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As much as we complain about Midtown as a “culinary wasteland”, the cart scene is probably the best in the city (rivaled only by Jackson Heights, perhaps?) When it comes to variety, we pretty much have everything- with few exceptions.  2 1/2 years ago, we even had a Japanese teriyaki cart (on 50th btw. 6+7th)- which disappeared as quickly as it popped up. Well, I’m excited to report that teriyaki has returned to the Midtown cart scene (on the NW corner of 49th & 3rd), and it is a huge improvement on the original.

Simply labeled “Teriyaki”, the new cart is owned and operated by a former chef from Mee Noodle (the one on 9th Ave. btw. 53+54th.)  I guess he got sick of being a Japanese cook in a Chinese restaurant?  It’s not a place you’d brag about being a chef at, but I always found Mee to be a pretty great standby for some pretty cheap and greasy noodle soup with roast pork and dumplings.  You won’t find any of that on this cart though… it’s strictly Japanese with three kinds of teriyaki ($5 chicken, and $6 beef or salmon), three kinds of ramen ($5 chicken teriyaki, $6 beef curry or fish ball), $1 chicken or beef on a stick (yakitori), and edamame or seaweed salad for $2.

I decided to start things off with a little meat on a stick action.  The chicken was the kind of chewy low grade dark meat chicken you get at a Thai Restaurant in L.A. (if you’ve ever eaten in L.A.’s thai town you know exactly what I’m talking about.)  It was tasty though, and for $1 it’s hard to complain too much.  The beef, however, was where it was at.  Flavorful, pretty tender (for cheap meat on a stick), and for $1 it’s a steal.  Easily the better of the two. (Beware of the grease though… it leaks out the tin foil.)

I also tried the chicken teriyaki ramen (how could I not!)  That’s right.  They take a bowl of ramen noodle soup, and put a scoop of chicken teriyaki over the top.  Awesome.  Not surprisingly, the noodles were more like spaghetti than good ramen, and completely mushy.  But that’s really the only real complaint I have about the soup.  The broth was really flavorful, and the chicken teriyaki added a nice sweetness to the whole thing that was really enjoyable.  The soy sauce egg was an excellent touch as well.  And for $5, it is a really good amount of food.  The broth is pretty greasy though, similar to Mee… but not enough to ruin the soup.

For a brand new cart, I have to say I was pretty impressed, and I will definitely be back to try the beef curry soup, and the chicken and beef teriyaki plates.

THE + (What somebody who loves this place would say)

• Everything from a cart tastes better!
• The beef on a stick is really good, especially for $1
• Chicken teriyaki in a ramen soup?  Bring it on!
• Really cheap for the amount of food you get
• I love soy sauce eggs!

THE – (What somebody who hates this place would say)

• The chicken is a pretty low quality
• The soup is a little too greasy
• Putting teriyaki chicken into a bowl of ramen is just wrong!
• The noodles in the soup are terrible
• I’d rather spend a little bit more money and get better Japanese food

Teriyaki Cart (NW Corner of 49th & 3rd)

Thanks to luncher Mark & PK for the tip.

And so the quest to find the best chicken parm sub in Midtown rambles on.  First, there was Tuscany Catering, the little hidden catering place/take out counter on 55th btw. 5+6th.  I was down with it, but my boss (the resident chicken parm expert) wasn‘t impressed- and a few commenters noted that it was just average.  The train moved on to 45th St., where we hit up Little Italy Pizza.  The bread was good, but the chicken was not up to par, unlike across the street at Park Italian- where the chicken is good, but the bread was weak the day we were there (apparently, their 1st string bread is much better than their 2nd string bread, and maybe we got the back up bread?).

Commenter Margot mentioned La Bellezza on 49th btw. Lex+3rd, and since then, I have gotten a few more recommendations over email.  Then, two weeks ago, Profiled Midtown Lunch’er “David” mentioned the Chicken Parm from a La Bellezza on 40th & 7th.  Same place?  Different place?  What is going on here?  I set out to discover some answers… and by that, I mean I used this as an excuse to eat Chicken Parm subs for lunch in one week.

What I discovered, and some chicken parm sub porn- after the jump…

The La Bellezza on 40th btw. 7+8th is actually Labeleca on the sign outside, despite being listed on Menupages and other sites as La Bellezza.  A small take out pizza place, I’ve walked by this joint a ton of times without going in.  But not today.  It was mission time.  It gets a little crowded during lunchtime, so if you want pizza just step to the left hand corner and order your pizza.  If you want subs or pasta step up to the counter on the right and order from that counter.

The pizza looked pretty weak, but luckily we were not there for the pizza.  The sub gets assembled behind the counter, and then popped into the pizza oven for a little toasting (and to melt the cheese).  The bread was much better than you’d expect at a little hole in the wall like this, and the chicken was very well seasoned.  Rather than one thick piece of chicken, this sandwich features two thinly sliced chicken breasts stacked up on top of each other.  The result, more crispy fried stuff in your sandwich.  Very nice indeed.  Good amount of cheese too.  The only downside (for some) is that they didn‘t put enough sauce on our sandwiches- but that is easily fixed.  (I actually like my chicken parm a little more dry, so I was down with it.)  Cost:  $6.00  Not bad at all.

With Labeleca firmly in the thumbs up category, I headed over to La Bellezza 49th btw. Lex+3rd, on a different day (I’m fat, but not a machine.)  La Bellezza III according to the sign, it was pretty much the same set up (although the pizza looked much better than Labeleca).  Order pizza at the counter on the left, sandwiches and pastas go straight to the counter on the right (don’t get caught in the pizza line if you want to order a sub.) 

They also confirmed that Labeleca and La Bellezza III were owned by the same people, but when I asked whose food was better, the guy said “Most people say it’s ours.”  Fair enough.  One chicken parm sub to test out this theory.

Once again, I was served two thinly pounded chicken breasts stacked on top of each other.  Good amount of cheese, good bread, and the perfect amount of sauce (i.e. a little more than the version at Labeleca).  The sauce was real nice, and not too sweet (the downfall of many chicken parm subs).  All and all, another thumbs up.  Total cost:  $6.50.   La Bellezza was even smaller than Labeleca, and even more crowded- so be prepared to be cramped and take your food to go if one of the 4 or 5 stools in the place is taken.  Same goes for Labeleca- although they have more stools. 

I’m not ready to call off the search for the best chicken parm sub just yet (I still have to hit up Mondello’s on 37th, Lazzarra’s on 38th and if all else fails, an “Out of Bounds” post about Manganaro’s on 9th Ave.)  But for now, La Bellezza III & Labeleca are where it’s at.

THE +

• Good bread
• Sauce that isn’t too sweet
• Very well seasoned, thinly pounded out chicken breasts (so they don’t get dried out)
• Not too expensive ($6-6.50) for a nap inducing sub

 THE -

• Labeleca can be a little dry sometimes (but you can always ask for extra sauce)
• Both places are tiny, and can get pretty cramped
• Neither have any tables, just stools- and there aren’t very many, so you have to be prepared to take your food to go.

Labeleca, 200 W. 40th St. (just west of 7th Ave.), 212-869-9605

La Bellezza III, 145 E. 49th St. (btw. Lex+3rd), 212-871-3223