Midtown Lunch

Back in January we reported that the Crisp on Wheels Truck was splitting with the growing fast food chain of the same name. Just a few weeks after that, the truck was re-branded as The Pocketful with no trace of the Crisp logo anywhere. I’ve walked by this new truck on multiple occasions along Sixth Avenue and see people lining up for free samples trying to figure out what happened to Crisp on Wheels.

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Thanks to a tip from Lunch’er Jenn, we’ve recently learned that the French-inspired Korean bakery chain, Paris Baguette, is opening its newest location on 52nd Street and Lexington Avenue! The new location is taking over the space formerly occupied by Jean Louis David Salon. Though the bakery has locations in Flushing and Bayside, you may remember Blondie and Brownie‘s favorite sugar rushes and Clay’s favorite savory dishes from the K-Town location that opened in 2010. Looking forward to my personal favorite Feuilletee Chocolate and Sweet Potato Pastries for breakfast!

Paris Baguette, 52nd Street and Lexington Avenue

Yes, you read that correctly. I have eaten every single sandwich on the Toasties menu (and then some). Some Midtown Lunch readers may brush Toasties off as another generic deli, but I beg to differ. My home location, at 51st street and Madison, may be connected to my office building, and I may not even have to step outside to go there, but that’s not why I eat at Toasties. There’s a reason why they’ve got locations all over midtown and there’s a reason why you’ll see any given Toasties packed during lunch hours. They make great sandwiches – trust me, I’ve tried them all.

I don’t get the haters. The ingredients are real and fresh, the sandwiches are huge and reasonably priced, the menu is loaded with unique options, and the people prepping the food are always happy to accommodate custom orders. I’ll admit, I’ve had the occasional poorly constructed Toasties sandwich, but given the crazy amount of rush hour business they get, and the fact that there are minimum ten different guys making the food during lunch hours, of course there’s going to be some inconsistency. But if you order the right sandwich, and that sandwich is made with the right amount of love, you’re in for a real treat.

A look at practically every single Toasties sandwich after the jump…

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If you were just as excited as I was, you’ve had the grand opening of the Midtown location of Xi’an Famous Foods (Monday, April 22, 2013) highlighted in your calendar in neon green, and your “free burger” coupon printed out since earlier this month. After we checked out the soft opening on Thursday, I decided to go back to personally celebrate the grand opening by redeeming my free burger and seeing the new digs for myself!

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Last week, we passed along a tip that old school Midtown ramen joint Men Kui Tei was being replaced by a new location of Glaze Teriyaki. It was quickly pointed out in the comments that Men Kui Tei had actually moved next door and now shares a space with ISE. I stopped by the other day to check out the new setup.

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After enjoying their Thanksgiving empanada special during the holiday season last year, I was excited to see Nuchas tweet that they’re offering Thai special empanadas at both their Times Square kiosk and the truck. Nuchas collaborated with chef Andy Yang of Rhong-Tiam to bring two Thai-inspired fillings (which are already on Rhong-Tiam’s menu) to their empanadas: lemongrass chicken and basil beef. Normally I’m skeptical of things that seem like Asian confusion, but I was very interested in checking these out. So, how’d they fare?

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It’s been almost a year and a half since the BCD Tofu House on 32nd btw. B’way+5th shut down, promising to reopen in a new location at some point.  Well, it took them long enough but the wait is finally over. We heard a rumor that the new branch of BCD, which is located just a few stores down from their old location, is set to soft-open today at 10:30am. If it does turn out to be true… early adopters, let us know how it is in the comments.

BCD Tofu House, 5W. 32nd Street

P.J. Clarke’s Photo courtesy of Daniel Krieger/Eater

• Here’s what PJ Clarke’s looks like at 12:30pm on a Tuesday [Eater]
• Shake Shack is one of the 38 best burgers in the country [Eater]
• The Counter in Times Sq goes through 3000 lbs of meat a week [Eater]
• Sietsema is a big fan of La Vie en Szechuan’s $8 lunch special [FITR]
• You can get rabbit’s head at Grand Sichuan 46 [EIT]
• Earl of Sandwich’s roast beef is enjoyable but not life changing [Food in Mouth]
• Here’s a friendly reminder… Cafe Cello makes a good cuban [SENY]
• Here are two Kwik Meal recipes from New York ala Cart [SENY]
• $1 slice joints are killing the Manhattan pizzeria [WSJ]