Midtown Lunch

A few weeks ago when we reviewed Boki, the new Korean food cart on 5th Ave. near the 32nd Street strip of Koreatown, we found that the dumplings weren’t so great and the fried chicken, though tasty, didn’t live up to the name “Korean Fried Chicken.” Well, last week Luncher ‘Pink’ chimed in to let us know that the fried chicken and dumplings were gone, and the folks at Boki confirmed that “after a couple of weeks of trial and error, we took the chicken and dumplings off our menu.” They went on to say that they are continuing to update the menu over time and that they love the feedback.

In the name of research, I decided to stop in again to see what options have replaced the outgoing ones.

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New Yorkers, our long nightmare is over – it seems like we’re getting our own version of the Kogi BBQ truck. At this point, there’s little that Mr. Zach Brooks can hold sacred to LA, now that we’re about to encroach on the Korean taco truck phenomenon. A phenomenon that already seems to have pervaded our local Midtown lunch venues, like Bann Next Door, Café Duke and Pro Hot Korean, though we have yet to see a legit Korean taco truck operating in Manhattan for weekday lunches.

After first hearing about the Korilla truck a few months ago on Eater and doing some preliminary investigation on their website and Facebook page, I excitedly reached out to the owner to get a little more information on the Korilla truck.

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Earlier this week, we received reports that Pro Hot Korean (on 56th btw. 5+6th) was offering a Korean taco special this week and next (9/7-9/17). At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I’ve professed my unabashed predisposition towards Korean tacos during my previous assessments of Café Duke and Bann Next Door. Not to be outdone, the demurely humble Pro Hot Korean joins in on the suddenly chic Korean taco trend with their version of galbi, bulgogi, and spicy chicken filled tacos.

At $4.99 for two, these appear to be priced at a bargain – but how does it compare to its predecessors? We take on the tacos and get a feeling for the fillings after the jump.

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Good news for Korean pastry fans… the location of Paris Baguette on 32nd btw. 5+B’way that we told you about last month is opening today. This will be the first Manhattan location for this huge Korean chain of French-style bakeries (not to be confused with Paris Sandwich, the banh mi shop in Chinatown.)  Anyone else excited about this place? Comments on our last post go back and forth between those who think the place serves up delicious pastries to complaints that it’s over-priced.  Who’s rushing in for some fresh-baked goodness? Let us know how it is in the comments.

On Friday Lunch’er Hightemp checked in to let us know about Helen’s Rice and Noodles, a brand new Korean(ish) spot just out of bounds (on Lexington and 62nd.)  They have $9 lunch boxes, with your choice of Korean meats or teriyaki, plus bibimbap, kimbap, japchae, soon doo boo, and a list of Japanes stuff like udon, ramen, and sushi.  Here’s what Hightemp had to say about the place…

I had the Spicy Pork lunch box.  Came with a big portion of brown rice, a small cup of miso soup, a small salad and 3 other sides – no choice on the sides.  Its kind of like the system at Pro Korean on 56th but without the completely pre-made boxes (the boxes were prepped with sides but the meats seemed to be cooked to order).  The pork was considerably spicier than Pro Korean and the meat quality was pretty much the same as Pro Korean.  I felt like I got a good amount of food for the price.

They do need to figure out some basics of organization though.  My order took far longer than it should have since only one of the staff members seemed to know what was going on and he kept splitting his attention to the others.   Hopefully they can get there because the food was pretty good.

Check out the menu after the jump…

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When I saw Luncher Dan L.’s report in the forums that a new cart had opened up on Fifth Avenue serving Korean Fried Chicken, dumplings and other Korean food, I knew I had to check it out.

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Café Duke is such a tease. Ever since initial reports that bulgogi tacos were being haphazardly offered as a daily special at their Korean entrée counter, I’ve been fascinated by these tacos. After all, Bann Next Door took on the Korean taco concept and hit a home run, so I don’t see why Café Duke couldn’t replicate this success (and it’s a few avenues closer to work.) Besides, assembling a competent Korean taco is laughably easy in concept – just jam Korean meat into a taco (no double entendre intended), and you’re the next Roy Choi.

Café Duke has always been a staple in my weekly lunch rotation, given that it‘s a smorgasbord of wallet friendly options that appease my co-workers’ finicky spectrum of palates. But for weeks, I’ve bolted straight to the back counter, only to see a non-bulgogi taco special coquettishly playing with my emotions. We even sent ML contributor, Jeremiah, on a wild goose chase to hunt down these tacos at the 41st Street location, to no avail. However after weeks of speculation, my dumb perseverance and gullibility was finally rewarded.

I came. I saw. I conquered the elusive Café Duke bulgogi taco.
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Eater reported this morning that Mono + Mono, a new music-centered Korean Fried Chicken spot is opening in the East Village this fall with another branch to open in Koreatown. Now, before you get too excited for even *more* Korean fried chicken on 5th Ave., it turns out that Mono + Mono’s K-Town branch is none other than Mad For Chicken (on 32nd and 5th, 2nd Floor). I stopped in during lunch and found out that the new location will be tied to a re-branding of MFC, which was (clearly) lacking a decent name since leaving the Bon Chon franchise last year. There’s no eta on the renaming, but according to the staff, there isn’t much that’s expected to change immediately. (Photo courtesy of Eater)

Related:
Korean-Fried-Chicken-Palooza: Kyochon vs. Bon Chon vs. Mad For Chicken

Last week, we covered the re-design, menu revamp and subsequent price increases at the Bapcha cart (formerly known as Bulgogi & Kimchi, on 49th btw. 6+7th), though we neglected to mention the re-design of the adjoining noodle cart extension. Like big brother Bapcha, the noodle cart has received a matching make-over, though the menu and prices emerged relatively unaffected. The most note-worthy difference, however, is the food.

In my inaugural once-over of the noodle cart, I was lukewarm on the quality of the food. Admittedly I hadn’t returned prior to last week, a decision based entirely on one plate of food- a hot mess of merely adequate jjajangmyeon with truly alarming green soba noodles.  And yet, over the past few months, I’ve noticed with increasing frequency the appearance of Bapcha Noodle Cart ramyun on my co-worker’s desks and the unmistakable whiff of jjampong (spicy seafood noodle soup) around the office. After overhearing a trusted foodie (and Korean) co-worker effusively gush over her order of spicy tuna kimbap, I decided it was definitely time for a revisit.

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Passing by the bustling 49th & 6th street corner today, I was somewhat shocked to see that the Bulgogi & Kimchi cart (on 49th btw. 6+7th), an old favorite of mine, had undergone a trio of changes. It’s no secret that Koreans are enamored by the idea of cosmetic surgery and fittingly this week, the Bulgogi & Kimchi cart, perhaps channeling their inner K-pop star, seriously upgraded its façade. At the same time, they’ve decided to change their name to “Bapcha”, which literally translates to “Food Cart” in Korean, and is now boldly displayed in an unmistakable medium weight Helvetica.

But the most relevant change for lunch’ers, is a $1 bump in some of the prices, as well as a small menu shuffle. Check out the new menu prices after the jump.

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