Midtown Lunch

When I arrived at the two-day Malaysian Winter Market on the 6th Avenue side of Bryant Park yesterday, it felt as packed as I hear those Malaysian markets get. Everyone was definitely there for the food (and shelter from the wind) and you could see from the lines which places everyone thought would be worth it. But instead of hopping blindly on a line, I scoped out the offerings a bit to try to make my best Midtown Lunch determination of what’s worth going back for today.

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If you wanted to try the bratwurst or the side sampler from Schnitzel & Things (on 3rd btw. 45+46th) that we wrote about yesterday, it’s going to have to be today or tomorrow.  We got this sad news from S&T’s owner Oleg last night:

Unfortunately Friday will be our last operational day at the restaurant. We are closing it done with much sadness but also with hope. We are moving to a kitchen in Red Hook and plan to reopen a retail store in the near future.  The truck will continue to operate as usual, and we feel we feel bad for the regular customers who come see us religiously at this location so we promise to try to bring the truck to the area for the customers that will be saddened by this news. I don’t want this to be a pity thing. We tried hard to make this a success.

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Presented without comment in the ongoing Guy Fieri culture wars, it looks like someone forgot to register the domain name for his restaurant. An enterprising soul has taken the liberty of doing so and posting a somewhat subtle revision of the normal menu from the Times Square donkey sauce source. I don’t know about you guys, but I’d pay real American dollars for “special jalapeno sugarbrew” as a condiment. Wherever you stand on the Flavortown debate, it’s worth a read for use of the phrase “hamburger-fisted pig skins” alone, doubly so if they’re “served drunk and on fire.”

If a restaurant has a specific food in its name, it’s usually a safe bet that said food is the way to go when ordering lunch. In that case, you’d be wise to order one of the several schnitzels available at Schnitzel & Things (45th St. and 3rd Ave.). But what about the “Things”? Could there be lunchtime gold hidden in there?

I would venture to say ‘yes’. I might even go so far as to say that the best thing you can get at Schnitzel & Things isn’t schnitzel at all – it’s the bratwurst.

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It’s been a good week for chain loving freeloaders. Yesterday a new Pie Face opened, and handed out freebies. Today, we got this news about a new Chop’t on 43rd and 3rd.  I guess technically it’s not free… they will be accepting donations to benefit Wellness in the Schools.

Thanks to Lunch’er “Hengde” for passing along this piece of interesting news… “New spot coming next to Schnitzel Express on 39th btw Broadway and 6th – “iCrepes”, which promises “Organic, Fresh, and Healthy Recipes Created By A Five Star Chef.” and touts menus being available on an iPad as the “new way to order”. Sounds gimmicky but maybe the crepes will be good, and hopefully not expensive.”  In L.A. Zach wrote about a ramen place that uses iPad ordering, and it seemed to work out pretty well.  Who knows… maybe this could be good?

Guess this place wasn’t too memorable! Completely forgot that we wrote about it last year, which means the signage that Lunch’er Hengde saw was actually of a closed iCrepes. RIP place we never knew, and completely forgot existed.

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 Brad, a Marketing guy looking for a sushi deal.

Name: Brad

Age: 29

Occupation: Marketing

Where in Midtown do you work? Midtown East in the 50s

Favorite Kind of Food: Bagels for breakfast and a steady diet of Thai and Mexican for the rest. Steamed fresh lobster on special occasions.

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Kimchi, crêpes , pre-made grocery store rotisserie chickens.

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Midtown: Chickpea (on 45th btw. Mad+Vanderbilt), Num Pang (on 41st btw. Lex+3rd), the-no-longer-affiliated-with-Crisp Crisp on Wheels Truck.

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Pie Face has opened their third Midtown shop and first dine-in location near Penn Station at 469 Seventh Avenue (btw 35+36th). This new location will also have new menu items like mini-quiches (including spinach, provençal, sun-dried tomato with goat cheese, broccoli, and mushroom), as well as a self-serve coffee bar.

As we’ve come to expect, new Pie Face means free food, and this opening is no exception. Today from now until 6 p.m. you can try your luck at their prize wheel. And, if Penn Station is part of your commute, keep an eye out for free samples — they should be in and around Penn Station during rush hour.