Midtown Lunch

We reviewed The Trusty Truck a few weeks back and while the food was promising, the name of their signature dish was just absurd. No matter how good it tastes, does anybody really want to eat a durger?

Well, according to their Facebook page, the owners of the truck realized the errors of their ways and have made some changes. They will be taking a few weeks off the road for renovations and regrouping, but will re-launch in January with a new name (Trusty Truck Burgers & Bites) and some new menu items. We’re hoping this means we will never have to eat a durger again.

After being accused of being a “poser-critic,” which I take in the jest it was (hopefully) intended, I feel the need to establish that I am not a bandwagon-jumper-onner commercialized-celebrity-chef-basher out to encase the Midtown Lunch readership in veiled propaganda. My only agenda is to contribute information and do the best I possibly can to separate my opinions from empirical facts, data, and observations. I feel the need to clear my name and I could think of no better way to do so than through soup. Let it not be said that I am a poser who just takes cheap shots at easy targets. Rather than demand a duel on the field of honor, I’ll let a review speak for me. I’m going to put Al Yeganeh’s Original SoupMan to the Get Soupid test. I’ll refrain from snark, cheap shots, bashing, and maybe even poorly flowing sentences. When it comes to flowing, I paraphrase Dune and the fictional Yev Kassem: soup must flow! Soup for you!

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We noted last week that the Jamaican Dutchy tweeted that the original cart would be back in its old spot. And it’s true! The flat screen TV is MIA, but the Jamaican flag still waves proudly in the air and the menu is the same. O’Neil will continue to operate the truck on 43rd and Sixth, while Jillian (who has been working with O’Neil since the good ol’ days) will man the cart.

Jillian was the one who operated R. Retha’s Food last year in the Financial District. She told me the DOH forced them to close because of a licensing issue with one of their employees. But the cart is now back and will be open in its old spot on 51st near 7th Avenue Monday – Wednesday and then will head over to 52nd Street between 5th and 6th on Thursdays and Fridays. What a nice gift for Christmas!

 Mai Sushi’s $6.50 sushi bento. Photo courtesy of Robert Sietsema

• Sietsema hits up the Japanese restaurants of 41st Street [Fork in the Road]
• A look at Spring’s noodles and dumplings [Ramen & Friends]
• Ootoya is coming to Times Square [DNAinfo]
• Tomorrow a Momofuku Milk Bar truck will be driving around handing out free cookies [Eater]
• Num Pang has one of the 13 best pork sandwiches in NYC [Grub Street]

Of all the bars in Midtown, Rudy’s and Jimmy’s Corner are the two I’ve heard the most about through word of mouth when I’m looking for a dive. A Midtown Lunch poll back in 2009 had similar praise with Rudy’s and Jimmy’s Corner gaining top recognition for best Midtown Happy Hour. Even though they have both been written up in our happy hour column and there are many other bars to try, I thought it would be rude not to give them a try at some point.

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As you may remember back in April, the Street Vendor Project attempted to pass a bill that would lower the $1000 fines for food vendors. These are not for health or safety concerns, but things like having your license in your pocket instead of around your neck. Seriously? $1000 for that?

The hearing was quite an event and many vendors and supporters got their voice heard. But more than 6 months later and the bill has not even been voted on yet. To give City Council Speaker Christine Quinn a nudge to convince her to at least call upon a vote, some street vendors have put up signs alerting the public to the situation. You can help support the vendors by calling (212) 564-7757 or emailing Speaker Quinn and ask her to call for a vote on Intros 434 and 435.

Posters have already gone up on 100 carts around the city with many more joining the campaign. The carts themselves are a perfect visible platform for getting the word out, especially when placed right next to a modest little blog’s strategically placed stickers.

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.

Over the summer, the famous Bedford Cheese of Williamsburg opened a branch in Manhattan on Irving just south of Gramercy Park. I was very excited what this might mean for us Flatiron Lunch’ers.

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The NW corner of 45th street and 6th avenue used to be a food truck favorite spot, bringing a regular swath of trucks almost every day of the workweek. Then, the NYPD crackdown in Midtown ruined the fun, forcing trucks to find other often less lucrative locations to park during the lunch rush. But, it seems that slowly things have been reverting back to the good ol’ days. This week, on Tuesday, Schnitzel & Things couldn’t park at their planned spot on 40th & 6th due to construction, so they moved uptown to 45th & 6th.
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I have to admit, the prospect of pizza and tacos in one place under one food umbrella was not exactly what I thought of as the next big thing. To be honest, I didn’t think it’d be the next small thing either. When I cruised by Joey Pepperoni, still the best $1 slice in Midtown, for their soft-launch of tacos, they weren’t quite ready. Now that I’ve gone back and taken a shot at them myself, I don’t think I was quite ready either.

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