Midtown Lunch

The Tray Can Only Take So Much (To Be Exact, 9 Times As Much As What You See Here.)

If you are a longtime reader of Midtown Lunch (and a lover of Korean food) you are no doubt aware of Woorijip’s by the lb buffet (on 32nd btw. B’way+5th).  My eyes and stomach are both large, so I have always found the “pay what your lunch weighs” a very dangerous game to engage in.  But Woorijip has so many amazing things to choose from and the buffet is only way to get a little bit of everything… or a lot of everything, as this lunch’er seemed to  do recently.  Naturally, his tale is a cautionary one…

“Just wanted to tell you and your readers an extremely important fact. I am sure many of us have put the per pound lunch table trays to the test on a hungry day. Recently I rolled by Woorijip, the Korean deli on 32nd at 11:45 am, the food trays were fresh, warm, and not picked over. I could not have been more excited.

The lineup was epic: The cold side featured heaping treys of: Pork Belly with Soy Ginger sauce, Kimbap, Pickled veggies, rice cakes, baby octopus. Half way through the line my tray was already full…”

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Last October, I was pretty excited to find soft shelled crabs on the by the pound buffet at Cafe Duke (on 51st btw. 6+7th).  Well, soft shelled crab season started up again last month, and Lunch’er “David” reports seeing them at the 41st and Broadway Cafe Duke yesterday.  I stopped by the 51st Street location today, and they were nowhere to be found.  Please report positive sightings in the comments below (preferably before lunchtime.)

Unable to ignore the prospect of 50% off the hot food at a by the pound buffet, I stopped by Green Cafe yesterday (on 44th btw. Mad+5th)  just to see what was going on… survey the scene if you will (before heading to KFC).  Like most commenters noted, it’s a pretty generic Midtown deli- and for $8 a pound, the hot/cold bar is definitely not worth it.  ($4 a pound, on the other hand…)  There was, however, one thing that caught my eye:  gigantic friend shrimp!  I’ve been duped by shrimp at a by the pound buffet before (the fake shrimp fiasco of 2006), but these were clearly real shrimp.  Well, I shouldn’t say “clearly”… they clearly had real tails sticking out the side of  a ton of breading that looked like it could possibly house a real shrimp.  I wouldn’t put it past one of these places to insert real tails, into a fake fried shrimp carcass (would you?)

I had to find out for myself.

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There is only a certain number of times a guy like me can walk past a place like this without stopping.  I have a special place in my heart for Chinatown Express, the pay-by-the-pound cheap Chinese place on 7th Avenue btw. 33+34th (right next to Gyro II).  Long before I lived in NY, I used to visit from Boston- and Chinatown Express was usually my first stop after leaving Penn Station or even Port Authority. What can I say?  I’ve been addicted to cheap Chinese food for a long long time (in fact, General Tso’s chicken put me in the hospital in college… *allegedly*). Of course my early flirtation with Chinatown Express was long before they set up the satellite stand on the sidewalk selling cheap chicken wings, egg rolls, fried chicken and lo mean. And, after walking by this sidewalk ”cart” more times than I can count on my hands, I finally succumbed to the pressure of the easy access super cheap Chinese food.

What I got (who am I kidding, I ordered everything), and how it was (who am I kidding, you know I loved it) after the jump.

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I’ve got some really sad news to report to all-you-can eat buffet lovers:  The International Food House Buffet on 35th btw. 7+8th has turned into a pay for what it weighs, by the lb. buffet.  Considering the current economic state, this isn’t too surprising, but it is still depressing on many levels.  1) Serving up a wide range of Latin food, it was one of the only two or three non-Indian all you can eat buffets in Midtown.  2) It was a shockingly cheap $8.95. 3) By the pound buffets are a big kick in the pants to fat guys everywhere… especially when you’re serving heavy food like rice, beans, plantains, and stewed meats.  For $5.95 a pound, the price can get up there pretty quickly.

Unable to turn away from their massive selection, I decided to see how I would fare under this new format.  In the process I came up with a few suggestions for anybody looking to brave the *new* International Food House Buffet.

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Speaking of buffets, if you were wondering what the answer to yesterday’s pop quiz was- it was most definitely the rice.  And not only did I take too much, I took two different kinds!  A shameful rookie mistake when you are going to have pay for what it weighs.

I hit up the new by the lb. buffet at Hing Won (on 48th btw. 5+6th) for the first time on Friday, and here’s the damage.  It was a little over $6.  Not too bad, but not great either- and I think Sun Yip/Ho Yip on 45th btw. 5+6th is probably better (plus they have the price drop at 2:15, which can’t be beat.)  I think I’ll probably stick with the right side of the counter when I go to Hing Won, and order things off of their more authentic menu.

I did, however, break one of my cardinal rules of by-the-lb. buffet eating.  Can you spot it? What’s wrong with this picture? (If you want to cheat, you can look at my rules for by the lb. buffet eating.)

Uh… yeah.  You heard me right.  Soft shelled mother f’ing crabs on a Midtown by the lb. buffet.  That is what I discovered at the Cafe Duke on 51st btw. 6+7th yesterday. I’ve already written a bunch about how much I love their by the lb. buffet, but this just put it over the top.  Soft shelled crab! I’m still giddy thinking about it.  This could be the biggest money item to ever show up on one of these generic Midtown deli buffets (the ones that cost under $10 a pound anyway).  And, they don’t even weigh that much (especially compared to other stuff like fruit and bone in chicken).  It really is the greatest thing I’ve ever seen at a by the pound buffet.

At $7.79 a pound, Cafe Duke by the lb. is on the high end of these kind of crappy Midtown options… but for the quality it is definitely worth it.  The food always looks fresh, every choice looks damn tasty, and the sauce they put on their fake jumbo shrimp makes me not mind that they are trying to fake you into thinking you’re actually getting shrimp. 

How they were, a shot of my lunch, and the one big downside- after the jump…

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I am a big fan of the 2:15 lunch special at Sun Yip (formerly Ho Yip).  I can’t usually wait that long for lunch, but on the days I can- it’s a nice treat.  Basically after 2:15 they discount their steam table to $4.29/lb. (it used to be $3.75, but what are you gonna do).  This is a pretty big deal, considering that most by the pound buffets are at least $6 a pound, and most of the good ones are even more.  Usually I go right at 2:15, when the buffet is still full (they usually do one major refill just after 2pm) but the other day, I happened to be walking by at 3pm and saw a pretty pathetic sight. 

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