Midtown Lunch

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.

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]

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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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…

• Beecher’s
• Bhatti
• Doughnut Plant
• Eataly
• Hill Country Chicken
• Mad. Sq. Eats
• Shake Shack
• 6 Avenue Taco Truck
• Tres Carnes

Vote for your favorite, after the jump…

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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.

Midtown Lunchers appear to stay pretty faithful to their favored Indian restaurant, as the nominations over the last few years haven’t offered much in the way of newcomers. This should speak to the quality this year’s nominees are serving out on a daily basis. However, that’s not to say things have remained completely stagnant, as we have seen the transition of 44th Curry House into a new Minar location, something I’m sure we can all appreciate. Will having two locations give them that leg up on the competition, or will Mausam Curry N Bites repeat again? Here are the nominees for best Indian in Midtown:

• Biriyani Cart
• Joy Curry & Tandoor
• Kati Roll Company
• Mausam Curry & Bites
• Minar

Vote for your favorite after the jump…

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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.

Desserts. Afternoon treats. Everything right with the world. Call them what you will, just as long as they’re delicious. Long gone are the days of terrible desserts in Midtown–we now have more cupcakes and cookies than we know what to do with. Baked by Melissa, Magnolia Bakery, Milk Bar & the finally open Lady M are definite standbys for fancier days, while Schmackary’s, Culture Espresso Bar and Gregory’s Coffee have the down-home treats we seek out for moments of comfort. And there are still Treats Truck and the reigning dessert champ (are there term limits here, Zach?) Wafels & Dinges roaming the streets for our affections. But only one can be the best of 2013 and here are this year’s nominees….

• Baked by Melissa
• Culture Espresso Bar
• Gregory’s Coffee
• Lady M Cake Boutique (40th btw 5th+6th)
• Magnolia Bakery
• Momofuku Milk Bar
• Schmackary’s
• Treats Truck
• Wafels & Dinges

Vote for your favorite after the jump…

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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.

For the past few years, the Japanese contingent of the readers’ poll has only been represented by the ramen. But this year, we’ve brought Best Japanese back because Japanese is so much more than ramen! You’ve got curries, bentos, teriyaki, and my personal favorite, black sesame ice cream. With Dainobu expanding and Glaze still whipping up some of the best cheap teriyaki around, how could we not celebrate all that Japan has to offer. And the nominees are….

• Cafe Zaiya
• Dainobu
• Glaze Teriyaki
• Go Go Curry
• Sunrise Mart

Vote for your favorite after the jump…

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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.

This year, old school standby Trini Paki Boys finally won Street Meat Palooza thanks to their beef curry. But how does it stack up to the rest of Midtown’s chicken and lamb over rice according to you lunchers? Will you vote for Trini Paki’s Trini influenced tamarind sauce or for Uncle Gussy’s ethereal white sauce or Kwik Meal’s iconic tender lamb? And then, of course, there’s always the two competing Halal Guys on 53rd Street (the original and the imposter). Which is your favorite street meat?

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.

The definitive street food/college student luxury of our time, pizza’s as big as ever on the streets and in the suites. We’ve got so much range to cover in our 2013 Reader’s Poll, and the best thing about this poll: you can click and walk at the same time if you fold your tablet to catch the grease! Well, okay, not really – no, please, don’t fold any electronics. But definitely sound off. We’re throwing ’em all in the ring: $1 slice, grandma slice, maybe even one or two gourmet uberpizzas. Toss and roll your favorite ‘za out as we submit to your our Reader’s Poll options for best slice of 2013:

• Bella Napoli
• Lazarra’s
• Little Italy
• Pizza by Cer Te
• Previti
• Savory & Sweet
• Two Bros

Vote for your favorite, after the jump…

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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.

It’s been another great year for the Middle Kingdom of Low Delivery Minimums – Chinese food in Midtown continues its strong-as-hell presence. There’s options galore this year as always, along with some newcomers and surprisingly short lives (not to mention a notable collective good-riddance). While there’s no threat from the pan-Asian fast-cas onslaught, competition for the lunch crowd is as hot as decent ma po tofu, steamy as a fresh char shu bao, and as tangled as a good bowl of Shanghai noodle soup.

• Cafe China
• Hing Won/Hop Won
• Land of Plenty
• Main Noodle House
• Shanghai Broadway
• Szechuan Gourmet
• Xi’an Famous Foods

Vote for your favorite after the jump…

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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:

• Bagel Express
• Daniel’s Bagels (on 3rd btw. 37+38th)
• Ess a Bagel
• Toasties
• Zucker’s

Vote for your favorite after the jump…

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