Midtown Lunch

On Saturday,  March 27th Niall’s Pub (218 East 52nd btw. 2+3rd) Barros Luco will be holding a special fundraiser to support aid efforts to nuestro Chile lindo after the country’s devastating 8.8 earthquake. The $30 donation at the door will enter you into a special raffle and the chance to win all sort of prizes donated by area merchants. Food will be provided by Barros Luco and Niall’s Pub will offer drink specials all night. All proceeds got to the Chilean Red Cross.

Tickets for my favorite event of the year have just gone on sale today… the Village Voice’s Choice Eats. This year’s bash will be on March 22nd at the 69th Armory (on Lex btw. 25+26th) and tickets are $45 for general admission, and $75 for VIP… although there are limited number of early bird tickets available now for $10 less. 23 of the restaurants have been announced, and even though only two three are from Midtown (Xie Xie, Mantao Chinese Sandwiches, and Toloache) it’s already shaping up to be a stellar lineup. To purchase the discounted early bird tickets before they run out, click here>>

Related:
Margon Does Midtown Proud at Choice Eats
Margon Does Us Proud at Choice Eats (Again)

“This is Why You’re Fat” the book comes out next week, and to celebrate they’re having a food truck scavenger hunt in NYC next Thursday. It involves taking your photo with 6 different incredibly gross items from 6 different NYC food trucks.  Here’s all the info direct from TIWYF co-founder Jessica Amason:

This is Why You’re Fat is taking over NYC’s most popular food trucks for a day, giving the nation’s fascination with fatty foods the 2.0 treatment, all over again! I’ve created a Twitter contest involving six of Manhattan’s most popular Twittering food trucks to join the *Gross Food Movement and celebrate the blog to book that made it all happen.

When: Oct. 29 (the week of publication), from 11am to end of day.

Where: Throughout Manhattan (mostly downtown locations).

All the contest rules, plus a sneak peak at the list of the 6 food trucks that will be participating is after the jump.

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I have never been to Foley’s (on 33rd btw. B’way+5th) and I know this is a stupid marketing gimmick… but any spot that wants to glorify Toots Shor (and by transitive property Frank Sinatra) is all right in my book.  Tomorrow (Weds 10/21) is Foley’s 2nd Annual Toots Shor day, celebrating the famous Manhattan restaurant with a special menu of Toots Shor’s dishes at their original 1959 prices.  That means an $8 “Sinatra” Sirloin steak, $4 “Mickey Mantle” corned beef and cabbage, $4 “Jackie Gleason” fried scallops w/ fries, and more.  Mamacita wrote about their Happy Hour, but only tried the pizza and onions rings.  Anybody eaten at Foley’s before?  It’d have to be really bad to not be worth it at these prices…

Related:
Midtown Happy Hour: Mamacita Loves the Balls at Foley’s Pub

Remember that blogging thing at Whole Foods I’m doing next Thursday? Well the people at Whole Foods saw some of your comments about price, and said they’d be happy to knock off $10 off the ticket for any Midtown Lunchers who wanted to come. Just use the code MIDTOWNFAN when purchasing your ticket here for the discount. Already bought your ticket? Email them (nehou.culinary.center@wholefoods.com) and they’ll credit you the $10 give you 20% off the cost of another class. ($15 for 2 hours of my exciting insight into the world of blogging.  What could be better?  Come to think of it… don’t answer that.)

Speaking of vendor issues, if you are a street food lover (or vendor) you should show your support by coming to the Astor Center this Sunday night at 6pm. Sean Basinski (from the Street Vendor Project) will be hosting a street vending panel featuring me, Ed Levine (from Serious Eats), and Kim Ima (from the Treats Truck). Get all the info here>>

Related:
Astor Center to Host Vendy Panel This Sunday

It seems like every major food media company in New York has decided to throw their big food events over the next 6 weeks. There’s the Bon Appetit Pop Up Supper Club and Cafe happening all next week, the Food Network New York City Wine and Food Festival October 8-11th, the Gourmet Institute October 23-25th, and now this: “Epicurious Entertains NYC”. The 5 days festival kicks off two weeks from yesterday with the “Ultimate NYC Lunch Break” featuring food from The Mermaid Inn, ‘ino, Toloache, the Treats Truck, Rickshaw Dumpling, and more to be announced.

