Archive for December 2013

Best Midtown Bagels: Readers’ Poll 2013

It’s time for the 2013 Midtown Lunch Readers’ Poll. Your nominations are in, and between now and the end of the year we’ll be asking all of you to vote for the best Midtown Lunches in a whole range of categories. You can only vote once per category (so choose wisely), and official results will be posted after the new year.<

New York City is well known for bagels, and you can get them at almost any corner deli. Finding a truly great bagel, on the other hand, is not so easy, especially in Midtown (and we lost two of our best at the end of last year.) But all is not doom and gloom. Midtown still boasts a few top-notch bagel joints, including a newcomer from Downtown that’s helping to fill the hole left by a couple of notable 2012 closures. The nominees for best bagel in Midtown 2013 are:

Vote for your favorite after the jump…

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Whole Foods to Open Lunch-Centric Bryant Park Location

Good news for those of you within walking distance of Bryant Park. The Wall Street Journal reports that Whole Foods is opening a new location at 1095 Sixth Ave. (btw 41st+42nd). Whole Foods typically offers impressive generic deli standards like sandwiches, salads, hot buffet, you name it, and this new location will emphasize prepared foods for the lunch crowd. I’m pretty psyched for this… are you?

Video Break: A Jewish Christmas at Café China

Every year, while my goyish friends are at church and rocking around the Christmas tree, I don my chopsticks to explore some serious Chinese food. This year, I decided to visit Café China to taste their refined renditions of classic Szechuan dishes, like mapo tofu and tea-smoked duck. And at the restaurant, I run into a familiar face who is also grubbing on some noodles in celebration of the big holiday. See who it is after the jump…

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Best Midtown Falafel: Readers’ Poll 2013

It’s time for the 2013 Midtown Lunch Readers’ Poll. Your nominations are in, and between now and the end of the year we’ll be asking all of you to vote for the best Midtown Lunches in a whole range of categories. You can only vote once per category (so choose wisely), and official results will be posted after the new year.

Last year, Taim made a huge comeback, stealing the crown back from 2011 newcomer Pitopia for best falafel in the readers’ poll. Does Pitopia have a chance to win it back, or perhaps will nearby Maoz stand in their way? The competition is steep in the falafel category, especially considering Taim could also be dethroned by the King of Falafel, Crisp, Omar’s or Kosher Deluxe. Here all the nominees for best falafel in Midtown…

Vote for your favorite, after the jump…

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Rickshaw Dumpling Closes Up Shop (and Truck)… Plus More Flatiron News

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. This week, Flatiron Lunch is all about opportunity, since several centrally-located large spaces have come available. Also, I was lucky enough to meet a friend’s boyfriend, Jesse, this week, who works half a block from the Flatiron Building. I love having more Flatiron Lunch spies!.

First, we have to cover one closing in the area. Rickshaw Dumpling has closed. This news applies not just to the West 23 Street location, but also, the midtown Lexington Avenue location and the truck. According to their twitter feed, “We’re closing shop after 10 years and parking our truck fleet after 7! Thanks for your <3 in our shops + on the street! We will miss you!” Sad. I am going to really miss those chocolate sesame dessert dumplings.

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Best Midtown Coffee: Reader’s Poll 2013

It’s time for the 2013 Midtown Lunch Readers’ Poll. Your nominations are in, and between now and the end of the year we’ll be asking all of you to vote for the best Midtown Lunches in a whole range of categories. You can only vote once per category (so choose wisely), and official results will be posted after the new year.

Good coffee has officially found its way to Midtown. The last few years have brought serious coffee shops with everything from French press to cold brew. And regardless of what part of Midtown you work, it’s now not too far of a walk (past numerous Starbucks) to get a legit cup of joe. Some have just popped up this year (Little Collins) and some (like Culture) were the pioneers of good Midtown java. Here are the nominees for the best coffee in Midtown…

Vote for your favorite after the jump…

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Best Midtown Sandwiches: 2013 Readers’ Poll

It’s time for the 2013 Midtown Lunch Readers’ Poll. Your nominations are in, and between now and the end of the year we’ll be asking all of you to vote for the best Midtown Lunches in a whole range of categories. You can only vote once per category (so choose wisely), and official results will be posted after the new year.

Num Pang stole the show during last year’s reader’s poll, and their recent expansion in Midtown has certainly been a welcome treat to west siders. But this year newcomer Treehaus made a splash by reviving the Midtown Lunch Sandwich Challenge that Certe used to dominate. Will the the three sandwich heavyweights dominate the polls this year, or will someone else upstage them all? Here are the nominees for best sandwich in Midtown…

Vote for your favorite after the jump…

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Best New Food Truck: Reader’s Poll 2013

It’s time for the 2013 Midtown Lunch Readers’ Poll. Your nominations are in, and between now and the end of the year we’ll be asking all of you to vote for the best Midtown Lunches in a whole range of categories. You can only vote once per category (so choose wisely), and official results will be posted after the new year.

And the food trucks keep on coming. It’s getting harder and harder to keep track of all the new trucks that appear in Midtown each year. Before the police broke it up, you could just head over to Vanderbilt and 47th Street. Now they’re a little more scattered around Midtown. A few of the new ones really stepped up their game serving delicious Asian fusion, Polish kielbasa, Neapolitan pizza that got better with time, killer Italian sandwiches, and Jewish deli meat. Finally, a Jewish deli meat truck! Here are the nominees for the best new food truck in 2013:

Vote for your favorite, after the jump…

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Treehaus is Coming to the Westside: If you're a Westsider who has been jealous of those who work close to Treehaus, here's some good news: you're getting one of your own! According to the New York Post, a large second location will be opening in the spring in an apartment building at 460 W. 42nd street (btw. 9th and 10th avenues).

Best Midtown Ramen: Readers’ Poll 2013

It’s time for the 2013 Midtown Lunch Readers’ Poll. Your nominations are in, and between now and the end of the year we’ll be asking all of you to vote for the best Midtown Lunches in a whole range of categories. You can only vote once per category (so choose wisely), and official results will be posted after the new year.

2012 was a banner year for ramen in Midtown, and yet somehow 2013 may have gotten even better- for those willing to go a bit out of bounds, that is. The Midtown branch of Ippudo finally opened on 51st btw. 8+9th, and if that wasn’t enough Ivan Ramen opened last month in the new Gotham Market, further testing how far Midtown Lunchers were willing to travel for great ramen. It also has cemented Midtown once and for all as the ramen capital of New York City. How good is Midtown’s ramen scene? Mainstays Sapporo and Men Kui Tei aren’t even in the conversation anymore. Here are the nominees for the best ramen in Midtown:

Vote for your favorite after the jump…

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