Midtown Lunch

Got this message from Lunch’er Jeremy on Friday: “Have you noticed how hot it is inside Dishes (on 45th btw. Mad+5th)? This is no fluke; it was equally as uncomfortable last summer. For a place with a price point as high as Dishes’, they could stand to give customers the most basic requirement for 100-degree NYC summers… working air conditiong! Not too mention that any place with a buffet serving cold, spoil-prone food should do a better job keeping the environment suitable. You have the power to effect change! Please help, ML.” Coincidentally enough, Eater received the same complaint about Xie Xie (on 9th Ave. btw. 45+46th.) Hopefully this isn’t a trend…

Yesterday, a new Five Guys opened on 48th btw. 5+6th and despite it being a mobscene the reports were pretty positive service wise. Today, not so much. From Lunch’er “Masto”: I’ve never seen a place go downhill so fast. Because I wasn’t very hungry yesterday and only had a hot dog, I decided to go back for the proper burger and fries today. The lines were ridiculous and they somehow managed to lose my order in the assembly line. While I waited and waited and then waited for them to re-make it, it seemed like half the people there were in the same boat. They kept grabbing the customers’ receipts to go back and start over. Occasionally they even screwed that up and had to try a third time. I guess everybody who went yesterday told their coworkers and they just pushed it over a critical limit of competence today. Or everyone just quit. It’s stressful enough to stand in the midst of that chaos and screaming while waiting for food, I can’t imagine what it’s like to work there.” Give it time. I’m sure they’ll settle in to a fairly standard 15 minute wait time.

If you’re paying under $10 for steak, you’d expect to get a not so tender piece here and there. But apparently Tri Tip Grill, the “best thing in [the] Rock Center” concourse, doesn’t operate like that. From Lunch’er “John”

Hey guys–

I normally don’t do anything like this but figured you might be interested since I remember reading a good review of the Tri Tip Grill in Rock Center about a month back (the reason I tried it in the first place, actually).

I work in the area and have gone a few times, just getting the usual thin-sliced sandwich, because after all who can resist a delicious steak sammich on fresh bread? Anyway, went this past Monday with a few friends and tried the Roadhouse Buck, which is thick-sliced with bleu cheese, fried onions, the whole deal. Looked awesome.

Only problem was, I got a super-tough piece of meat that was impossible to cut with a knife, let alone chew. Too lazy to bring it back but just not lazy enough to type for 30 seconds, I fired off an email saying just how sad it was to look at such a beautiful and sweet-smelling sandwich but not be able to eat it. I wasn’t even expecting a response back.

But instead I got this:

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Following yesterday’s post about Jamie excellent falafel building technique at Maoz, Lunch’er “Chunk” chimed in with this comment:

“I haven’t been able to go back to Maoz since I observed the following a couple of weeks ago. As I was waiting for my bowl of balls, I noticed that a guy who seemed to be an off-duty employee, or at least a friend of the employees, was engaged in some major double dipping. I mean, he would take a bite and then go back to the bar, get more fixins, and then use the tongs to tamp them down on the just munched part of his pita. The on-duty employee definitely noticed.”

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After I posted about the not so great $5 burrito I had at Mi Nidito last month (on 8th Ave. btw. 51+52nd), I got this email from Lunch’er Jill sticking up for them.

We had our office Christmas party at Mi Nidito a few weeks ago. I had suggested the place to my coworkers because, since Chipotle moved in next door, I have been worried that the restaurant would close and I wanted to provide some financial support. As I was sitting with the group, I glanced over at the bar and noticed a guy waiting for his takeout order. Wait, is that Zach from midtownlunch.com? It couldn’t be. He never eats here. Well, apparently it was you, waiting for your not-very-good food.

I was so sad to read your piece about Mi Nidito. (especially the face that Chipotle is having such an impact). I thought maybe since Mi Nidito served drinks their happy hour would tide them over financially. Apparently not. As a long time fan I have to suggest a few dishes that I think are really great and you should try sometime.

