Midtown Lunch

Like many of you, upon my arrival on the Midtown Lunch scene, I quickly developed an allergy to the gourmet delis and cafes littering the neighborhood. They all seemed the same. Build-your-own-salad. A grill. Pizza. Perhaps sushi. Of course the deli. Steamtables that immediately bring cattle troughs to mind. (And does anyone know why the steamtable food is often so oily, even when it’s just veg? Is it to make the food appear shiny and therefore deceptively fresh? Or is it to weigh it down so the by-the-pound price goes up?)

Zeytinz Fine Food Market Place (on 40th btw. 5+6th) has some of the usual options you might find at the typical midtown gourmet deli, cafe, or *ahem*, fine food market place. But here, both selection and presentation are superior. Plus, they have some mighty good food, and some very good deals at that! Zeytinz is the go-to place for almost everyone in my office, plenty of Profiled Lunch’ers, and a swarm of others every day. I’d like to take a little time to tell you why.
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Yup… that’s Hoda (still one of my fav ML sightings)

Today is the first day of the annual summer Rock Center Farmer’s Market. As in years past you can find them set up at the North Plaza, Rockefeller Place at 50th Street every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. from now through September 3rd August 31st. Here’s who I’m looking forward to seeing.

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The clock is ticking on Vendy Award nominations. If you want to see you favorite vendor compete for the title, put in a good word for them! Nominations close Wednesday, July 25th (that’s TOMORROW!), so get a move on it. Last year midtown was well represented across the categories with Eggstravaganza and Trini-Paki Boys both named finalists in the Vendy Cup category, Korilla and Comme Ci Comme Ca Truck getting nods in the Newbie category (which Korilla won). Cinnamon Snail took the Maker’s Mark challenge trophy last year with their creme brulee doughnuts and now that they’re officially vending in New York, they’re hoping for a nod.

Due to unforeseen circumstances Trini-Paki Boys wasn’t able to compete last year, so it would be nice to see them get another chance. What vendors would you like to see get nominations?

Looking for sushi options on your walk up 7th Ave into the tourist-occupied territory known as Times Square? Soon, your search will get easier! The Wall Street Journal’s global real estate pages report that British sushi chain Wasabi is taking over the old Burger King spot near Times Square on 40th and 7th (registration or some Google wizardry required to read the whole piece).
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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 Mark, a cheeseburger lover looking for fish tacos.

Name: Mark

Age: 35

Occupation: Media Director

Where in Midtown do you work? Channel V Media, 39th and 6th

Favorite Kind of Food: When forced, I will say the cheeseburger is my favorite food, but I’m currently having a steamy affair with fish tacos.

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Egg salad. The look, taste, consistency … everything about egg salad grosses me out.

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Midtown: The Burger Joint at Le Parker Meridien, lamb on pita from Kwik Meal, creamy spinach slice from Little Italy Pizza (request a side of marinara sauce for dipping), Moo Shu pork from Szechuan Gourmet on 39th St.

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Raise your fists and bow your heads, those of us who work just near or completely in those out-of-bounds zones, that we may all struggle together against the oppressive forces of market dynamics causing all the good trucks to be on or near the 50s and Park. Yes, that’s where the disposable income professionals are, the big-money finance types. Though they command the markets both professionally and in terms of food dollars, we do not suffer gladly these slings and arrows. Nay, we look elsewhere. We recognize our own. With this in mind, if you’re like me and working in the 30s, and don’t mind a moderate walk (or voting with your Seamless dollars), and your knowledge of K-Town is confined to Food Gallery 32 and Woorijip, Kofoo is the option that was positively made for you.
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Rejoice, all those who like soup in the height of August and didn’t read about Soup Spot this morning! In an inexplicable attempt to cash in on an almost 20-year old sitcom that did to 3/4ths of its cast the same thing Star Wars did to Mark Hamill, the official Seinfeld page on Facebook has convinced some obviously debt-ridden food truck operator to make a “No Soup for You” truck to appear across the country.

Yes, you too can maybe shake the hand of Larry Thomas, whose career was no doubt boosted greatly by his one-episode appearance that in turn gave rise to a tourist-trap soup chain.

The Soup Nazimobile — which only devalues the -mobile suffix and makes the Batmobile very, very angry — hits NYC on 8/1. Specific location and time frame to follow, but if I were you, I’d spare the disappointment and just go to Hale and Hearty to get it over with, or if you’re feeling generous, give Al Yeganeh your money directly at one of the Original Soup Man locations. The rest of us will keep Soup Spot in our minds and hearts.

Freeloaders, move to the extreme left after ordering and set phasers to “soup.”

There’s nothing better in any season — summer included — than soup. Yes, soup. Soup that’s hot. Soup that’s steaming. Soup that isn’t an overpriced container of liquid suck. Sure, your only option may be an attempt to capitalize off a Seinfeld-ized urban myth meant to sucker in tourists (PRO TIP: check out the rules list and look for the one in German, and question why they’d do that at ALL given Soup Nazi evasion in name and mythos) or a generic deli whose soups are conveniently pre-prepared at some anonymous Sysco affiliate in Queens. But if you’re in the very belly of the beast — the looming shadow of Penn Station — you have an option. You can get in on the secret. You have access to 17 or 18 different flavors that change daily. You have freedom. You have options. You have Soup Spot.
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