Midtown Lunch

We all know that feeling. One Oreo truffle here, a slice of ham there, and next thing you know, you look and feel like this guy. Yes, we’ve all had some point over the holidays – if not these, then surely in the past – when we’ve eaten too damn much. If you’re like me and one of the poor schlubs who wasn’t allowed to burn off vacation at the end of the year, you came back into the office between Christmas and New Year’s full of bloaty self-loathing. Fortunately, the miracle of soup is there for us. It’s cold out, and we feel like crap. Sometimes the thought of too much food is just a sandwich too far. When it’s too cold to walk a few blocks and you just don’t care the local generic deli will suffice, so long as you leave a small part of your soul at the door. Leave we did indeed: it’s time that we take a look at the soup offerings from Bistro Marketplace, one of those generic delis. Food-halls the like of which Heorot was to mead, they have a little bit of everything including soups. Let’s take a look, shall we?

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While we still await the launch of Carl’s Steak’s food truck, another company quietly hit the streets of Midtown this week. Steaks & Crepes spent the last two months donating food to areas hit hard by Sandy (like many of our other favorite trucks), but now they’re officially open to the public and serving steaks and, uh, crepes. You can view their menu here, but as you’ll see they are going both traditional (using Philly’s famous Amoroso bread) and non-traditional (pizza steak? falafel hoagie??). The crepes, with ingredients like Nutella and S’mores are for dessert. According to their Twitter feed, they were set up on on 52nd and 6th Avenue yesterday. Anybody get to try them out? Put your thoughts in the comments.

Korean. Fried. Chicken. Tacos. Do I have your attention? Let me explain. The Kimchi Taco Truck is ringing in 2013 with new items on their mexi-korean menu. Starting Monday (January 14) look for burritos stuffed with Korean BBQ short rib, seared spicy pork, grilled chicken or tofu edamame falafel. Korean burritos are nothing new, but there are a couple new taco options as well, including a fish taco served with mango salsa and a Korean fried chicken taco. Korean fried chicken taco? I’m definitely down for trying that!

But that’s not all … to celebrate the launch, the truck will be running a promotion next week (from January 14th to 18th) where every tenth customer will receive deals on the new menu items, including free or $1 tacos and $5 burritos. Not the tenth customer? Don’t worry, special promotions will also run on their twitter account and facebook page. The truck plans to be in Midtown on Wednesday at 55th btw. 6+7th and Friday at 47th and Park 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., so I’ll meet you on line for those Korean fried chicken tacos!

You nominated the finalists, argued in comments, and voted for your favorites. And now… it’s time for the results. Here are the winners of the 2012 Midtown Lunch Reader’s Poll, complete with Editor’s Pick for each category chosen by our correspondents.

Best Burger: Shake Shack

Even though at the top of the year there was much hullabaloo around the inspiration behind Danny Meyer’s burgers making its splash in Midtown, not even Steak ‘N Shake could topple Shake Shack‘s reign as best Midtown burger in our Readers’ Polls. Frankly, I’d be thrilled with any of our poll nominees, but in the end, I’m partial to the Burger Joint patty. It’s not looking for world domination, it’s perfectly happy where it is, tucked away at the Parker Meridian. Plus, the atmosphere there can’t be beat by any newcomer. Rachel Goldner’s pick: Burger Joint [View Results]

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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 Alex, a food startup guy who thinks Midtown needs a Skyline Chili.

Name: Alex

Age: 28

Occupation: Co-Founder of NYC and SF-based food startup Cater2.me

Where in Midtown do you work? East 44th & 3rd Ave.

Favorite Kind of Food: A steaming hot bowl of ramen

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Onions of any variety

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Midtown: The Five Spice Glazed Pork Belly Sandwich from Num Pang (on 41st btw. Lex+3rd), The Grilled Half Chicken from the Famous Chicken Place (on 3rd btw. 38+39th), and the Hakata Tonkotsu Ramen from Hide Chan (on 52nd btw. 2nd+3rd).

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We’ve never made it a secret that Village Voice’s Choice Eats is one of our favorite food events of the year. Midtown isn’t always well represented, but the places that are invited are almost always Midtown Lunch’ish- making it a must attend event. Tickets for this year’s event (which is happening on March 19th at the 69th St. Armory) go on sale to the general public next Wednesday, but you can get a special pre-sale code for early tickets by signing up for the Village Voice Insider or Dining SMS alerts. Thanks to lunch’er Mitch for the heads up.

When Rachel stopped by the new Mac Truck during their first week out, she played it traditional by trying their regular mac and cheese. She noted the temptation of the buffalo chicken mac and cheese. It sounded like an obvious combo, but not one I’ve encountered before. When I discovered the yellow truck parked among the likes of Seoul Food and Jianetto’s on 47th Street last week, I thought I’d give it a try.

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Perennial open/closer-due-to-sanitary-issues Ming Du is back in business again! Cleared to open by the DoH on 12/17, business is good at the crown jewel of the 8th Ave steam table Chinese empire. The roast meats hang again in the window and the line stretches to the door, but a specter still hangs over one of the strong contenders for some of the best Chinese this side of Canal.

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Even though it’s not easy to find a lunch under $10 at Grand Central Oyster Bar, I have to admit it’s one of my favorite places to eat lunch in Midtown. It’s a classic New York City establishment that opened 100 years ago along with Grand Central Terminal, and with the vaulted ceilings, the charm, and the ample and varied seating, (not to mention the delicious if expensive food), it’s one of my favorite places for lunch with coworkers. And this week, I found out that to celebrate 100 years, they’re offering a Happy Oyster Hour!

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