About

mid • town lunch n. (mid-toun lunch) 1. An inexpensive (under $10), authentic, unique and interesting quick service lunch, preferably near where you work. 2. An adventure in urban lunching.

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From the Editor

So here’s the deal… if you work in an office, then you know how lazy people are when it comes to lunch. And nowhere is that more true than in Midtown Manhattan. One block in either direction is about as far as most people will go, and usually it’s just for a crappy, overpriced salad or sandwich. I’m not one of those people. To me, lunch hour is sacred- and I’m not going to waste it in some generic overpriced “deli” (unless it doubles as an all you can eat buffet.) This site will hopefully be a place for you to find the gems in a sea of duds, wherever it is your work.

Founded in 2006, Midtown Lunch used to exclusively cover the food in Midtown Manhattan. But starting in January of 2010, we expanded out reach and now seek out “Midtown Lunches” in Downtown NYC, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles. All of us are big fans of ethnic food (did I mention my love of Chinese buffets?), and not such a big fan of boring chains or salads- so if you are looking for a new salad place that gives you 7 options instead of 6, you will probably not find it here (unless it’s a salad bar/Chinese buffet). We love street food, and the challenge of eating in places that most of our co-workers would consider “dirty” (Tad’s Steak I’m looking at you), so hit us with your best shot. All in all we hope that Midtown Lunch will be a useful resource for all of you who are looking for some adventures in urban lunching. So step away from that desk, leave your boring co-worker who eats the same thing every day behind, and let’s take advantage of the one hour a day we’re given to flee the confines of our cubicles for some good eats.

About The +/-

I am a firm believer that what makes food “good” is always a matter of taste. What one person finds to be great (me at a bulgogi cart), another may think is disgusting (most people I work with). Much of what you like and don’t like has to do with personal taste, expectations, price, and so on, so I’ve always felt a straight up review is indulgent. If a place is open, then somebody must like it- so every place we write about gets a +/-. In theory the (+) is what somebody who really likes this place would say about it. The (-) is what somebody who doesn’t like the place would say about it. While it’s usually obvious whether we like a place or not, I know that information is pretty subjective… hence the +/-. That being said, everybody has got their own favorites and opinions, so comments and recommendations are always welcome.

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The current incarnation of Midtown Lunch was designed by Raphael Brion at Anderhalf Design.

31 Comments

  • All the way from London, UK. I’m a foodlover myself and read your blog alot. Just want to say I love it and I recently decided to start my own food website called londoneater.com with food reviews in London!
    Do come check it out sometime, keep up the great eating man!

  • How do I sign up? I am a total food critic and I find this site to be very useful.

    Can a link be sent to me??

  • Absolutely fantastic site. Your site makes searching for treats in NY amazingly fun AND well worth it. THANKS!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • Found your site from watching Great Food Revolution. A Canadian documentary on the CBC. You can watch it online as well http://www.cbc.ca/documentaries/greatfoodrevolution/

    episode 4 broadcast March 26.

  • User has not uploaded an avatar

    Hi! Just wanted to tell you that you should go and try out Dean’s restaurant on 2nd Avenue between 42 and 43rd street. They have wonderful Italian food running from $8 – $12 individual size for their lunch menu. The portions are huge and it has great ambiance. Take a look at their site
    http://www.deansnyc.com/

    Go and try them out, you will thank me!!!

  • User has not uploaded an avatar
  • George Cardona

    I was in New York City recently and I visited a restaurant “Flor De Mayo” on the upper-westside it has the best Peruvian Chicken in the city, along with a very good classic cocktail list, and low prices. This is a rare restaurant that is equally good for sit-down and take-out. The cevice and fried plantanes at Flor De Mayo are quite good as companions to the Peruvian Chicken.

    George Cardona

  • How come there is no bio for Chris H?

  • User has not uploaded an avatar

    I visited Abitino’s on 56th street & 8th avenue and i must say i got a great deal for $6.99 i had unlimited choices from the Salad Bar or the Pasta Bar, everything was delicious. A soon as i walked in I was greeted with a smile, they have great customer service. I recommended the place to a friend of mine and she told me that she had one of the best Chicken Parm Sandwiches in the City. I really recommend people try this place, the food is good and you get your monies worth.

  • Great idea, great blog. Thank your for all the useful details. We are about to come to NY so, every post is very interesting to us. Thank you, guys.

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