Midtown Lunch

In case there was any doubt before today, this picture should seal it: Midtown loves Chinatown style fried chicken from a truck. NYC Cravings, the new Taiwanese fried chicken truck parked in Midtown for the first time today (on 45th and 6th) and this was the scene at 1pm just before they informed the 30+ person line that there were only 18 orders of chicken left.

If you missed out, they’ll be at Park and 24th tomorrow- and have said that they plan on parking at this location in Midtown every Monday… which is great news, b/c I tried the chicken and it is pretty freakin awesome. A new powerhouse in the NYC food truck scene has arrived. Full report coming soon.

No riots today… Just a quiet, peaceful line of freeloaders that stretches down 42nd St. AND AROUND THE CORNER (onto Vanderbilt). Today they are only letting a few people in at a time so the line is moving super slow. I mean seriously people. This meal costs $5!!! You have to be the cheapest person of all time to put up with this nonsense.

I of course will be waiting in line for my free chicken. (What can I say? It’s what I do…)

UPDATE: 55 mins (10 of it in the rain) for $4 worth of chicken and you don’t even get to choose your sides! Worth it? Fuck no! What’s that? You already knew that? Oh. I guess it could have been worse… I could have been the guy behind me who waited all that time only to realize you needed a coupon (which he didn’t have.)

Quick lunch at Hing Won (on 48th btw 5+6th), followed by a couple of wagers on the Kentucky Derby at the OTB right next door. Who says you can’t spend part of your lunch hour at the OTB! In addition to the 48th st location, there is one on 3rd Ave and 44th, plus you can place bets at Inside Track on 53rd and 2nd, the Playwright on 35th btw 5+6th, and Winner’s Circle on 7th Ave and 38th. Good luck…

Oh, and go Desert Party!

Free chicken confirmation from the KFC location on 50th and 7th. Sadly it was just a wing, so it left me wanting more (guess that’s the point). Tough to tell quality from one little wing but it was good enough- and looked better in person than in the fake grill mark photo in the poster. Nice appetizer to begin the lunch hour… (now moving on to something better.)

Update: Sorry, forgot to mention… No line at 11:45, but it shouldn’t be too bad throughout the day because they already have the chicken prewrapped and ready to go. Ordering food and paying for it might be a different story…

I don’t know if it’s the weather or what, but this could be the shortest free cone day line I’ve ever seen. Last year the Rock Center line came all the way back down and around the corner. Not sure if it will get better or worse as the day goes on Apparently it will get worse as the day goes on (update below)… Feel free to post updates in the comments. 1:30pm wait time for my cone: under 10 mins. (And keep in mind, if you tip they usually give you more.)

UPDATE via comments: “Nice pic. Just went down again but line has gotten longer since you took this.” “20 minutes just now, it has snaked back and around the corner all the way to the pharmacy.”  Holy mackerel.  I guess 3:30 is the prime ice cream time.

Wow… this was the line at Moshe’s Falafel at 1:45pm today (on 46th and 6th), which reopened along with a few more of your favorite Kosher spots, after being closed for the Passover holiday. The New York Times reported this morning that bagel places would be mobbed today… I guess that applies to falafel carts as well.

You know how you can tell that Winter is officially over? The Mister
Softee Trucks are out in full force. (I hope this doesn’t jinx it.)

So it’s my birthday today, but I am forgoing my annual “go to a by the pound chinese buffet and eat with reckless abandon” birthday meal to have a fancy pants lunch with the wife (and baby).  I suppose once a year it’s ok to spend a little more than $10 on lunch… especially if it’s at Anthos.  (Awwww yeah lamb burger!) I feel a little bad being here with the baby in the stroller, but he’s being pretty well behaved.  Too bad the lady next to us doesn’t think so. I apologized, and felt really bad until I watched her scrape the beautifully seared crispy brown crust off top of her fish, and only eat the inside.  There should be a freakin’ law.  You know what lady… eating lunch next to my kid’s stroller didn’t ruin your lunch, you ruined your lunch!

Ah… whatever. Your birthday is just once a year! What are you gonna do…

Related:
My Lamb Burger Plea to Michael Psilakis

About 30 minutes ago I spotted Hosea, the winner of the latest season of Top Chef, strolling up 5th Ave. toward the Apple Store. Channeling Gary Vaynerchuk, I stopped him to “hustle” a bit for Midtown Lunch (urgh, I seriously hate myself and don’t know what made me do it.) He in turn asked me for a lunch rec near 53rd and 5th where he could sit down and answer emails. The “sitting down” part ruled out some good street meat, so I suggested that if he wanted to “Top Chef” it up, he should get the lamb burger at Anthos (he can afford it, right!) on 52nd btw. 5+6th, and if he wanted to slum with the Midtown Lunchers he should go to Five Guys (on 55th btw. 5+6th). Don’t know which one he chose, but if there are any Top Chef stalkers out there you may still be able to catch him…

Update from “Sam” in the Comments: “I saw him coming out of BLT Steak”

Lame.

That’s a lot of brown

All that talk about Panda Express in the comments made me hungry for some bad steam table Chinese food, and for that there is really only one option… Yips (on 52nd btw. 5+6th.)  Hing Won & Sun Yip are pay the pound, Ying Du is too authentic, and that place in the Rock Center concourse is so bad even I won’t go there.  So Yips it was… the general tso’s chicken had just come out fresh, so how could I not?  Fried rice and fried pork chops round out the lunch, and for $5.95 how could anybody possibly complain.

Ever since they went from 3 steam tables to 2, I assumed Yips was on its way to closing up shop after 30+ years (their sign says “Since 1974” I think).  But after today’s lunch, I think they may be better than ever.  Perhaps getting rid of that 3rd steam table improved the overall freshness.  It’s still crappy Chinese food (and enjoyment can fluctuate wildly depending on what you end up choosing)… but my general tso’s/pork chops/fried rice combo was the best Yips I’ve had in 3 years of Midtown Lunch’ing.  Craving satisfied.