It all goes down on Broadway and 18th Street (Flatiron lunchers represent!) and tickets cost $20. But they’ve given us a pair of tickets to give away to one lucky Midtown Lunch’er reader (and I never turn down free lunch for you guys… even if you have to take the subway to get it.) Just comment below why you think you deserve to win the free “Ultimate NYC Lunch Break” and you’ll be entered to win. One winner will be drawn at random on September 21st at Noon (and notified immediately.) Good luck!

Well, the Hot Doug’s event at Astor Center is already sold out- but there’s another event that was just announced you might be interested in. There are no foie gras dogs, or duck fat fries- just discussion about an issue that should be near and dear to every Midtown Luncher’s heart.  This Sunday night the Street Vendor Project is hosting a panel called “Street Food Snapshots: Mobile Vending in NYC” featuring SVP founder Sean Basinski, Serious Eats‘ Ed Levine, Kim from the Treats Truck, and me.  We’ll discuss the current explosion of “fancy” food trucks, how it is effecting the Street Vendor Project and the Vendy Awards, and what it means for the future of street vending in general.

I’ve written a lot about these issues on Midtown Lunch over the past few years– so if you’ve become interested in the subject, own a street food truck, are thinking of getting into the business, or you’d just like to tell me in person how much of an idiot you think I am, this event is for you! Tickets are $15, and light snacks will be served PLUS they are “working on turning the street in front of Astor Center into a one-time night market with a couple of participating vendors ready and waiting to sell you snacks after the discussion is over.”  A portion of the ticket price will go to benefit the Street Vendor Project, and all ticket holders will get $5 off tickets to the Vendy Awards, or a free Vendy Award poster (if you’ve already bought your Vendy tickets.)  For more info, and to purchase your ticket visit the Astor Center Website. See you there!

After visiting Chicago last October, I practically begged the owner of Hot Doug’s to open a second branch of his amazing hot dog stand in NYC. I knew the effort was futile, but when faced with sausages this good (plus duck fat french fries) a man’s stomach can force him to do things his brain would never dare try.  Well, it turns out somebody heard my prayer… and that somebody was Ed Levine, grand-poobah of Serious Eats, who has arranged for Hot Doug’s to come to NYC for one night only.

It’s not in Midtown (booo!) but Astor Center is much closer than Chicago- so I’m not complaining.  Tickets are being sold in pairs for $65, and you get “two Chicago dogs, two foie gras dogs, an order of duck fat fries, and a six pack of beer, as well as a tasty surprise to start.” Plus the pleasure of Doug “Hot Doug” Sohn’s company. $65 may seem kind of expensive to those who have never had the pleasure of visiting Hot Doug’s, but it’s far cheaper than flying to Chicago! The event is on October 7th, and there are two seatings with only 30 spots each. Buy your tickets here>> UPDATE: And that’s it.  Both classes are sold out.  I told you… the hot dogs are that good.

Related:
Midtown Wishlist: Hot Doug’s (aka the Best Hot Dog I’ve Ever Had)

If you like to eat, chances are you like to drink (read: a lot of you are freakin’ lushes), so I thought maybe it was time to introduce a happy hour column to the site. Every week, our Happy Hour Correspondent “Mamacita” will post about a different bar in Midtown that fits the Midtown Lunch mentality: unhealthy food, not lame (unless it’s lame in a cool way), and most importantly… cheap.

In honor of the alignment of the nines on 9/09/09, Bar 9 along with Magic Hat brewery threw a party this past Wednesday to celebrate the rare and momentous occasion. I was on hand as judge for their annual salsa competition and representatives from Magic Hat promoted their #9 beer with free swag and a raffle. Turns out B9 also hosts a free cheese tasting on all Wednesdays sponsored by Kashkaval, but by 6:30pm, when I arrived, it was gone, baby, gone (damn!).

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