Midtown Lunch

Like we told you last week, City Bakery’s off-shoot, Birdbath, has finally come to Midtown (though directly on the border), residing in the small, but serene Greenacre Park (on 51st btw 3rd+2nd). They’re serving up breakfast (ranges from $3 to $7 for short order eggs) and lunch with a full menu in ML range. I stopped by to zen out to the park’s two-story waterfall while eating a sandwich and, of course, the Birdbath chocolate chip cookie.

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Torta from Rinconcito Mexicano. Photo courtesy of Food is Mouth

• Las Poblanitas is now Rinconcito Mexicano [Food in Mouth]
• There are now power outlets in Bryant Park [FoxNY]
• Gahm Mi Oak’s bibimbap is good but expensive [Front Studio]
• Fresh N Fast Burger is now closed [Mad Park News]
• Cafe China makes one of the 9 best rabbit dishes in NYC [SENY]
• Check out Part 1 of ML overlord Zach talking about workplace lunching [The Sporkful Podcast]

If you like to eat, chances are you like to drink (read: a lot of you are freakin’ lushes), so I thought maybe it was time to introduce a happy hour column to the site. Every week, our Happy Hour Correspondent posts 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.

6:18. That was the train I used to always run, literally run, to catch. Working above the Manhattan Mall and living in the suburbs of New Jersey, I quickly learned that good, fast happy hour spots are not easy to find. Sure, there were the usual suspects, such as Stout, Feile and Blarney Stone, but oftentimes, those spots get so packed, I’d have to dart out almost as soon as I was able to (finally) get my drink. Oh, Penn Station, how I do not miss you and your time constraints. That said, all is not lost, my fellow Herald Square workerbees and Penn Station commuters. Lucy’s Cantina Royale, located steps from Penn, is a great spot to meet up with your friends and coworkers for some standard Tex-Mex fare, tequila, and every co-ed’s favorite – fishbowls.

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In celebration of the one-year anniversary of Social Eatz, Angelo Sosa has unveiled a new menu that includes some new soups, salads, small plates, and sweets. Among the new items are Homemade Ramen, a Kimchee Wedge Salad, Pork Chops, and more. Not many of the new items are in the $10 and under ML range, but a glance at the new menu shows that they’ve at least cooled it on the ‘Z’ theme of yore (Side’z is replaced with Sides, App’z is now Small Plates, etc), so that’s gotta be worth some points. Early adopters, let us know if it’s worth the splurge!

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.

What is it about Korean food that has us obsessed? I am not complaining, but have you seen the Midtown Lunch archives on Korean food?? Seriously. I am guilty, and since K-town Proper is technically in the ML boundaries by a block (just one block!), I think it is only fair that we have our own Korean restaurants in the Flatiron District (not that we can’t and don’t walk that extra block to partake in the joys of K-town.) A few weeks ago, as I walked the northern most Flatiron boundaries, I spotted a small place hiding under scaffolding and went in to investigate further. It was dinner-time, and every table was filled with young, hip Koreans. I asked to see a lunch menu and didn’t see a single item over the ML budget, which isn’t surprising for K-town, but was for such a design-y, trendy spot.

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I know it’s expensive, but one of the reasons I adore Bouchon Bakery (Rock Center) is their adult take on favorite childhood desserts. This means a little bit more money, but my teeth don’t hurt and I don’t feel like I pumped my body full of partially hydrogenated cottonseed oil. I had heard about the Peppermint Paddy, but I never spied one when in one of the stores. It’s hard to miss, this green foil beacon of minty deliciousness.

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• Little Morocco is back on 39th, with Omar at the grill!  [Midtown Eating]
• Famous Halal Guys is now $7 (unless you tell them you’re a regular) [Midtown Eating]
• Dough dougnuts from their shop in Bed Stuy are way better than the ones at the Andaz [Midtown Eating]

The ‘wichcraft ice cream kiosk will return to Bryant Park on Friday and to celebrate they’ll be offering free scoops and selected ice cream sandwiches for free from 2-4pm tomorrow (4/13). You might remember that last year Blondie really enjoyed the $4.25 cream’wiches, so if you didn’t get a chance to score one last season here’s your chance! The kiosk is located on the south side of the park, near 40th street and 6th Ave.

April is well under way, which means we are a couple of weeks into Certe‘s latest Sandwich of the month, the “Cuero de la Cocina” ($9.75). It consists of pork belly mole, spicy cabbage & green mango shred, Anaheim chili, and black bean puree on a soft torta. I’ve been on a bit of a torta kick recently, so obviously when I saw pork belly and green mango I ran over there as fast as my little legs could carry me.

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