Midtown Lunch

Let’s face it – It’s only February, and we still have at least a month of cold weather left before we can put away the sweater, scarves and jackets. Bundling up is one way of beating the cold weather, but the contributors here at Midtown lunch like to reach for a hot bowl of soup to warm up. We’ve asked each of the contributors to share a favorite bowl of soup in Midtown, so read on to find out where we like to get our soup on.

Read more »

Oh The Wangen!  A couple weeks ago Cer Te announced a new sandwich for the month of February called “The Wangen”.  Braised Beef Cheeks With Marigold Apples Crispy Sea Salted Cabbage Melted Mountain Gruyere On Finnish Ruis Bread With Coleman’s Mustard for $8.95. I really love cheeks, and despite all the good reviews I had never been to Cer Te- so clearly I had to check it out.  Yes, that’s right.  I have never been to Cer Te (don’t pretend like I’m the only one) but I’ve been meaning to go, and if most of their sandwiches are better than this one you’ll probably find me there once a week.

Read more »

Cer Te (on 55th btw. 5+6th) is at it again!  After a few months off, they’re back with another special sandwich of the month.  Got this message from the restaurant on Friday: “The February Sandwich will begin on Monday, January 31. “The Wangen” Braised Beef Cheeks With Marigold Apples Crispy Sea Salted Cabbage Melted Mountain Gruyere On Finnish Ruis Bread With Coleman’s Mustard $8.95. Sounds good, right??” Yes. Yes it does. And what do you know! Today is Monday, January 31st. Early adopters, let us know how it is in the comments.

Upstate is filled with some wonderful regional food finds that never seems to make it Downstate despite a large Upstate contingent. One example of this is the Garbage Plate–everyone wants it, no one makes it. Another is “Chicken Riggies.” I don’t remember having any prior knowledge of the Utica-Rome specialty of ‘riggies’ until Certe (55th btw. 5th+6th) debuted the the Chicken Riggie sandwich two weeks ago. I now understand why I need to make more of an effort to explore the Upstate.

Read more »

Just a friendly reminder… as promised last week, Cer Te (on 55th btw. 5+6th) is bringing back the Mr. Potato Skin sandwich for one day only today. It’s $8.95 and features a “chicken cutlet w/ bbq sauce sandwiched between two baked sea salt and vinegar potato skins stuffed with aged cheddar and apple wood smoked bacon, served with sour cream and chives on the side.” Please address all of your thanks to Eater, since it was their crazy sandwich map that inspired the comeback.

Related:
Cer Te’s Mr. Potatoskin is Like a Fried Chicken Stuffed Baked Potato

Cer Te (on 55th btw. 5+6th) has made some pretty amazing special sandwiches for us over the last two years, and their latest is a doozy.  They’re taking the Utica specialty “Chicken Riggies” (that’s chicken and pasta in a spicy, creamy, tomato sauce) and serving it in sandwich form (in a toasted soft focaccia roll.) Thursday is the first day you’ll be able to score the sandwich, but between now and then you can buy a voucher for the Chicken Riggies Sandwich, plus two cookies, for just $6 from InBundles.

Last week, we reported on Cer Te’s cheeky response to its ‘B’ cleanliness rating assessed by the Department of Health. It appears that the DOH doesn’t share the same sense of humor, as their modified sign has been replaced with an unadulterated ‘B’ sign.

However, I wouldn’t expect Cer Te to go gently into that good night, instead, they’ve posted a follow-up alongside the DOH sign arguing their first amendment rights. I’m not sure if first amendment rights are applicable in this case, but at least they’re taking this whole DOH business in stride. Keep fighting the power Cer Te!

Let us know if you spot any other funny or unexpected DOH letter ratings.

We’ve known that Cer Te (on 55th btw. 5+6th) was the best for awhile now, but now- with a little help from the DOH- everybody knows!  The WSJ was the first to notice this one, and we must say that it is refreshing to see a place so proud of their “B” rating. (Lord knows we’re going to keep eating there.)

How do we know they’re not ashamed?  The restaurant is the one that sent over the photo.

We have to admit, last Friday when Cer Te (on 55th btw. 5+6th) twittered this photo and called it “Surf & Turf” we thought they were just joking… nope. It’s a real special, and they’re offering it again today. $11 gets you half a sirloin wrap and half of a lobster roll wrap, take out only.  Sure it’s $1 over the ML price range… but how can we complain when lobster and steak is involved?