It might surprise you to hear me say this, but being forced to work in such a tourist driven part of New York City is not always a bad thing. Sure, a glut of fat mid-westerners means that Midtown will never have a shortage of TGI Friday’s, Sbarro’s and shrimp restaurants based on Tom Hanks movies. But an abundance of Japanese tourists and businesspeople create the same, albeit more positive, effect:  Midtown is full of authentic Japanese food-  and I’m not talking about sushi.  I’m talking authentic kaiseki meals at places like Hakubai (in the Kitano Hotel), ramen at places like Menchanko Tei, amazing izakayas (after work drinking and eating spots) like Sake Bar Hagi, and the grill-centric Yakitori Totto, and its two sister spots Yakitori Torys and Aburiya Kinnosuke.

Traditionally yakitori (and the izakaya that often serve it) has always been an after work or late night snack type of thing, to accompany drinking, so it made sense that these places wouldn’t be open for lunch.  Of course this is America, and my desire for meat on a stick knows no cultural boundaries!  Many of us who work in Midtown have always lamented that these places weren’t open for lunch… and as a business owner, what’s more important?  Authenticity, or paying the rent?

So, you can imagine my excitement when Yakitori Totto announced last month that they were now open for lunch. But Totto is not cheap-a single skewer costs $3+ at dinner time- and even though I had begged for this moment I secretly knew that it probably wouldn’t be cheap enough to quality as a true Midtown Lunch.

Yesterday, I walked over to 55th btw. B’way+8th for the moment of truth.

COME ON NOW!?!  How lucky can a guy get? $9.50 lunch special!  That, my friends, is a Midtown Lunch.  I went right in, and took a seat at the bar.

If you’re trying to keep the lunch under $10, your options are kind of limited.  I like Oyako Don just as much as the next guy, but the place is called Yakitori Totto.  I’ll take some meat on a stick please…

Included in the $9.50 price was an excellent bowl of miso soup (a lunchtime revelation if you’re used to the watered down garbage you get for free at most cheap Midtown sushi spots)…

… and a salad!  This deal was looking better and better.

The main course, three fairly small chicken skewers over a smallish bowl of rice, is not large.  But this is not the cheap dried out sticks of chicken you’re probably used to.  Expertly grilled, I found myself savoring every single bite of the delicious fatty dark meat chicken (the choice between succulent, fatty, flavorful thighs and whit meat breast is no choice at all!)  The rice was also delicious, covered in bits of nori, a little bit of seaweed salad, and a sweet soy sauce.  It came with a lightly poached egg, served chilled. Common sense dictated I put it over the rice bowl (which I did), but next time I probably won’t. I don’t doubt its authenticity, but I like my egg yolks warm- and I didn’t like the cold/hot contrast of the egg over rice.  (Did I do it wrong? Or maybe they only serve it cold in the summertime?)

All in all it really was the perfect lunch.  The fat guy in me was tempted to order another skewer or two (hello gizzard!), or a gyoza appetizer to share, but the Japanese zen master in me was satisfied with what could be considered the perfect amount  of food.  Admittedly it’s not a true Midtown Lunch…  mostly because it’s more enjoyable as a sit down restaurant than a quick take out lunch.  But in some ways it defines the ultimate Midtown Lunch.  $10 is as much an emotional barrier as an economical barrier.  I have always felt that $10 is a line in the sand that restaurants consciously decide to cross of not.  It is tough to run a profitable business, and it would have been completely expected to see a Yakitori Totto menu with lunch specials over $10.  But I feel like they consciously decided to have a few options for the budget conscious Midtown Lunch’er, who also loves meat on a stick!

The cheapos of Midtown deserve an expertly cooked, sit down lunch in a beautifully calm Midtown oasis every once in awhile, don’t we?  The fact that we can get it at Yakitori Totto for under $10 makes it my new favorite Midtown Lunch. You’ll probably want to go soon though.  Yesterday the place was half full around 1pm.  In another 3 months, there will be a line out the door.  Guaranteed.

THE + (What somebody who likes this place will say)

• A calm Japanese oasis, in the middle of the craziness of Midtown
• Upscale Japanese yakitori, for under $10?!?!
• At night, 3 skewers alone would be at least $9 (and this came with rice, soup and salad)
• I love meat on a stick!!!  And this version is expertly grilled
• Far better quality than fast food yakitori, like Kushi Q (and not that much more expensive for what you get)

THE – (What somebody who doesn’t like this place will say)

• Fat guy says: “It’s not a ton of food” (aka the skewers are pretty small)
• It takes a lot of discipline not to break the $10 barrier
• Cold poached eggs are weird!
• In another few months the place will be packed, and lunch will probably take longer than an hour
• The lunch combo doesn’t include any of the strange yakitori options (like gizzard, liver, or heart)
• The lunchtime chicken skewers don’t have the scallions that the dinnertime versions have

Yakitori Totto, 251 W. 55th St., 2nd fl, (btw. B’way+8th), 212-245-4555

After Wednesdays false alarm, I excitedly hit up the new location of Szechuan Gourmet (on 56th btw. B’way+8th) yesterday right at noon, only to find out they were still waiting for the city to give them the green light to open (it came about an hour later.) But they were willing to do take out orders- so I did what had to be done: double cooked pork belly with chili leeks, to go, with white rice and hot and sour soup. The version served at the flagship, two starred NYT, restaurant (on 39th btw. 5+6th) is quite possibly my favorite Chinese food dish in the city. But the question remained, would the version at this new location stand up.

Considering that this could have possibly been the very first plate of double cooked pork belly served out of the kitchen of the new Szechuan Gourmet, I probably wouldn’t have posted anything if it hadn’t lived up to expectations. You know, give them a few weeks to iron out the kinks. Luckily, that was not a concern! Delicious as always. Really delicious. The thinly sliced, fatty pork sauteed with leeks in a slightly sweet Szechuan chili sauce. And the perfect amount of heat (although there are those of you who will undoubtedly want it hotter.)

The lunch special comes with rice plus your choice of a drink or soup (your choice of wonton or hot and sour.) Both are great versions of two soups that can at times be boring or watery (especially when they come free with lunch.) The only disappointment is the menu’s promise of “free szechuan pickle” went unfulfilled. The employee behind the desk said that because they were just opening, it would come with it today. The implication is, eventually you will get it for free with lunch. All I have to say is they better not change the menus. They’ve gotten my hopes up for free Szechuan pickles, and I want free Szechuan pickles!

My only advice with Szechuan Gourmet is to stick with the Szechuan specialties. The only complaints I’ve ever heard about this place came from those who went expecting the best General Tso’s chicken or beef with broccoli they’ve ever had. That’s a mistake. If you want the best SG has to offer, order one of the Szechuan dishes (they all have chili peppers next to them.) Don’t like spicy food? This might not be the best place for you. (Although I’m sure their Americanized Chinese food dishes are good, just not 2 Stars from the New York Times good.)

Related:
First Look: Lunch Menu From the New Szechuan Gourmet
Szechuan Gourmet: Day 1 as a NYT 2 Starred Restaurant

Szechuan Gourmet, 242 W. 56th Street (btw. B’way+8th), 212-265-2226