Midtown Lunch

It’s time for the 2012 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, Shake Shack ran away with the votes in the burger category, proving that any backlash against the chain had died down. At the top of the year, though, we saw the inspiration behind Danny Meyer’s burgers also make a splash in Midtown. Will Steak ‘N Shake’s arrival upset Shake Shack’s reign, or will Five Guys or Burger Joint return to the top? Only one way to find out. Here are the nominees for the best burger in Midtown…

• Bill’s Bar & Burger
• Burger Joint at the Parker Meridian
• Five Guys
• Schnipper’s Quality Kitchen
• Shake Shack
• Steak N Shake

Vote for your favorite, after the jump…

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It’s time for the 2012 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.

This year it seemed like there was a new gourmet food truck appearing every week in the city. Back in the early days of NYC food trucks (read: 2007), you could almost guarantee whatever you ordered from a food truck would be mighty tasty. Today many food trucks are appearing serving gimmicky food (let’s do Ethiopian tacos!!!) and hoping to earn a quick buck. It’s the ones that focus on the food that make us excited about what’s still to come from four wheels. The Vendy folks thought that Phil’s Steaks was the best new truck this year, since they awarded the Rookie of the Year to the philly cheesesteak mobile. Morris Truck serves the only grilled cheese that is worth the price (they offer a duck fat add-on!!) with their seasonal and local ingredients. Nuchas has solid empanadas in the largest truck I’ve seen yet on the street, while Okadaman has really unique and delicious Japanese bar food. And Our Heros, while currently off the street fixing internal problems, had the biggest bang for your buck with classic Italian sandwiches. But only one can be the best.  Here are this year’s nominees for Best New Food Truck in Midtown…

• Morris Grilled Cheese Truck
• Nuchas
• Okadaman
• Our Heroes
• Phil’s Steaks

Vote for your favorite, after the jump…

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It’s time for the 2012 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.

Desserts are one of those food groups that constantly morphs yet stays exactly the same–you can improve on the flavor, but can you really improve on doughnuts, cookies, cake, and frosting? This follows right through to our Best Desserts nominees. The Treats Truck has quietly snuck back into their old favorite spot on select weekdays, while newbie Schmackary’s appeals to the cookie fiend in all of us. Quality Cakes has the to-die-for ice cream cakes, Dough’s doughnuts can be found in Bryant Park and at Culture Espresso, while Gregory’s Coffee and Macchiato Espresso Bar make their own delicious sweet treats in house. And can you remember a time when Midtown was Momofuku’less?  We can’t.  But the big question is- can any of them beat last year’s runaway winner, Wafels & Dinges? Here are this year’s nominees…

• Dough Doughnuts (at Culture Espresso Bar & the Bryant Park Holiday Market)
• Gregory’s Coffee
• Macchiato Espresso Bar
• Momofuku Milk Bar
• Quality Cakes
• Schmackery’s
• Treats Truck
• Wafels & Dinges

Vote for your favorite after the jump…

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It’s time for the 2012 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.

I can’t believe we’re saying this, but I think it’s safe to say that Midtown has finally supplanted the East Village as the ramen capital of New York City… if not now, then definitely once Ippudo finally opens in Midtown West. Because after that, what more could you want that Midtown can’t give? There’s the Hakata style ramen at Hide Chan, the sumo-wrestler’s stew served at Menchanko Tei, Mark Bittman’s personal fave– Men Kui Tei, the sapporo style ramen at Sapporo, the wacky Burmese influenced ramen at Tabata, and of course, the chicken based ramen from last years winner Totto Ramen (which is so popular that it is expanding to a second location just a few blocks away.)  And could this be the last year that somebody other than Ippudo wins this category?  Here are this year’s nominees for Best Ramen in Midtown…

• Hide Chan
• Menchanko Tei
• Men Kui Tei
• Sapporo
• Tabata Noodle Restaurant
• Totto Ramen

Vote for your favorite after the jump…

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It’s time for the 2012 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.

Brownie and I are now bonafide street meat experts, so we know which of this year’s Best Street Meat nominees we’d eat at, you know, when we don’t feel like making it at home. But those of you stuck in Midtown offices need to weigh in on where you go! Of course, Street Meat Palooza 5 winner Uncle Gussy’s is in here, as are Kwik Meal, Famous Halal Guys, and the “Imposter” cart. But we thought we’d let the 2nd place SMP5 winner, Everyday Fresh Halal, into the mix as well. (Also, it’s awesome.) The real question is, do any of these guys have enough to unseat last year’s winner Comme Ci, Comme Ca and their Moroccan-inspired plate. Only one way to find out. Here are the nominees for best Street Meat 2012…

• Comme Ci Comme Ca
• Every Day Fresh Halal (SW Corner of 41st & Mad)
• Kwik Meal/Kwik Gourmet
• SW Corner of 53rd and 6th (“Imposter Halal Cart”)
• “Famous Halal Guys” (SE Corner of 53rd and 6th & NW Corner of 52nd & 6th)
• Uncle Gussy’s

Vote for you favorite after the jump…

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It’s time for the 2012 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’s food truck crackdown meant fewer Midtown visits for falafel favorite Taim Mobile, which in turn meant that newcomer Pitopia seemingly came out of nowhere to take last year’s falafel crown in our 2011 Readers’ Poll. To say that we were surprised would be an understatement. But now comes the real test. A year later, has Pitopia kept the hearts and stomachs of Midtown Lunch readers? With King of Falafel making its Midtown debut and mainstay Maoz keeping up its solid quality, the competition is steep. Here are the nominees …

• Crisp/Crisp on Wheels
• King of Falafel & Shawarma Express
• Maoz Vegetarian
• Olympic Pita
• Pitopia
• Taim Mobile

Vote for your favorite, after the jump…

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It’s that time of year again, when we reflect on the past 365 days of stuffing our face for under $10 and vote on who we think rules the Midtown Lunch’ing scene.  Got a favorite you don’t want left out of the mix?  Think your favorite lunch spot deserves to stand above the rest?  Nominate them in the comments below.  And next week we’ll vote on the best in a number of categories, from falafel to burgers, pizza to ramen.

Related:
The Best Lunches in Midtown As Decided by You: 2011 Readers’ Poll Results