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After I proclaimed Aura Thai’s duck soup one of the best in Midtown last week, Lunch’er MikeNYC pointed something out in the comments that is hard for me to deny:

It’s strange: If one were to go by this site alone, one would think soup is pretty much an asian food. Try clicking on that food type “soup” link above. The resulting stories skew about 80% or more to asian soups. (I made up that ratio, but it’s a high number) That is not even close to the asian/non-asian ratio of soup sales or consumption, based solely on casual observation in places I go. Which is my long winded way of bitching about the lack of non-asian soup coverage on ML. BTW, anyone got a good chicken pot pie soup near rock center? Bistro does a good one, but not every day. Also, burning question: Pot pie soup – bits o’crust, or no? Maybe I should take it to the forum….

You are so right.  I’m completely prejudiced again non-Asian soups, and it’s not right.  Although, in my defense, a bowl of ramen or udon seems more like a full meal than anything you could get from Hale & Hearty.  Chicken pot pie soup does sound good…  so, I’ll do it!  My next 5 soup posts will be non Asian.  Got any suggestions for me?

Related:
Lunch’er Grace Reports: The Ultimate Midtown Soup List

Cuban Sandwich from Sophie’s circa 2007

Last week somebody posted about the price hike at Sophie’s Cuban in the forums, and the comments lit up with general complaints about the Peruvian owned Cuban chain.  From the sound of things, the once great Latin food mainstay might be losing a step at its remaining few locations…

From mkim1206:

funny you mentioned Sophie’s.  I went for the first time yesterday and ordered their cuban sandwich. it was pre made in the fridge. anyway, it was one of the worst thing i ate in a while.  The pork was dry as hell and there was no flavor what so ever.  I was so disappointed.

But wait… there’s more.

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I try my best not to be too negative on this site, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be able to vent. Every once in awhile I’ll share some of the more angry useful emails I get in a post called “Airing of Grievances”. (If the Eater Complaints Dept. would like royalties, I’ll be happy to pay up…)

The Baja Fresh Opening Soon on B’way & 41st. Photo courtesy of Lunch’er Harry

Zach,

I’ve had enough, I like you too much and I can’t stand for you supporting Baja Fresh anymore. Friends don’t let friends support Baja Fresh. You’re making a fool of yourself. I told you long ago that this is not the “west coast Baja” you’re used to. I told you, that they’d been in Jersey for years now running a sinister operation of 9$ flaccid burritos, where they push the envelope of rice to meat ratio every time, probably just to test a customer’s breaking point. I would never in a billion years succumb to openly compromising my foodie reputation and associating myself Baja Fresh as a fan. However, just for you, I did [last week], and for the sake of being a cheapie who likes deals that rip off my arch nemesis (i.e. my failed attempt to win a free Yushi lunch). I tried printing the page at work but it would have been about 5 pages long since the stream of comments was so long. I decided to just bring in my phone and show them evidence that I actually went through the hassle of becoming a fan and writing a comment.

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I try my best not to be too negative on this site, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be able to vent. Every once in awhile I’ll share some of the more angry useful emails I get in a post called “Airing of Grievances”. (If the Eater Complaints Dept. would like royalties, I’ll be happy to pay up…)

Photo of a Random Mr. Softee Vendor (Not the one being complained about)

Here’s a particularly bad email I got yesterday from a guy who was ripped off by a Mr. Softee truck yesterday, and on his birthday of all days!

“So yeah, the guy at 36th and 7th in the Mister Softee truck is a monster prick. I went up to him, asked him for a small cup. He hands it to me and I thought to myself “wow, that’s a huge small” – he didn’t tell me how much it was, but I gave him a 20. When he handed me $13 back, I said “$7? For a small?”

He claimed that he showed me the large cup and I said that’s what I wanted (that NEVER happened). I said “well, do you have a small cup?” and he showed me the smaller (presumably much cheaper) cup. I said “that’s what I wanted. I asked for a small cup.”

He then proceeded to get in my face about it…”

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