Midtown Lunch

I happened to walk past the generic salad bar/deli, Tomato (52nd St between Lexington & 3rd Ave.), and noticed they’ve been shuttered by the DOH with a whopping 93 violation points. Although we’ve never tried to food here, our condolences go out to the lunchers who relied on this place for their sushi, sandwich, and salad needs as well as the people that risked food poisoning by actually eating here.

Thanks to Lunch’er Copyboy for sending over this important news re: Hing Won, our favorite Chinese food place in Midtown (on 48th btw. 5+6th).  “Hing Won Gets a C.  It’s the only inspection grade of “C” I’ve seen, and as part of the restaurant’s knuckling under to the Health Dept., they stopped hanging their roast meats. But take heart Hong Kong food freaks: you can still order roast pig, and despite the low grade my favorites (sauteed udon w/roast pork, spicy beef stew, Indonesian curry chicken) continue to not sicken me. Nor has the grade had any apparent impact on the lunch crowd.” Whew. That was a close one. This isn’t the first time Hing Won has been in trouble with the DOH… let’s hope it doesn’t effect quality the way it did with Ying Du. (Ahem, sorry. Ming Du.)

Making jokes about how dirty Tad’s Steaks is standard practice around these parts. After all, any place that serves steaks within the Midtown Lunch price range is bound to raise some eyebrows. But Zach was a huge fan, and the DOH agrees as the 47th and 7th location is proudly displaying an A in their window. Maybe this will finally put to rest all those nasty rumors about Tad’s making people sick. Making people dodge falling light fixtures is a different story, of course.

We’ve seen a lot of DOH sign shenanigans.  Cover ups.  Camouflage. Comedic acceptence. But making up your own sign and hanging it in the window?  This is new even for us.  Luncher “Ambitious Delish” tweeted us this photo yesterday from S. Dynasty (on 48th btw. Lex+3rd).  “Is this allowed,”  she asked.  Honestly?  We have no idea, but utilizing our skills of judgement and basic common sense we’re going to go with…. no.

Anybody ever been to this place?  We couldn’t find it on the DOH restaurant inspection site (which can provide hours of fun, I assure you), but found A grades at three different restaurants in this building – including a Chinese one called Lo.  But nothing listed at all for S. Dynasty.  Then again, the 2 1/2 stars on Yelp worry us a bit more than the letter in the window.

Cafe Zaiya (on 41st btw. 5+Mad) has never really struck me as an “unsanitary” place, yet it always seemed like their practice of storing food out in the open might get the attention of the DOH.  That day may have finally come as the Japanese eatery now has a C hanging in the window. We’ve been afraid for awhile that the DOH would ruin everything we loved about Zaiya, but there was only one major difference I noticed on a recent trip.
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Last week we told you that Ying Du was hit by the DOH and forced to close. It’s now back open and they’re getting ready to see what kind of DOH grade they’re going to get! I’m really interested to see what kind of grade they get since the DOH has been pretty harsh on them in the past about roast meats. So what do you all think? I’m thinking we might see a crowd favorite get a B or C! And if they get an A, someone start shooting down those flying pigs.

While Midtown Lunch generally isn’t pro-chain, as a Rock Center denizen who’s pulled more than an occasional late night at the office, I’ll admit that I’m appreciative of the 24 hour Dunkin Donuts right down stairs by the subway entrance. Let’s be honest though, this DD is an open storefront just a quick flight of stairs away from the (rat infested) subway tracks. Nevertheless they managed to pull an A from the DOH. Nice work guys.

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.

I know that everyone has been sitting on the edge of their seats waiting to see how their favorite lunch spot scores with the DOH. For me, that meant waiting for Blarney Stone’s C or even D, but no! Blarney Stone has gone and proven it’s cleaner than a seemingly higher-end deli, and an upscale burger chain by scoring an A.  I’m so proud. Burgers for everyone… unless this convinces you that there are some greasy palms walking around town!