24th [Jeremiah’s Vanishing]
• Restaurants of Old NY: Midtown in the 40s [Eater]
• A little bit of oldness in the Times Sq. Shake Shack [Lost NYC via Eater]
• A guide to the salad bar at Maoz [SENY]
• A great map of all the Dept of Health letter grades [NYT]

Right next to the newly opened SoomSoom near Fifth Avenue, is a big sign advertising a new location of Filicori Zecchini, an Italian coffee shop. This will be the second location in New York and it’s literally just a few blocks west of the first location on 46th Street. These two locations will bookend Gregory’s Coffee, which means between Sixth and Park Avenue on 46th Street, you’ll never have to worry about falling asleep from lack of caffeine.

At first glance, the allure of Maoz Vegetarian is the top notch salad bar with which you can construct a pretty substantial falafel sandwich. Although I wouldn’t count their falafel as best in Midtown (in my opinion, that accolade belongs to Taim, even though it came in second in the 2011 reader’s poll), the endless toppings are a big (and messy!) draw. But, the reason I go to Maoz? The Belgian fries.

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Every Friday we go south of the ML boundaries in search of a delicious lunch. Sometimes it’s Murray Hill south or the Flatiron District, sometimes Gramercy and everything in between- but we just like to call it Flatiron Lunch.

My personal Thai food history is a bit of a pad Thai haze. I’m not proud. But I have been working to expand my horizons and really search out the best in town, which brought me to Jaiya.

I first started hearing about Jaiya Oriental-Thai years ago from a friend who would regularly make pilgrimages to the original outpost in Hicksville, Long Island, which, sadly, seems to have closed. But lucky for us, the New York City location is thriving. I had previously gone for dinner a handful of times with much success, so I was thrilled to find out they have a lunch special.

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DNAinfo published a story yesterday about the ongoing tension between brick and mortar business owners and food vendors. The 34th Street Partnership is now attempting to launch a campaign that would reduce the number of vendors allowed in Midtown. They quoted the head of the Partnership who called the vendors “the ugliest collection of vehicles,” and “terrible citizens.” They also want the carts to “beautify” themselves to look more like attractive carts like Wafels & Dinges. And they claim this campaign would make Midtown much more pleasant for residents.

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It’s official, the new place that took over the old Pinnacle Deli is not !Sarah’s Kitchen (with an exclamation in the front) but just plain Sarah’s Kitchen. It’s still a mystery as to what they will be serving but from the looks of things, we’ll find out pretty soon. Get a sneak peek of the interior after the jump.

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I don’t know why fancy grilled cheese is the new pie cupcake, but three grilled cheese trucks officially makes a trend. I’ve had my eye out for Morris Grilled Cheese since word on the street was they’re doing some fantastic things, and on the cheaper side. Also, they have duck fat! When they got a good review from Brian, I doubled my efforts to meet them at their usual Thursday spot on Park and 52nd. I was pleasantly surprised to find quite the crowd in front of the truck during lunch (gotta support!), and after a quick look at the menu, I chose to go with their Raclette sandwich.

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