Archive for January 2014

The Best Lunches in Midtown As Decided By You: 2013 Readers’ Poll Results

You nominated the finalists, argued in comments, and voted for your favorites. And now… it’s time for the results. Here are the winners of the 2013 Midtown Lunch Reader’s Poll, complete with Editor’s Pick for each category chosen by our correspondents.

Best Chinese: Xi’an Famous Foods

No question about it, Xi’an Famous Foods was probably one of the hottest topics in newcomers to Midtown in general and Chinese in particular.  Their soft-launch announcement flooded their Facebook page and sent hordes clamoring to their West 45th outpost for lamb burgers and other great stuff.  Szechuan Gourmet and Hing Won/Hop Won with their legendary implementations of duck and pork put forth one hell of a tie for second place, though – it’s going to be interesting to see what next year brings to see if Xi’an and its hype train continue putting forth awesomeness, or if the old standards make a comeback.  Dà jiā chī fàn, baby! Mike’s Pick: Main Noodle House  [View Results]

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In Which We Beg Anthony Bourdain To Bring His Hawker Center-style Food Market to Midtown

Ever wonder “where in this big Food Gallery 32-style vertical Blade Runnerized crowded market am I gonna eat today?” as you mull over whether you want curry noodles, Singapore chicken rice, mee goreng, char kuey tiow, or other awesome Asian fare? According to The Post everyone’s favorite badass chef from Jersey, Anthony Bourdain, is exploring this as an option. Hudson Yards could be one of the developments where they want to put it – square at the edge of Midtown! Could this redefine out of bounds in favor of chicken rice? (short answer: IT DAMN WELL BETTER!)

Hard-to-Find Pennylane is Brewing Quality Coffee

Midtown East is steadily building a good crop of independent coffee houses. Lucid Cafe, Ground Central, Demarco… they all offer an array of great coffee and espresso drinks. Now you can count Pennylane Coffee (45th btw. 1st+2nd) on that list.

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Breaking! Robicelli’s is Back in Midtown

News came over the wire (aka Allison Robicelli’s blog) that Robicelli’s sweets can be found in Midtown again! Those of you in the K-Town area in need of a sweet treat can now head over to the newly opened Grace Street (on 32nd btw 5th+6th) for your fix of not just cupcakes, but also cookies, muffins and more. The rest of us will probably head over to check out the offerings once it’s above freezing.

Grace Street, 17 W. 32nd St (btw. 5+6th) 

Say Goodbye to the Eggstravaganza Cart (and Hello to the Eggstravaganza Truck!)

Arturo and Maribel from Eggstravaganza

The Eggstravaganza Cart is trading up to a truck and it should be hitting the streets this week. Owner, Arturo Macedo, told me that he’s looking forward to expanding his menu in the larger space. The truck is currently being wrapped though it may be on the streets as a generic looking white truck today. Arturo is planning some giveaways (free food!) for the grand opening, which will hopefully be as soon as Wednesday, alas, isn’t going to happen for a few more days now, we’ll keep you posted with any details as we get them! As of now the plan is to remain in their regular spot on the northeast corner of 52nd and Park. Keep tabs on them via twitter @ETRAVAGANZA.

Cafe Duke Survives Transformer Fire: If you're an aficionado of the chocolate-covered baconery/generic deli juggernaut Cafe Duke, you may want to have a backup plan for today's lunch you'll be excited to hear that it's business as usual today. A transformer fire on its sidewalk yesterday prompted an evacuation of the Time-Life building in which the hotbed of pop-up bulgogi tacos sits. No word yet on the future of the deli, but we're guessing they're not going to be open for awhile. Amazingly enough The Duke made it through unscathed!

Pizza by Cer Te’s January Pie is…: ...perfect for those of you who have no interest in New Year's resolutions. It's called “The Philly” and features shredded sautéed grass-fed sirloin, caramelized onions, and a five cheese fondue. They start serving it today.

Zeytinz is Still “Relatively Fabulous”

Zeytinz Oven

Well over a year ago, Zeytinz received a comprehensive review that did a great job highlighting their deli sandwiches, bibimbap bar, and a few of their grocery offerings. While these are all things I undoubtedly appreciate, I’ve found a few other items at Zeytinz that I enjoy so much, I figured it was worth another spin. If you couldn’t personally find anything in the previous post that got you up, out of your office chair, and on the way to Zeytinz, then maybe I’ll post something that does – let’s find out.

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Saddest Midtown Closing: 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.

Our Readers’ Poll is just about over, but before we welcome in 2014 we have to bid a fond farewell to those that we lost in 2013. It wasn’t a good year for dumplings. Rickshaw finally packed it in after 5+ years in business, and newcomer Spring only lasted about 6 months.  Qdoba closed all of their NYC locations, and we lost a classic burger, corned beef, and onion ring joint in the 3rd Ave. Blarney Stone. But saddest closing of all? That’s for you to decide.

Here are the nominees…

  • Blarney Stone (on 3rd Ave btw. 44+45th)
  • Crisp (on 3rd Ave. btw 43+44th)
  • Oriental Noodle Shop
  • Qdoba
  • Rickshaw Dumpling
  • Satya Eastern Kitchen
  • Spring Dumpling

Vote for your favorite, after the jump…

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Best Flatiron Lunch: 2013 Readers’ Poll

It’s time for the 2013 Midtown Lunch Readers’ Poll. Your nominations are in, and you can only vote once per category (so choose wisely). Official results will be posted next week.

Flatiron Lunch has a history selecting only the healthiest of lunch options for our “Best of” including Doughnut Plant and Hill Country Chicken. 2012 Reader’s Poll saw Hill Country Chicken narrowly beating out Mad. Sq. Eats for the top prize, but given the general lack of love for our twice yearly Worth Sq visitor of late, it seems unlikely that Mad. Sq. Eats will even finish in the Top 5. Newcomer Tres Carnes joins the list. Here are the nominees for Best Flatiron Lunch…

Vote for your favorite, after the jump…

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