Midtown Lunch

The recently opened Pod 39 hotel (39th btw. Lexington and 3rd) caters to budget travelers. The innovative Pod Hotel concept is to pack smaller rooms with efficient space and up-to-date technology services into a midtown hotel building. Charge a little less, and cater to lone or minimalist travelers who are probably on the hipper side and don’t suffer from claustrophobia. According to Eater New York, Pod 39’s recently opened rooftop bar will roll out a full taqueria menu in a few weeks. The New York Times also reports Ken Friedman and April Bloomfield (think Spotted Pig, the Breslin and John Dory Oyster Bar — all out of ML’s price range) are the brains of this operation and will serve tacos with unconventional fillings. Will the “shoestring” ethos of this budget hotel translate to the bar and taqueria? We shall see.

Last Year’s Winner

It’s that time of year again!  The time when a hand picked group of lunchers gather together in an undisclosed Midtown location to taste 15 different plates of street meat, and crown a winner.  Four years ago the Famous Halal Guys won the inaugural palooza, but the next two years belonged to Kwik Meal and Kwik Gourmet.  Last year, Comme Ci Comme Ca came out of nowhere to claim the crown with their unique blend of chicken over rice with white sauce and hot sauce.  All four have been retired from competition, and this year 15 new carts will vie for the chance to be crowned the winner of Street Meat Palooza 5!

Just like previous years, Street Meat Palooza will not be open to the public. It is an invite only, blind tasting of 15 different plates of street meat.  But there is a way for you to win a coveted slot at the “judges” table.

Want a chance to attend?  All you have to do is nominate your favorite street meat cart in the comments and you’re registered to score a slot at Street Meat Palooza 5. But there are a few rules so please read them closely:

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I have been skeptical of the Nuchas signature empanadas truck ever since I went to the kiosk and felt they were so disappointingly small that I couldn’t bring myself to spend the nearly $3 per empanada. But I was having one of those rough days at work. My task list was long, and the copy machine wasn’t working, so I had to go the Staples on 40th and 6th. In a rush to get back, I thought I was going to have to go to Hale & Hearty or something equally boring. But on my way out I looked around the corner, and the Nuchas truck was parked right there. Since Rachel has covered most of the other empanadas, I thought it was the perfect opportunity to test out the veggie empanadas.

I smirked and rolled my eyes as I looked through the window at these tiny things. They reminded me of a comment Midtown Lunch’er CheeeeEEEEse (who must also be watching some Jim Gaffigan comedy clips) shared on Rachel’s last post:

Hooooot pocket.

Hilarious. As apprehensive as I was, I knew if today wasn’t the day, I would probably never try them. So I got the $10 special which is three empanadas and a drink (nothing fancy: soda, tea or bottled water). At $2.76 (plus tax) per empanada, I figured the special was equivalent to a free drink I wouldn’t have otherwise had. (There have also been sightings of 2 for $5.00 specials at the Nuchas kiosk in Times Square.) The three vegetarian empanadas are: Portobello with spinach, herbs, mozzarella, and spinach dough; spicy cheese with assorted cheeses and parmesan dough; and shiitake curry with shiitake mushrooms, eggplant, zucchini, potatoes, onion, peppers, and coconut milk with turmeric dough.

When I brought the empanadas back to the office and lined them up with my metro card, I was still under the impression the empanadas were small for the price. I know I’m spoiled in the arena of empanadas since I live in Queens, but the empanadas around my neighborhood are bigger, taste delicious, and only cost between $1.50 and $2.00. I was still experiencing the mental pain of paying so much for so little. (Note that this picture shows the shiitake curry empanada but they are uniformly sized.)

Overall, I thought the empanadas were decent, especially considering they were meat-free. Although I’ll admit it’s not necessarily authentic, I really liked the Nuchas empanada dough. They’ve made the dough soft and flaky without being overly greasy, and I’m a big fan.

How do the veggie empanadas stack up? I know everyone has different preferences and tastes, but here’s my take on the three.

Like Rachel, I enjoyed the spicy cheese, but the onion flavor was overpowering. The cheese was sloppy, runny, and pungent, and this was the only empanada where I could taste any real spiciness.

The shiitake curry empanadas, and the only vegan option on the menu, were satisfying but lacked salt and spices. I thought that it was interesting to combine what I think of as Italian vegetables like zucchini and eggplant with Indian flavors. I could feel the tongue-numbing turmeric, which is advertised as being in the dough, but I suspect it was also in the filling.

To me, the portobello and spinach had the best flavor. Densely stuffed with spinach, It reminded me of a spanakopita. You couldn’t actually see the mozzarella because it was melted and stirred into the filling, but you could taste the saltiness.

I definitely could have eaten at least one or two more of these fellas, and I was disappointed with the spice factor. Would I eat there again? Maybe in a pinch or perhaps to try the meat empanadas. Would I recommend to someone else? Maybe not to a Midtown Lunch’er who doesn’t like to pay $3.00 for a glamorized hot pocket, but yeah… I would recommend Nuchas to someone who isn’t a stickler for empanada authenticity and who doesn’t know/care about price. They are pretty tasty, and the dough really makes the empanadas worth it.

Nuchas, Broadway btwn 44th-45th Streets in Times Square and truck at 40th and 6th OR 47th and Lex — follow their twitter feed for daily location

As if Guy Fieri coming wasn’t enough…

Restaurant row (46th st between 8th & 9th) barely registers as a blip for any New Yorker who’s plugged in and knowledgeable on the local food scene. This is for good reason, as the street serves as a sluice-way for the tourist overflow in Times Square, and the restaurants found here tend to serve safe, affordable, but uninteresting food catering to tourist taste buds from Italy to Iowa. With the exception of Becco, which serves reliably good pastas and affordable wines, I’ve never found reason to dine on this street. However, my bias caused me to overlook Grand Sichuan, which opened on restaurant row in June of 2010, and has an attractive $7.95 weekday lunch special.

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As we told you a couple weeks ago, the east side Whole Foods is open, bringing our favorite generic deli to the upper east corner of the ML boundaries. Since I don’t work anywhere near there, it took me a little time to make the trek to check out what they’re offering, although my suspicion was that it would be like the one on the west side. I was right, which is great news for you Midtown east readers. For the rest of us, it’s a bit of a hike, but can be a rewarding one.

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