Midtown Lunch

If you like to eat, chances are you like to drink (read: a lot of you are freakin’ lushes), so I thought maybe it was time to introduce a happy hour column to the site. Every week, our Happy Hour Correspondent posts about a different bar in Midtown that fits the Midtown Lunch mentality: unhealthy food, not lame (unless it’s lame in a cool way), and most importantly… cheap.

Whilst sitting in my local pub in Queens last week, a fellow walked in the door at about 9 pm, and he was completely wankered — but in a good, happy way. I asked him where he had been, and he said he’d been drinking all day at Banc Cafe (3rd Ave btw. 30 + 31) in Midtown that was in the space of an old bank. Even though it’s right on the edge of the Midtown Lunch boundaries, I checked out their website and it showed many happy hour deals that spanned several hours of the day. Here they are, slightly higher than the website claims:

Monday – Wednesday 4 – 10 pm / Thursday 4 – Midnight / Friday 4 – 8 pm
Selected cocktails, $7, Cab or Chardonnay $6, or Pints of Bud Light or Banc Ale $4.50, or Bottles of Miller Lite $4.00. Wowie!

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About six months ago, Times Square Hot Bagel lost their lease leaving Midtown West sad and bagel-less. The space has seen little action since then, but this week a Ben & Jerry’s sign appeared over the space on 44th street, just west of Times Square. While it doesn’t make up for the lack of a great egg-and-cheese-on-an-everything in the area, but if you were one of those people who were super bummed when the Ben & Jerry’s on 43rd & 8th closed a few years back this is a small consolation.  It will also hopefully makes the lines shorter at Rock Center on free cone day!

Yesterday, Paris Sandwich, not to be confused with the Korean bakery chain, Paris Baguette, rolled out their brand new truck to Midtown West parking on 52nd Street and 6th Avenue right next to Phil’s Steaks and the 52nd Street Thai Cart.

Known for their out of the ordinary Banh Mi sandwiches served on their own original baguettes baked in a hearth fired oven, Paris Sandwich currently has two locations in Chinatown on Mott Street and Grand Street.

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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.

I’m on board with more restaurants offering sustainable food, and I have been known to drink the Michael Pollan kool-aid from time-to-time. I love burgers, well, really, cheeseburgers, so I was excited when Grass Cow Burgers and Shakes opened about a month ago on 3rd btw. 25+26th.

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I’m a straight up sucker for noodles of all ethnicities, but sometimes you just have that craving for Thai noodles. It happens to me pretty much once a week, every week. Time and time again I try to break away from Pad Thai or Pad Siew for other Thai dishes, thinking it’s too “standard,” but when you find a good Pad Thai, it’s just flat out hard to say no. Don’t fight it.

By the time I caught wind of Mamu Thai Noodle Truck‘s Kickstarter campaign this winter, it was already 113% funded with the campaign even getting some serious mentions on Grub Street and Gothamist. With no real solid Thai spots for lunch in my back pocket (though I have to be honest, I haven’t tried the 52nd Street Halal Cart Turned Thai Cart yet), Mamu seemed like the oasis I’d been waiting for, and thankfully, it is!

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In a surprising move earlier this month, Kati Roll Company started offering chopped salad boasting 12 ingredients in addition to kati rolls. The salad was a bit of a quandary to me. On the one hand, I actually used to joke that sure, I’d totally eat salad more regularly if they made them at Kati Roll! AND NOW THEY DO. On the other hand, if I’m going to Kati Roll, I can’t imagine ordering anything else but kati rolls. So, now what?
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Not doing anything on Sunday and stuck in the city? Jersey resident but would rather go to the dentist than DTS? Come on over to Midtown on 37th and Broadway, where you can participate in Pitopia’s 2nd-annual falafel-ball-eating contest! And the prizes aren’t too shabby either.  First place gets an iPad mini, and 2nd and 3rd places get $200 and $100 gift certificates to Pitopia respectively. Make sure to sign up on their Facebook before you open your mouth wide for falafeley goodness.

Wichcraft, co-founded by Top Chef’s Tom Colicchio, is celebrating its 10-year anniversary with a limited edition sandwich (available through July) and a contest in which entrants submit original ideas for new sandwich combinations. Winners are offered the opportunity to meet Wichcraft’s co-founders, take a “sandwich making crash course,” eat some free meals, and do a bunch of other neat things. They’re accepting entries through June 7, 2013 and all relevant info can be found here.

Now, a look at the sandwich after the jump…

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Kobeyaki, which Sarah was a big fan of in Flatiron a year ago, is coming to Midtown. Signs for the new Japanese storefront have popped up right by Crisp on 40th between 6th and 7th avenues. Personally, I’m looking forward to trying that Kobe-style burger Sarah liked so much, as well as some of the noodle options she didn’t get to. No word yet on the grand opening date yet, but hopefully it’ll be soon!