Midtown Lunch

Political disagreements aside, there’s no denying that the the food from Chick-Fil-A is delicious. For those of us who grew up in the suburbs of the South, chicken nuggets with dipping sauces was our childhood. We have written extensively about the fast food company on these pages and you’ll forgive us, but we have to write about it a few more times. Because Chick-Fil-A is opening their first stand-alone restaurant in Midtown. And it is a massive one.

Crain’s reported that a three story, 5,000 square foot space will open on Sixth Avenue and 37th Street in late summer. Just like all their other locations, this Chick-Fil-A will be closed on Sunday. Not sure how that’s going to sit with the tourists, but it doesn’t affect us too much. While it is hard to resist those Chick-Fil-A waffle fries, it will be interesting to see how the business fares in this city, considering the owner’s stance on same-sex marriage.

Chick Fil A, 1000 6th Ave. (at 37th Street)

The month-long closure notice was already on the door at the end of February when my coworker and I went to get our favorite KFC (Korean Fried Chicken), and yet it didn’t register until I was confronted by the paper covered windows and locked doors on 38th btw. 7+8th. Looks like we will be schlepping to the 5th Avenue Koreatown location  if someone wants their Bonchon. Popeye’s and NYC Fried Chicken just aren’t quite the same.

If you are a Top Chef fan or a fan of Kosher Mexican food you’ll want to take a late lunch and head to Pitopia (on B’way + 37th) today at 2pm, where recent Top Chef contestant Katsuji Tanabe will be doing a pop up of his popular Los Angeles restaurant Mexikosher. (Originally it was scheduled for 2pm 6pm but they moved it up to accommodate demand.)  It’s a little bit more money than we like spend on lunch, but Kosher food is expensive, and it’s way cheaper than a plane ticket to L.A.

Pitopia, 1369 Broadway (on 37th). 212-792-6765

Photo courtesy of Serious Eats

For those that have tried and failed to dine at the ultra hot Manhattan outpost of Korean BBQ specialist, Kang Ho Dong Baekjeong, you now have a chance to score a table at lunch. The restaurant will now be open starting at 11:30am on the weekdays, and will remain open all day and late into the night. This is great news for those that have been quoted several hour wait times at dinner – I dined here last weekend and waited two hours, which was well worth it in my opinion. But such crowds are to be expected after the breathless coverage, glowing praise, and a level of hype that is typically reserved for a new Torrisi or Momofuku outpost.

The menu won’t waver from dinner, which means that few dishes will be in the ML $10 price threshold save for the $7.99 lunch box and soups and stews that start at $10.99. However, the main reason that you’re here is likely for the BBQ, which features nose-to-tail cuts of beef and pork, including a jaw-dropping dish of marinated pork collar.

At Baekjeong, good things come to those who wait. For those that don’t have the luxury of time, now there is lunch.

Kang Ho Dong Baekjong, 1 E. 32nd (at 5th Ave.) 212-966-9839

Today is a post-Mardi Gras, pre-Easter Friday, and you know what that means? Those of us who observe Lent generally refrain from eating meat on Fridays (and sometimes on Wednesdays, and some sects do the entire Lenten period… But that doesn’t mean deliciousness should stop! Most people seem to lean towards fish on days they don’t eat meat (which explains the return of the filet’o’fish to McDonald’s), and Midtown Lunch seems to have loved Kim’s Aunt’s Kitchen Cart in the past – though no one’s mentioned it since 2012.

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City Kitchen had their soft opening last night and opens to the public today at 11am. This is the latest addition to the growing NYC trend of ‘food halls’ – although some might question whether or not 9 vendors actually qualifies as a food hall. In any case, since the food at soft openings can vary drastically from what you actually get from a place once it’s open (both in terms of quality and portion size, since they want you to try everything), I’m going to just share with you the prices/photos of the posted menus, without comment. Well… without much comment.

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A reader recently sent in a tip about a newly opened “Indian-accented Chipotle” that opened roughly 3 weeks ago on 8th Avenue, just north of 51st Street. When I went to check it out, I noted with some amusement that it is actually directly next to an actual Chipotle and wondered if this was intentional – those lines get pretty long, right? (I’ve never actually really eaten at Chipotle.)

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There are Sichuan restaurants all over the city, but the largest concentration of them has to be in Midtown West. I have no statistics to back that statement up but now that Savour Sichuan has opened in the old China Sun. our spice receptors in Midtown West will never yearn for heat again. We first heard about this place from Eater, who seems to have added it to their regular take-out rotation. I finally got a chance to visit this past week and tried two dishes.

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