Midtown Lunch

Last week I swung by the latest addition to the Kwik Meal empire, Kwik Delight on 3rd Ave. and 45th Street.  I was interested in sampling their brand new chicken shawarma, which isn’t offered at either of the other two Kwik Meal carts (how could I not, right?)  In a Iot ways, I feel like chicken shawarma is chicken shawarma (much like gyro is gyro, if leave it on the spit long enough), but the white sauce and hot sauce are what Kwik Meal is known for, and they clearly make the difference.

As for their famous lamb, a few commenters remarked that it was chewy… but for those who are unfamiliar with the Kwik Meal carts, it kind of goes with the territory. 

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When I started this blog a little less than a year ago, I quickly set up boundaries that defined exactly where a “Midtown Lunch” could be.  We’ve only got an hour for lunch (and some of us less), so there had to be a border.  8th Ave. on the West, 3rd Ave. on the East.  Central Park to the North, and 32nd St. to the south.  The south part was pushing it a little, but I was biased by my love of Koreatown.  The whole point of doing this is to give me an excuse to stuff my face every day at lunch… how could I leave out Koreatown? 

There have been many temptations to cross those imaginary lines. Thai food on 9th Ave. has been recommended to me often, and people seem to love the falafel at Azuri Cafe, which requires you to trek almost all the way to 10th Ave!  I thought I was going to crack for the new Bahn Mi place on 2nd Ave., but luckily they charge way too much for what I’ve heard are pretty mediocre sandwiches, making it a little easier to skip (I still may end up trying it, we’ll see).  It’s been tough, but I have managed to hold it together.

Well, I finally met my match.  A few weeks ago, I received an email tip about something that I just could not ignore.  A place that embodies everything a Midtown Lunch should be (under $10, unique and adventurous), while combining the qualities of two of my favorite cuisines (Latin & Asian).  And they’ve got a lunch special to boot.  Readers of Midtown Lunch… I give you… BAYAN CAFE.  Filipino Food in Midtown.  That’s right.  Filipino.  What’s Filipino Food?  I’m not exactly sure.  But it’s freaking good.  So what if it’s East of 3rd Ave.  What’s an extra 15 feet for something that exists nowhere else in Midtown? And for that, I will now break my self imposed, meaningless to everyone but my feeble brain, Midtown Lunch boundaries. 

What they got, photos and the +/- after the jump…  Read more »