Midtown Lunch

Twittering the New Obama Cart: Ubereater twittered this @MidtownLunch yesterday about the new Kwik Meal cart named after the President: "I bet it sounds good on the menu but probably doesn't taste nearly as good as it seemed." Ouch.  Alright, good burn... good burn.

Danku is Serving an Indoesian Sloppy Joe?: The AMNY Blog posted a mini guide to new European chains in Midtown, and I noticed this little nugget about Danku, the disappointing Dutch/Indonesian fast food place on 57th btw. 5+6th: "Additions to the New York menu include an Indonesian sloppy joe, mac'n'cheese krokets, and fat-free frozen yogurt." Indonesian sloppy joe!?! That's new since my "official review". *Sigh* Am I going to have to go back to Danku again?

Crisp Enters Sandwich Challenge With Indian Falafel: Crisp, the unconventional falafel place on 3rd Ave. btw. 43+44th, sends word that their Midtown Lunch Sandwich Challenge entry is now available.  "The Taj: Falafel, patadun (sic), mango chutney, lime chili pickles, greens, cherry tomatoes, and a cold curry sauce." (I'm guessing they mean poppadums.) If it's as good as their Mexican falafel, or that "exotic" falafel with pineapple, we may be in for a treat!

When is Scanwiches Going to Make it Up to Midtown?: Scanwiches, a photo blog of sandwich cross sections put on a scanner, is the latest food blog to be making the rounds (the "This is Why Your Fat" for March.) It's pretty amazing, but so far most of the entries have been Downtown. Can we get a Midtown sandwich up in this piece? Might I suggest the pork and plantain sandwich from Sophie's Cuban, something from Milant, or a french fry stuff falafel from Olympic Pita.

Famous Dave’s Opening Delayed: We reported last month that Famous Dave's BBQ was hoping to open their first Manhattan location by March 10th (on 47th btw. 6+7th)... but not surprisingly the opening has been delayed.  They are now hoping to be open in two weeks.

Bad Gas Closes Delmonico’s Deli: "Thought I'd let you know that Delmonico's deli at 41st and Lex is closed for cleanup today. Seems they had a gas explosion and were closed by the Health Dept., according to a worker who answered the phone there." Thanks to Lunch'er Howard for the tip.

Free Oatmeal Alert: "Free Oatmeal , smoothie (and other Quaker goods) in Times Square right now."  Confirmed by Blondie who said they're giving out so much free stuff she has breakfast for the "rest of the week".  They're only there until 10:30a.m. so get it while the getting is good.  Freeloaders engage!

Diddy Conducts Popeye’s vs KFC Experiment: Grub Street has posted this amazing video of P Diddy trying to decide which is better, KFC or Popeye's.  I didn't think there was any question that Popeye's fried chicken is the best, but at least give KFC a fighting chance by taste testing the extra crispy!  Original recipe doesn't stand a chance...

Dessert Truck, Bon Chon, & Hallo Berlin Make Yelp’s Top 100: Yelp has created a checklist of the "100 Best Dishes Yelpers Ate in NYC in '08" and a bunch can be had right here in Midtown: Slow Baked Apples and Chocolate Molten Cake from the Dessert Truck, Fried chicken from Bon Chon Chicken, the double soul mix from Hallo Berlin, Pan-seared monkfish from Sosa Borella (on 8th btw. 50+51st), Truffle and parmesan french fries from Kobe Club (on 58th btw. 5+6th), and the Filet mignon with foie gras butter from Del Frisco’s (on 49th btw. 6+7th). Good luck getting through this list. (I don't think I can even afford getting through all 7 in Midtown.)

NYC Tony Lukes To Be “100% Company Owned”: Serious Eats: New York gets the answer to the question I posed about Tony Luke's supposed return to NYC: "The chain is looking at a few spots in New York and should be open by 2010. 'Those stores will likely be 100 percent company-owned so we don't run into the creative differences we did at the Tony Luke's-now-Shorty's location.'" Nice! [Serious Eats: New York]