Midtown Lunch

In the ML Forums: Here's what lunchers are talking about in the forums right now:

• Sarge's Deli put my coworker in the hospital [Miscellaneous]
• The Pret on 44th & 3rd has closed [Midtown Eating]
• Pomme Frites is a good place to score some poutine [Eating Outside Midtown]
• Where can I find crispy dry Szechuan beef? [Midtown Eating]
• If you go to Milano Deli, make sure you get there early for the rare roast beef [Midtown Eating]

Lunch in the Park: If you have a friend or loved one that is self employed (or unemployed) and wants to meet you for lunch in Midtown, you should forward them this post by the Amateur Gourmet. Not a bad idea at all...

Alternate Street Vendor Universe (Or Is It?): The City Desk, an Onionesqe site that deals in "fictional urbanism", has imagined an NYC so overrun with carts that "congestion pricing" becomes necessary. I don't know if that's the answer, but I like the sound of a "Hawaiian pig roast bus" or an "oyster bar hummer". [via Eater]

Manhattan Spends an Average of $19 on Lunch: According to a survey by ECA International ""a quick lunch in Manhattan, the most expensive city in the U.S., averages a relatively modest $18.61".  That means for every $5 street meat lunch we're eating, somebody is spending $33.  Those people are nuts! And it's getting worse. "In 2008, Manhattan came in at no. 84 and for 2009 jumped sixty-seven places to land at no. 17."  [Yahoo via Bionic Bites]

Vendy Awards Announces Citizen Judge. Was It You?: This morning the Vendy Awards announced the identity of their first ever "Citizen Judge", drawn randomly from everybody who had purchased special early bird tickets to this year's event. There's going to be another exciting judge announcement later this week, so you might want to buy your tickets now before they all sell out (and trust me, they will.)

We Need a Pig Cart in Midtown: My lord.  Check out this cart discovery by Daniel Maurer over on Grub Street. Pig's head. Cracklins. Blood sausage. Too bad this isn't in Midtown! If it was open for lunch during the week, I would be on a subway to Jackson Heights right now. Has anybody been?  Let us know how it is.  I started a thread in the forums>>

Translating Szechuan Gourmet: Dave Cook from Eating in Translation has been slowly eating his way through the menu at the new branch of Szechuan Gourmet on 56th btw. B'way+8th.  It all looks pretty delicious, from the sliced beef tendon, to the dan dan noodles and string beans with minced pork. [Eating in Translation]

95 Cent Cookie & Coffee Deal: I guess this is a good enough reason to go back to Cucina & Co in the Met Life Building (on 45th btw. Park+Lex): 95 cents will get you a cookie and a coffee from 3 to 4pm.  [Elaine Perlov's Blog]

In the ML Forums: Here's what lunchers are talking about right now in the forums:

• A new $1 pizza place has opened on 31st near Lexington [Midtown Eating]
• Is the Shake Shack at Citifield as good as the original? [Eating Outside Midtown]
• Everyone is getting excited for Street Meat Palooza 2 [Midtown Eating]
• ML Happy Hour Correspondent Mamacita had sausage and peppers for lunch today [Miscellaneous]
• Is there anywhere to get udon soup near 57th & Madison? [Midtown Eating]

Free Cupcake & Waffle Alert: Tomorrow from 6-9am both the Cupcake Stop Truck and the Wafels & Dinges Truck will be giving out free samples in front of the Fox & Friends studio on 48th and 6th Ave.  Still no word on when (if ever) the Cupcake Truck will be in Midtown actually selling their full size cupcakes.