Midtown Lunch

Now that Downtown has its very own section of the site, what are we going to post on Fridays at 10am? Answer… how about a new column devoted to those lunches just south of the ML boundaries. Every week we’ll post about a lunch in Murray Hill south, Gramercy, Flatiron, and everything in between… or as we’ll call it from now on: Flatiron Lunch.

Desi Truck is a brand new Indian food truck that opened up on 27th Street at 5th Avenue just this week. It’s still a bit early and they are planning some changes at least in the look of the truck over the next week, but after a couple visits, I can say the kati rolls alone are worth going for.

Check them out after the jump…
Read more »

Now that Downtown has its very own section of the site, what are we going to post on Fridays at 10am? Answer… how about a new column devoted to those lunches just south of the ML boundaries. Every week we’ll post about a lunch in Murray Hill south, Gramercy, Flatiron, and everything in between… or as we’ll call it from now on: Flatiron Lunch.

Hidden away on 18th Street off of 5th Avenue, Cafe Prague is easy to miss. Even if you notice it, the small cafe can easily be mistaken for a generic deli. I almost walked right by it until I saw the signs promising Czech dishes like goulash and “Prague Hot Dogs.” How could I pass that up?

Read more »

Now that Downtown has its very own section of the site, what are we going to post on Fridays at 10am? Answer… how about a new column devoted to those lunches just south of the ML boundaries. Every week we’ll post about a lunch in Murray Hill south, Gramercy, Flatiron, and everything in between… or as we’ll call it from now on: Flatiron Lunch.

Wappa Wappa! I’m back, filling in this week for UltraClay. Here I’m covering Curry Hill’s Chennai Garden and their vegetarian Indian lunch buffet. What happened to me? Did I turn vegetarian? No, but I’m down for the $6.95 all you can eat or $6.95 all you can fill lunch box to go. Take the jump to see how I did…
Read more »

Now that Downtown has its very own section of the site, what are we going to post on Fridays at 10am? Answer… how about a new column devoted to those lunches just south of the ML boundaries. Every week we’ll post about a lunch in Murray Hill south, Gramercy, Flatiron, and everything in between… or as we’ll call it from now on: Flatiron Lunch.

Thai food restaurants are few and far between in Midtown South. Up until a week or so ago, the only option I knew of near my office was Lemongrass Grill (on 34th btw. Lex+3rd). Every several months I end up there with co-workers and we all get the exact same dish we always get and then bathe it in the various sauces that are on hand and hope for something more interesting than usual (it rarely succeeds.)

Then, the other day, I spotted Taan Thai Cuisine. Actually, I spotted the signs for JoeyThai, presumably the previous restaurant in this spot. Apparently, no one thought it necessary to bother changing signs- but  I’m fine with that because the food is a vast improvement over the other Thai options in the area.
Read more »

Now that Downtown has its very own section of the site, what are we going to post on Fridays at 10am? Answer… how about a new column devoted to those lunches just south of the ML boundaries. Every week we’ll post about a lunch in Murray Hill south, Gramercy, Flatiron, and everything in between… or as we’ll call it from now on: Flatiron Lunch.

I must have passed Sagaponack dozens of times while bouncing around the camera shops and photo labs of the Flatiron District, but I never really considered it for lunch. It certainly doesn’t immediately seem like a Midtown Lunch. I mean, look at it… there’s a chandelier. It’s fancy. I’m a longtime fan of Pearl Oyster Bar for a downtown seafood splurge and BLT Fish is just a couple blocks away- in other words, I have fancy seafood covered.

I grabbed a menu anyway, just to see what they’ve got and was pleasantly surprised. Turns out that there are more ML priced options than you’d expect. Even better, those options go beyond the seafood rolls, offering an interesting selection of tacos, including a Korean Barbecue taco. Um, what??

Yes, really. Read about it after the jump.

Read more »

Now that Downtown has its very own section of the site, what are we going to post on Fridays at 10am? Answer… how about a new column devoted to those lunches just south of the ML boundaries. Every week we’ll post about a lunch in Murray Hill south, Gramercy, Flatiron, and everything in between… or as we’ll call it from now on: Flatiron Lunch.

After a couple weeks in the ‘Flatiron’ part of the Flatiron Lunch area, I headed back to further my exploration of Curry Hill. One of my biggest challenges when walking down Lex is figuring out which place to pick, so I’ll be a little transparent here so you guys can tell me the right way to pick. Cinnamon over the million other places on this strip: First, it’s new, it opened up just a month or two ago, so I wanted to get the scoop. Second, unlike a lot of the dark, divey old school places with Christmas lights and ornamental chili peppers hanging everywhere, Cinnamon looks sort of, well, normal. Yeah, it’s a weak reason, but it’s true. Finally, there’s the financial reason. The $8.95 buffet seemed like a pretty good deal to me, so I went for it.

