Midtown Lunch

We took a quick visit to Ramini Espresso Bar a while back, run by the team that brought the neighborhood-deli Artichoke Cafe, whose only major outlier was being an awesome supplier of macarons. Since their soft open followed by a less-soft, more-actual opening, not much food has yet to materialize. That’s probably because they left out anything that wasn’t a pastry. Artichoke’s savory offerings weren’t much to write home about, but it sure was always a good excuse to get a macaron for dessert with your create-your-own salad.

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Starting today, you may notice a void on 53rd and Park Avenue. The Midtown cart of Vendy Award-winning King of Falafel and Schwarma will be off the streets for the next few weeks for a much needed vacation. The original Astoria location will still be open, but you’ll have to get your falafel fill somewhere else in Midtown until they return on November 5. Even the King deserves a break!

So Close to Javits Center. Photo courtesy of Eataku

• 2012 Guide to Eating Near Comic-Con from a Marvel talent scout [Eataku via GS]
• Noodies Thai Kitchen has a solid soup lunch special [Chubby Chinese Girl]
• The Rachel Ray Dog Food Truck is coming to Columbus Circle [Eater]
• Glaze Teriyaki gets caught shilling [Eater]
• 4Food is expanding into Japan [Eater]

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.

I’ve been both pleased and surprised at the last two Happy Hours I’ve tried in Midtown. Boomer Esiason’s had great appetizer deals, and Vander Bar had the best wing deal I’ve seen in Midtown. I had looked for past reviews for Figaro (44th btw 5th+6th), and I found a blurb in 2009 about a Halloween open bar, saying it was the sister bar to Judge Roy Bean, which got an OK review. I thought I would give it a try and hope that I could go three for three.

I went with a buddy and we had a lot to talk about, so Figaro ended up being great for that. The music wasn’t too bad: think Ben Harper and Billy Joel… and nothing you had to scream over.

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If the enigma of eating empanadas from an anonymous cart hasn’t yet faded, you’ve got another option. While the loss of Shachi’s on 35th (which is being replaced by what appears to be another generic deli, albeit a tiny one) leaves us without permanent empanada options in southwest Midtown, the Nameless Empanada Cart has a second cart located on 37th, right next to 8th. On a crisp October day when nerds converge on Manhattan in greater numbers than normal, what better way to celebrate by seeing what differences four blocks can make to the empanadaverse?

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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.

Time Out New York Gives Some Love to Flatiron

Last week, Brian broke down Time Out New York’s newest list of 100 Best Dishes and Drinks in New York to identify Midtown spots. Not to be left out, I scoured the list to see what was in our backyard. In fact, the food porn roast chicken on the magazine’s cover is from NoMad at Broadway and 28th. Since it is way out of ML price range at $79, I won’t tell you that it has foie gras, black truffles and brioche all under the skin. Nope, that information doesn’t help anyone.

Also featured in our area is Eataly’s porchetta sandwich. Offered only on Thursday, this item will run you $11.80 for the small and $14.80 for large. Perhaps these prices explain how Eataly reported gross revenues of $70 million for its first calendar year. And that number is expected to climb for the coming year.

Three additional dishes over $10 were also on the list. The pork crépinettes ($13) Foragers City Table, lamb tartare ($16) at the Cannibal, and everything duck roll ($12) at Silk Road Tavern. Foragers had outstanding butcher sandwiches so I would guess these pork meatballs are quite delicious. I have had the lamb tartare at Cannibal and while it is good, the flavors are so strong, I couldn’t come close to finishing it, even with help. And Silk Road Tavern’s duck roll isn’t available during lunch.

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I noticed a new sign for 2Beans just below Grand Central Station on Park Avenue between 40th and 41st. According to their website, they will open this first location later this fall and will focus on pairing their high-end international chocolate bars (including Galler and Les Chocolats de Pauline) with illy coffee. The café will feature an espresso bar and a separate seating area with sandwiches and prepared sushi. Hooray?

Since I left my job in Queens for Midtown, I see my former coworkers more often than I had imagined. Turns out, happily, that quite a few of of my old buddies are now either working or consulting in Midtown, just like myself… So when we decide to get together and catch up, I end up as the decider of a lunch venue quite often. When I’m called upon for this purpose, my pick is the newest Macaron Café (3rd Ave. btw. 46th and 47th).

If you’ve ever been in the predicament of choosing a place to eat for someone whose food inclinations you’re not terribly knowledgeable about (e.g. I remember she ate a chicken salad sandwich at work once)… this can be somewhat of a challenge. It’s probably not a good idea to opt for a food cart since you can’t easily sit down to chat… and it’s also risky to bring someone along to a joint like the often DOH-shuttered Ming Du. On the flip-side, it might be cheeky to suggest an overly-expensive place, or to throw an unsuspecting comrade into the hell of a frantic, loud, Midtown gourmet deli with major foot traffic like Zeytinz.

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New York Comic Com begins today, and if you’re heading to the Javits Center in costume, we have a lunch tip for you! Go! Go! Curry is holding their costume contest again this year, so take a photo of yourself in costume holding your curry lunch and upload it to their Facebook page to win various prizes (all the details are available on their blog). If you need lunch ideas for the rest of the convention, don’t forget to check out this comic con lunching guide we put together last year.