Midtown Lunch

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.

For those of you not familiar with Kalustyan’s, do yourself a favor and become acquainted! It is the best spice and import store I know of in the city. While Eataly and Buon Italia do a great job with Italian imports and Spice Corner, Foods of India and Little India are all within a block, Kalustyan’s has shelves upon shelves of spices, herbs, chutneys, honeys, jams, frozen foods, dried beans, rices, nuts, syrups, teas, breads, pickles, specialty pots and pans, etc, etc…need I go on? Serious Eats did a nice slide show to give you a visual idea. They sell largely Indian products, but they offer items from all over the world. So when you need a random ingredient you have never heard of for a recipe, try here on your lunch break.

Read more »

If you’re looking to get your Korean taco fix at Bann Next Door this week and onwards, you’ll want to look elsewhere. The Midtown West Korean restaurant will no longer be carrying those Korean tacos that we loved. The restaurant wrote to us and explained that they’re trying to create more cohesion between Bann Next Door and the parent restaurant, and getting rid of fusion items such as sliders, tortillas, and salsa. However, they’ll be adding katsu (chicken, shrimp, pork) to bolster the menu. We’ll miss those tacos, but luckily you can still other takes on Korean tacos today at Korilla or The Seoul Food Truck, both of which park in Midtown regularly. However, be sure to check the twitter tracker before heading out.

If you’ve started a new Valentine’s tradition of giving yourself or your sweetie Dorie Greenspan’s cookies from her cookie pop-up of years past in the Mizu Salon (Park btw 59+60th) this should be exciting news. Starting Monday morning (the 11th), Dorie’s bringing cookies from her new Beurre & Sel bakeries to Midtown for the entire week. A lot of the same flavors are making return visits along with a few new ones: Smokey Hearts (smoked almond), Mulled Wine Jammers, and Coffee Cardamom. As with previous years, the party starts when the salon opens at 10am and goes until the day’s last cookie crumbles.

Last week we brought you the news that the popular Turkish food Bryant Park (and Columbus Circle) holiday market kiosk Mmm…Enfes had opened a brick and mortar on 39th street. Over the years I’ve had a chance to sample a few of Mmm…Enfes’ specialties like their buttery gözleme. With the storefront they’ve had the opportunity to expand their menu so naturally I was eager to check it out. Read more »

Luke’s Lobster Truck is on hiatus until the spring, which means in order to get your Luke’s fix, you have to visit their brick and mortar locations… which are, unfortunately, not in Midtown. While at their Upper East Side location the other day (which is on 81st and 2nd for those of you who occasionally do a subway lunch), I decided to forgo my usual shrimp roll for the lobster grilled cheese sandwich ($12). Large pieces of lobster sandwiched between Gruyere cheese and perfectly toasted white bread sets a very high standard for grilled cheese. Add a couple of drops of sriracha per bite, and you’ve got some next level stuff. As much as I hate to spend more than $10 for lunch, Luke’s Lobster, when you return to the streets in the spring, PLEASE bring the lobster grilled cheese with you!

Friday is National Girl Scout Cookie Day (who knew!?) so if you haven’t put in your orders for Samoas yet, the Girl Scouts will have a truck selling cookies selling cookies in Manhattan this Friday only. They’ll even be giving out free samples! The truck is scheduled to be at 42nd St. and Madison Ave. from 8:30-10:30am, at 57th St. between 5th Ave.and 6th Ave. from 11:30am-1:30pm, and at Park Ave. between 52nd St. and 53rd St from 2:30-4:30pm. You can also get their location on Twitter.  Beats the old days when we used to have to lurk around the Girl Scout’s Midtown HQ.

Catty-corner from the Mitzvah Tank (which does NOT have a 105mm kosher cannon and as such I want my money back) upon its normal parking spot at the far edge of the Garment District, Mr. Broadway has sat for as long as I can remember. Pitopia’s taken up the Israeli edge of the world of kashrus, and offering up some viable soupy options, Mr. Broadway not only rounds out the old-school (or in the words of Grandpa Boris, the old country) options of kosher fare with the inevitable kosher sushi. Enough with the meshugener alte kacher kosher sushi, though – as it’s getting colder and people are getting sicker, we need grandma-style soup. Mr. Broadway, put our soup’s name in lights!
Read more »

A few weeks ago, we gave you a first look at Zucker’s Bagels and Smoked Fish on Lex btw. 40+41st. At the end of the post Brian mentioned that the owner seemed pretty confident about his pastrami, and a few days ago Lunch’er DDR wrote in to let us know that it is as good as advertised: “I just had their pastrami sandwich on an everything bagel today and it was outstanding. Not the typical pre-made block of meat that many delis unwrap from plastic and slice onto bread. This was fresh, warm, moist, juicy and flavorful, approaching 2nd Avenue Deli’s pastrami (which I guess is the best of a weak lot in Midtown). Not all that peppery, but very high quality pastrami, just the same. For $9.95, you get a solid amount of pastrami and you shouldn’t leave hungry. This sandwich is a hidden gem right now. I don’t want to blow it up but I also feel bad because these guys had only a slow trickle of business during the lunch hour today, although the pastrami alone is worth repeat visits.” That’s good to know.  Now let’s make sure this place doesn’t go the way of Times Square Hot Bagels.

Back in November we heard that the Goodburger on 54th & Lex would be replaced by P.J. Clarke’s spin-off, Clarke’s Standard (Lex+54th), and thanks to a tip from our friends over at Wined & Dined it looks like it’s opening tomorrow. They also sent us a sneak peek of the menu, which goes beyond the burgers P.J. Clarke’s is famous for with new things like hot dogs and cheesy tots! And the best part is, the prices aren’t terrible.  Check it out after the jump…

Read more »

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 Chris, a coffee obsessed editor who may or may not have a fear of pigeons.

Name: Chris

Age: 28

Occupation: Science and Technology Editor at TheWeek.com

Where in Midtown do you work? 39th St and Sixth Ave.

Favorite Kind of Food: Coffee beans, freshly ground with precision and steeped in hot water.

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Cherry tomatoes or anything oval shaped.

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Midtown:Italian hero with fresh mozz from Park Italian Gourmet ($8; 45th St. and Sixth Ave.) Ma Po Tofu from Cafe China. With Tums. ($9; 37th St. and Madison). Rotisserie chicken w/ rice and beans from 2 Bros Pizza, AKA THE BEST DEAL EVER. ($3; Sixth Ave. and 37th St.). The Mongolian BBQ bar from Pergola ($4 to $9, depending on the weight; 39th St. and Sixth Ave.)

Read more »