About 2 and a half years ago, when I first ventured into the basement food court of the building on 3rd btw. 52+53rd to write about Fusion Grills (a typical Chinese/Japanese food court establishment), I got loads of emails recommending its neighbor Gourmet 53.  It might look like a typical generic Midtown deli, people would tell me, but it’s a really good deal- and the food is great.  Most  people recommended their coconut shrimp special (what can I say, the longtime readers know me so well!) and even though I put it off for way too long- I finally made to Gourmet 53 last week to see if all the hype was warranted.

What can I say? I love coconut shrimp.  I don’t know if it can be directly traced to my wild Bar Mitzvah attending days of 1989, but irony aside (how do you serve shellfish at a Bar Mitzvah?) I freakin’ love coconut shrimp.  So sweet.  So crunchy.  So delicious.  Gourmet 53 offers them as a lunch special every day, and $6.95 gets you the shrimp plus salad and fries.  As if that wasn’t enough (dayenu) they throw in a canned soda, your choice of jello or fruit- and…

A cookie!  Are you shitting me?  Free jello and a soda was exciting enough. But a cookie also?  And all of it for less money that you would spend on a turkey sandwich at Lenny’s.  Gourmet 53 could be the greatest place of all time.  At the very least, it’s the best non-cheap-Chinese-food option I’ve ever encountered at a mall food court.  (Bourbon chicken counts as cheap Chinese food, fyi.)

You only get 6 shrimp, and they are butterflied to make them look bigger, but after you add the adequate fries, salad, jello, cookie and soda- you’re not leaving hungry.  It comes with mayo based-thousand island type-tartar style dipping sauce that I used a few times- but not every time.  Sometimes you just want to taste that sweet crunchy coconut. I really liked the salad too, not because I like salad or this was necessarily a great one, but because they put it on top of the fries- so as you poke down with your fork you can’t help but pick up a fry a or two with your greens. I like it!

I know there is plenty more to like about this place aside from the coconut shrimp, and tips on when to go to avoid the lines, etc.  So if you are a fan, feel free to put your recommendations in the comments.  And to all those who have been telling me about Gourmet 53 all these years… I’m sorry it took me so long.  I’m stupid. You’re smart. I was wrong. You were right. You’re the best. I’m the worst. You’re very good-looking. I’m… not… attractive.   And to the rest of you coconut shrimp loving MLers… what are you waiting for?  Check out Gourmet 53 sooner rather than later.  Don’t make the same mistake I made…

Gourmet 53, Food Court in the Basement of 875 3rd Ave. (btw. 52+53rd), (212) 223-8481

A lot of action lately on 53rd Street btw. 2+3rd Avenue, a small “out of bounds” block that I’ve covered a little bit in the past. Spoons, the tiny Korean/American take out deli closed up awhile back, and a second location of the East Village’s Brick Lane Curry house has opened in its place. The Hungry Commuter gets the first taste and reports that “the phaal isn’t as hot as the original. But give them some time. They just opened…” I’ve never been to the original Brick Lane Curry House in the East Village, which nobody will argue serves some of the hottest curry in NYC. Whether or not it actually tastes good, is a whole different argument.

But wait. There’s more…

Lunch’er Anastasia casually mentioned the newly opened Good Health Burger in her profile last week, but sends along this extra info:

Good Health Burger is amazing vegetarian (and some non-vegetarian) food, that even my carnivore husband said was fantastic. Most of the options are under $10, and the burgers are large and come with warm tortilla chips and salsa. I recommend the Black Bean Bacon Burger. I know it’s vegan, but it’s SO good. I hate giving up this gem of a secret, but I want them to stay in business and I want the MidtownLunch readers to taste the magic. Oh, and the dairy- and egg-free desserts are out of this world.

Good to know… for vegetarians. Good any news or tips to share? Feel free to send them to zach@midtownlunch.com

Brick Lane Curry House, 235 E 53rd St (btw. 2+3rd Ave)

Good Health Burger, 237 E 53rd St (btw. 2+3rd Ave), (212) 888-8007

There are two other Qdobas in New York City (one on 34th btw. 2+3rd), but according to the NY Sun the new one is the first to actually be owned by the parent company (the other two are franchises).  Full report coming soon…

The Indonesian Wrap (PLUS a bonus Bulgogi Wrap at a little place called “Spoons”) after the jump…

The Organic Harvest Cafe is a great find for anyone looking for organic, vegetarian or vegan food for lunch.  It’s a little expensive for a take out lunch place, with most sandwiches and salads priced around $10, the veggie burgers being around $9, and the entrees being $12 and up, but when you consider the ingredients, people interested in this kind of food will probably not mind paying the extra money. 

