Midtown Lunch

The Midtown restaurant scene is always a capricious mistress, and sometimes that capriciousness comes to the surface. Spring (on 38th btw. 5+6th), which just opened in November with a nifty space for dumplings and northern Chinese fare, is being forced to vacate their space and close. Today is their last day, with dinner being a private event, so if you want to get some dumplings for lunch without having to trek to Chinatown or giving in to Rickshaw, today is your last chance to do so at Spring. The owners hope to be back to the area in the future.

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.

Sometimes a ML post is purely selfish. This is one of those posts, because I love Mooncake Foods. Specifically, the spicy Thai steak salad. So yes, this post could be about just a steak salad. Considering ML contributors have already written extensively (at least for ML having written about 10 dishes tried), I held off on this post since it isn’t new territory.

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Photo courtesy of Chris Thompson

We told you way back in 2011 that Ippudo would be opening a branch of their super famous ramen shop in Midtown West,  and now Village Voice brings word that our dreams will finally be answered next month. Located on 51st btw. 8+9th the Midtown incarnation of the city’s most popular ramen spot had some kind of pre-opening party last night, even though they won’t be officially open to the public until July 13. It looks like the menu will be similar to the East Village location, but the broths will be made with dashi and there will be more Shojin options, as well as New York City’s very first gluten free and vegan bowl of ramen. My guess is we’ll have another amazing ramen spot in Midtown with another ridiculously long line.

A little over a month ago, Brian got a taste of the new Rhong-Tiam Supreme Burger Truck at Village Voice’s Choice Streets festival. Since then, the Asian fusion/burger truck has mostly been hanging out in the Flatiron District… that is, until now! I spotted the truck at 47th Street and Vanderbilt during my lunch yesterday, but it was already around 3pm at that point and the truck had closed shop. It’s not really clear if they’re going to be parking around these parts for good or not, as neither the Rhong-Tiam website or the Rhong-Tiam Twitter mentions anything about the truck being in midtown. Did anyone get a chance to try it yesterday?

With their impending storefront opening some time in the near future, the Wafels & Dinges empire will expand greatly. And they’re not just getting more space. They’re also creating new waffle concoctions for those lucky enough (or young enough) to hang out on Avenue B. Until then, they’re slowly testing out some of the new products on the truck. That means, we get to be their guinea pigs. Lucky us!

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Let’s face it. Buffalo chicken wraps are great. Back in college, my friends and I would visit the local dive bar for wings at least two nights a week, and ever since, I’ve had a deep appreciation for this thing we call “buffalo chicken.” Created upstate in Buffalo, Wikipedia describes the sauce as cayenne pepper hot sauce plus melted butter or margarine. When mixed with fried, breaded chicken and sharp, blue cheese, deliciousness is bound to ensue! Although not traditional, wraps are a convenient means of buffalo chicken consumption (it’s nice that the whole experience can be folded into a neat, handheld bundle) and they tend to be less messy than their sandwich counterparts. Over the course of the past week, I took it upon myself to try out several different buffalo chicken wraps around Midtown. I was actually a little surprised at how difficult it was to find these things for under $10, but in the end I managed to uncover four decent options.

Read my findings after the jump…

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A few weeks ago, a new sign went up above the old Times Square Hot Bagel storefront (on 44th btw. 7+8th). And now, Ben & Jerry’s is open, bringing free cone day above ground for the first time in years (remember, there once was a location nearby on 8th ave). Too bad we have to wait almost a year for it…

If there was a betting pool going, the winning figure might just have been six months for this place… Fusion 9th is shuttered, covered up in newspaper, and dark. We weren’t really big on their food, so this doesn’t come as too much of a major disappointment. The sign taped to the insurance gutter asks the mailman to throw mail under the gate, so it looks like it could either be temporary or just occasionally checked. No DoH closures or other bad things are obvious – hopefully they’re retooling to have better food.

The opening of a new franchise of Fatburger (3rd Ave btw 34th+35th) in Murray Hill last week caused a bit of fanfare. Prior to last week, I had never visited a Fatburger as In-N-Out usually tickles my fast food fancy when on the West Coast. I stopped by to check out the scene and eat a burger.

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I’m not sure if anyone in Midtown except for me and three of my coworkers cared for Peter’s Meatloaf, but according to Lunch’er Nick, the old Peter’s Location on Lexington Avenue (btw. 55th & 56th Streets) has signs on their window indicating that the location is turning into Little Collins, a high-end coffee bar serving Counter Culture coffee. When I had spoken with Peter’s in Williamsburg in May, they had mentioned that the location was closed for “rebranding” so it’s still a little unclear as to if this new coffee shop is under the same management, or if Little Collins is it’s own thing. Fingers crossed for good pastries! (And maybe some meatloaf?!)

Little Collins, 667 Lexington Avenue (between 55th and 56th Streets)