Midtown Lunch

Here’s a bit of Flatiron Lunch news before we lay this week’s review on you…

Happy First Day of Mad. Sq. Eats Spring 2013! Starting today, the yellow tape in the above photo will come down, the vendors will roll up their tent panels, and we will all descend on Worth Square at the corner of 5th Avenue and Broadway from 24th to 25th. If you need a reminder of how this went down in the past, please visit these hunger-inducing posts: here, here, and here.

As usual, there are a few new-comers to join favorites like Calexico, Cannibal, Ilili, and Roberta’s. Of the newbies, I interested in trying Mrs. Dorsey’s Kitchen, Mason Jar NYC (Mason Jar NYC is in the Flatiron area, but barely has a salad under $10, so it will be interesting what food and prices they bring to Mad. Sq. Eats), and Seoul Lee Korean Bar B Cue.

Mad. Sq. Eats, Worth Square at the corner of 5th Avenue and Broadway from 24th to 25th Streets, from Friday, May 3 to Friday, May 31

Last night marked the opening of Hester Nights, and I stopped by to see how it was going. Of note: there was a line to acquire beers just inside the Eventi at Brighton, but otherwise, the crowds weren’t crazy, and I noticed 1-2 empty tents, so I think it will pick up in the coming weeks. Make sure you attend with a friend or two so you can share and try more dishes. Fat Mac didn’t have a line last night, but I thought they offered a hefty portion of classic mac ‘n cheese for $6. Same for Ludlow Pizza which offers $5 margarita or $6 sopressata small personal pizzas. I am most excited for the tremendous variety, because you also have thai street food, bahn mis, BBQ, Mexican, Japanese griddle cakes, and many desserts. As the popular saying goes: “Variety is the spice of life.”

Hester Nights, Hotel Eventi Open Air Plaza, 851 6th Avenue with entrances on 29th and 30th Streets, Thursdays, 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., May 2nd through September 26th

Last week, the readers reminded me that Tebaya on 19th Street closed to be replaced by Go!Go! Curry. Go!Go! Curry uptown has generated a lot of ML press with promotions and offers. I hope they do the same for us. But in the meantime, I am most interested in the fact that on a random block in the Flatiron district, we have Go!Go! Curry within 2 storefronts of Go-Go Thai. What are the chances? Maybe Dim Sum Go Go from Chinatown can open a branch on this block, and we could have a Go Go trifecta!!

Go!Go! curry, 114 West 19th Street btwn 6th and 7th Avenues, (212) 255-4555

Every Friday we go south of the ML boundaries in search of a delicious lunch. Sometimes it’s Murray Hill south or the Flatiron District, sometimes Gramercy and everything in between- but we just like to call it Flatiron Lunch.

Here at Midtown Lunch, we have grown accustomed to restaurants pricing themselves out of the ML budget. (I’m looking at you No. 7 Sub!) So it makes us happy when a restaurant bucks the trend and adds a $10 and under option to the menu.

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Here’s a bit of Flatiron Lunch news before we lay this week’s review on you…

Last week, Tres Carnes joined our neighborhood on the corner of 22nd Street and 6th Avenue. When I walked by this week, it was apparent by the line out the door that word got out. I picked up a menu  while walking by and the good news is it looks like everything is under $10. Oh, and in case you’re wondering, the three meats in the name are: smoked brisket, chicken adobo and BBQ pork shoulder (and a no carne option). Each of these meats can be served in a burrito, 2 soft tacos, or a bowl.  Early adopters, let us know how it is in the comments.

Tres Carnes, 688 Sixth Ave (at 22nd St.) 212-989-8737

Every Friday we go south of the ML boundaries in search of a delicious lunch. Sometimes it’s Murray Hill south or the Flatiron District, sometimes Gramercy and everything in between- but we just like to call it Flatiron Lunch.

Mira Sushi and Izakaya recently opened with some serious pedigree in the kitchen. I’m talking Nobu 57 and Telepan. Given the high-end Asian restaurants Hanjan and Sen that recently opened in the Flatiron area (which are all just or way out of ML budget) I was curious where Mira would fall.

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A quick little bit of Flatiron Lunch news before we get to the review… Mad Park News confirmed this week the dates of this year’s spring Mad. Sq. Eats extravaganza. So get ready for May 3!  Now back to your regularly scheduled programming.  Every Friday we go south of the ML boundaries in search of a delicious lunch. Sometimes it’s Murray Hill south or the Flatiron District, sometimes Gramercy and everything in between- but we just like to call it Flatiron Lunch.

So, over on Lexington Avenue something interesting happened at Atomic Wings. Atomic Wings itself is carrying on as normal with boneless buffalo wings, chicken sandwiches, burgers, etc. But, it got more interesting with the addition of KalBQ, a Korean Mexican BBQ spot sharing the space.

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Every Friday we go south of the ML boundaries in search of a delicious lunch. Sometimes it’s Murray Hill south or the Flatiron District, sometimes Gramercy and everything in between- but we just like to call it Flatiron Lunch.

I know some of you are going to want to complain about how El Cocotero is so far away from the Flatiron Building, and you couldn’t possibly be expected to walk 10-15 minutes to pick up lunch. But on the other hand, how mad would you be if I found a place that makes really good arepas and didn’t tell you? Beyond arepas, El Cocotero also makes a delicious patacon. If you are like me and you have never heard of a patacon, it is fried green plantain sandwich with various fillings (like if you took super large tostones and used them as a bread for a sandwich.) A 10 minutes walk isn’t looking so bad anymore, eh?

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Here’s a quick little tidbit of news we thought our Flatiron Lunchers would be interested in before we dropped this week’s review on you…

Daniel Delaney and the team behind Williamsburg’s BrisketTown, which started as a Pop-Up BBQ series across the city last summer, is opening up shop on the Highline on April 18th! The new meat outpost, SmokeLine, will be located on the Highline at 15th Street, and will offer a very rib-heavy menu, in addition to Central Texas style barbecue sandwiches, pies galore, and a made-to-order soda bar featuring New York’s best sodas. SmokeLine will be open every day from 11am-9pm through October 18th.

Every Friday we go south of the ML boundaries in search of a delicious lunch. Sometimes it’s Murray Hill south or the Flatiron District, sometimes Gramercy and everything in between- but we just like to call it Flatiron Lunch.

A couple weeks have passed since Num Pang opened their NoMad flagship, so I headed over with two friends to see if held up to the standards set by the two previous locations. It’s hard to continue to serve some of the most delicious sandwiches ever while expanding.

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Here’s a bit of Flatiron Lunch news before we lay this week’s review on you…

Flatiron Luncher Cindyninja recently commented on my write-up about Gyro King that it closed and was replaced by Fava. I finally had the chance to walk by to see with my own eyes and sure enough… Fava. They said they have been at this location for about a month (about when my FL about Gyro King posted) having moved an avenue over from their previous location on Lexington. They didn’t do any major renovations but have managed to update the signage.

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Every Friday we go south of the ML boundaries in search of a delicious lunch. Sometimes it’s Murray Hill south or the Flatiron District, sometimes Gramercy and everything in between- but we just like to call it Flatiron Lunch.

My spies informed me two-three weeks ago that the spot formerly occupied by Eat-a-Pita at 30th and Park finally opened as Spreads. And considering these spies (okay, really just friends that work across the street) went several times in the first week, I figured I would skip the First Look and jump right in.

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