When I got there, I discovered that they had changed the name of the place to “Uncle Marky’s Organics” and raised the prices!  I was disappointed to find that my Indonesian Wrap was now $10.15 and out of the Midtown Lunch price range- but after walking that far, I wasn’t leaving without some damn fermented soybean caked wrapped in a tortilla!

The place is tiny, with a few seats at a bar- but most people take the food to go.  I ordered my wrap, and watched “Uncle Marky” run around taking orders, cutting desserts and packaging up food to go.  For a few minutes I felt like I was back in L.A. as I listened to an “aspiring actress” regale some guy with some ridiculous casting story, as she waited for her organic salad (Urth Cafe West anyone?).  Oh joy!  In the time I spent waiting for my wrap, I pondered whether healthy food is really worth the hassle of listening to the kind of idiots who frequent healthy restaurants…

Anyway, back to the food… the wrap came with tempeh, mango, brown rice and steam greens.  For $10.15 it wasn‘t that big, and I couldn‘t taste the coconut curry sauce at all.  In an effort to make it healthier, the tempeh is baked in big chunks- making it not nearly as tasty as when you slice it thin and fry it.  So overall the wrap was disappointing (for a person like me, not concerned about food being healthy and meatless).  If you love tempeh, and are looking for healthy food, you will probably like it more than I did.

But the trip was not an entire wash… next door I discovered Spoons, a similar type take out set up (with a few seats) that served salads, sandwiches, wraps and entrees.  But the interesting part about the place is that it’s run by a Korean family- so on the menu was… a Bulgogi Wrap!  I returned yesterday, to check out this new wrap discovery and was slightly more pleased with the results.  For $7.25, the wrap was about the same size as Uncle Marky’s (on the smallish size), but the “bulgogi” was pretty tasty.  I put it in quotes because it was more like sirloin strips, marinated in bulgogi sauce, than the thin chopped up slices of meat you would get at an authentic Korean restaurant.  The meat was pretty tender though, and while the whole thing was a little dry (it needed some sort of sauce for the rice), the flavor was pretty right on. 

It was basically like a Korean’ish Steak Wrap, and for $7.25 a little lighter on the wallet than the Uncle Marky’s Wrap- although the menu had the price at $8.95, making me think that the prices at this place are a little screwy.  The printed menus didn‘t match either of the two signs in the restaurant (which also didn‘t match each other).  And I’m sure there’s even a different set of prices on Seamless Web (they do a lot of delivery orders).  Even so, the place seems pretty popular, and I’ve heard they do a mean Salmon wrap.  They also have some other interesting sounding dishes, that I would have tried had it not been for the price (like the $13.95 Spicy Homemade Bulgogi Noodles, and the $10.95 Spicy Homemade Shrimp Dumpling Rice Bowl).

For anybody who works in the area, 53rd btw. 2+3rd is actually a mini treasure trove of possible out of lunches…  In addition to Spoons & Uncle Marky’s Organics, there’s is also a hip little thai place (LTK), a hip little Indian place, Hakata Sushi to go, an authentic looking Japanese Ramen place (which was definitely out of Midtown Lunch price range) and a sit down Chinese place.  Not bad for this out of bounds block of Midtown…

Spoons, 235 E. 53rd St. (btw. 2+3rd), 212-371-3111

Uncle Marky’s Organics, 235 E. 53rd St. (btw. 2+3rd), 212-421-6444

Qdoba, the fast food burrito place owned by Jack in the Box, is planning on a December 1st opening for their a new 53rd St. & 3rd Ave location.  Anybody ever tried this place?  I know there is one on 34th btw. 2+3rd, but I haven’t been able to make it there yet.  I’m guessing it’s just going to make me miss Baja Fresh more than I already do, but the Chicken Mole Burrito looks mildly intriguing… thoughts?