I’m not the expert Zach is, but a fat man’s instincts are all one really needs to navigate the all-you-can-eat buffet and I’ve got that. See what’s hot on the steam tables after the jump.

Read more »

Now that Downtown has its very own section of the site, what are we going to post on Fridays at 10am? Answer… how about a new column devoted to those lunches just south of the ML boundaries. Every week we’ll post about a lunch in Murray Hill south, Gramercy, Flatiron, and everything in between… or as we’ll call it from now on: Flatiron Lunch.

The Bistro Truck is such a tease. When Zach posted about their opening last year, he mentioned that they might come up to Midtown eventually. Nearly a year later and we still get no love. So, after spending all winter drooling over the tweets about their specials, it was time to take matters into my own hands and hop the bus down 5th Avenue.

Except for some recent difficulties that have left them renting someone else’s truck, they have been showing up to the same spot on 5th Avenue near 17th Street pretty faithfully. That’s just bad news for Midtowners because they serve some great Moroccan specialties along with burgers, frites and regularly changing specials that I’d love to have closer to the office.

Some more on the menu and the food after the jump…

Read more »

Now that Downtown has its very own section of the site, what are we going to post on Fridays at 10am? Answer… how about a new column devoted to those lunches just south of the ML boundaries. Every week we’ll post about a lunch in Murray Hill south, Gramercy, Flatiron, and everything in between… or as we’ll call it from now on: Flatiron Lunch.

After seeing Danny’s pastrami sandwich last week, I found myself craving some classic Jewish deli fare. Now, I’ve been to 2nd Avenue Deli, which is closer to my office than the Flatiron District, but the prices stray far higher than the typical Midtown Lunch range, so I took advantage of a gorgeous day and walked down to Eisenberg’s.

It’s an old school counter joint that takes you back to old New York. Better, while it has a following, there aren’t nearly as many tourists as you’ll find at other old delis in town. Continuing to cater to lunchers instead of tourists may be why the prices at Eisenberg’s are still reasonable compared to so many of the others.

See the food you get for your money after the jump.

Read more »

Now that Downtown has its very own section of the site, what are we going to post on Fridays at 10am? Answer… how about a new column devoted to those lunches just south of the ML boundaries. Every week we’ll post about a lunch in Murray Hill south, Gramercy, Flatiron, and everything in between… or as we’ll call it from now on: Flatiron Lunch.

One of the benefits of the Flatiron Lunch beat for me is going to be finally having a good excuse to explore Curry Hill. I confess, in five and a half years of working in Midtown South, I’ve rarely partaken in all the Indian delights to be found just a few blocks to the southeast. So, with few preconceptions and no recommendations, I took a walk down Lexington to see what I could find.

I took to the Midtown Lunch basics and sought out the smallest most unassuming hole in the wall I could find. That was Kathi Rolls, a tiny spot that apparently used to be called Kebab Factory- but changed names at the beginning of the year. It’s an offshoot of Bhatti across the street and is unrelated to the Kati Roll shops of the orange signage in Midtown and the Village or the Biryani Cart, which makes what are still my favorite kati rolls.

To call Khathi Rolls a restaurant seems to miss the point. It’s more of an indoor street cart with seating. As soon as you walk in the door, the veneer of quaint tea shop disappears almost immediately. The striped awning, cute sign and single table sitting in the window belie the heart of Kathi Roll, which is all street meat.

Read more »

Now that Downtown has its very own section of the site, what are we going to post on Fridays at 10am? Answer… how about a new column devoted to those lunches just south of the ML boundaries. Every week we’ll post about a lunch in Murray Hill south, Gramercy, Flatiron, and everything in between… or as we’ll call it from now on: Flatiron Lunch.

Hey folks, I’ll be taking over for Jason on the weekly Flatiron Lunch column. I work at the southern end of Midtown, near the Empire State Building and often end up going out of bounds to find something worthwhile to eat. From now on, I’ve got a good excuse to go exploring even more.

When I first started thinking of lunch spots to cover for Flatiron Lunch, Waldy’s (800 6th Ave btwn 27th & 28th) was one of the first to come to mind. I’d tried out their flatbread pizza last summer and had been looking for an excuse to make my way over there again ever since.

Read more »