Got a craving for sushi? Head down to East Japanese Restaurant (44th St. btw 2nd+3rd) for a mini chirashi bowl for only a dollar. Only 20 of the $1 bowls are available each day, though, so plan on getting there early. Throw in a sushi roll (I’d recommend the negi toro – tuna belly and scallion) and you’ve got a nice, affordable lunch.
If you follow the street food scene as closely as we do you’ll want to read this piece in the New York Times Magazine by Adam Davidson from NPR’s Planet Money. He interviews Thomas DeGeest from Wafels & Dinges and the owner of Taim, and gets them to say something that very few vendors will admit publicly… the food truck business stinks. It chooses to focus on the city restrictions more than the actual business model of street food (which also sucks, btw) and compares the street vending scene of Midtown to a third world country.
Posted by Zach Brooks at 3:06 pm, May 7th, 2013 under Street Vendor Issues.
When we last visited the Toast Monster cart in January, Brian gave a favorable review of their mac and cheese / sloppy joe sandwich. Since then, the menu has expanded a bit, with pepperoni being added as a $1 add-on for the grilled cheese and chicken parm sandwiches. More importantly, though, the steak and potato sandwich has become a permanent menu item. Check it out after the jump!
Posted by Chris Thompson at 11:45 am, May 7th, 2013 under Toast Monster Cart.
Luke’s Lobster Returns: Lobster lovers might have noticed that Luke's Lobster (aka Nauti) has been off the streets for some time now. Well, they've sorted out their permitting issues and the truck will be back on the road today at lunch and the plan is to park at 47th and Madison. Bring your cash, they won't be able to do cards until later in the week. And as always, check before you head out either on the Twitter Tracker or @NautiMobile.
Posted at 11:00 am, May 7th, 2013 | 0 Comments
As we had suspected back in March, the former Menchanko-Tei location on 55th Street between 5th and 6th Avenue has now been replaced by the new Natureworks Restaurant, having its grand opening yesterday. This is the second location of Natureworks, as the first location on 31st between Park and Lex had replaced The Pump – Energy Food. Natureworks seems to carry on the same tradition of The Pump by offering high energy protein plates and whole wheat burritos. Early adopters, can Natureworks still pack flavor while trying to offer healthy options? Let us know what you think in the comments.
Natureworks Restaurant, 43 West 55th Street (btw. 5th and 6th Ave)
Posted by Alexa C. at 9:00 am, May 7th, 2013 under Natureworks.
Yes please. Starts tomorrow at Cer Te (on 55th btw. 5+6th) and is available through the month of May.
Posted by The ML Team at 2:00 pm, May 6th, 2013 under Certe.
34th isn’t so bad, food-wise. We’ve got the Nameless Empanada Cart and horrible, horrible soup, as well as kickin’ awesome pork buns and noodle soup, but it’s hard to find good stuff around here that isn’t tourist-infested or over the ML price limit. When Patiala started building into the old Tawa Tandoor space, my hopes were raised. This part of town may not be Curry Row but we’d sure as hell like our fair share of decent Indian. It may not be a flashy start-of-Spring opener from a big name, but damn, we lucked out with Patiala.
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Posted by MJP at 11:45 am, May 6th, 2013 under Patiala.
Cafe China’s Cumin Spicy Lamb. Photo courtesy of NY Mag
Posted by The ML Team at 9:00 am, May 6th, 2013 under Midtown Links.
I’m typing this from inside a serious food coma, one that I hope to emerge from before lunchtime. The culprit was last night’s annual Grand Gourmet at Vanderbilt Hall in Grand Central Station. The food event featured over 30 vendors from the Grand Central vicinity and I somehow managed to eat a sample from just about every vendor.
Most of these restaurants are not typically on ML’s radar. For the most part, these are higher end restaurants and certainly surpass our $10 limit – even at lunch. But I still managed to find some new dessert options, some great bar food, and perhaps a few new spots for expense account lunches.
Posted by brianhoffman at 1:30 pm, May 3rd, 2013 under *Grand Central Terminal.
This week Grub Street did a run down of thirteen “Spectacular Sandwiches That Happen to Be Vegetarian.” Alas, Midtown didn’t get any direct love, but amongst the brick and mortar spots The Cinnamon Snail Truck was the only mobile vendor to make the list and as it so happens they’re parked in midtown today with the special sandwich that Grub Street called out: Thai BBQ seitan ribs.
Posted by Brownie at 11:15 am, May 3rd, 2013 under Cinnamon Snail Truck.
