Midtown Lunch

I don’t know the exact history of Six-0 Catering on 39th btw. 5+6th, but it has been around for as long as I can recall.  In fact, I still remember the first time I walked by the place, and was intrigued by its sign touting Mexican food- from an American looking catering place.  It was a complete dump, and the day I walked in was practically empty- save for the one guy behind the counter who told me “we have no burritos today.”  Since then, Six-0 has undergone a massive transformation (both physically and existentially.)  Before they seemed like catering company, that happened to serve lunch food if you hit them on the right day.  Now, under their new name Madeline’s, they seem like a Midtown lunch place that also happens to do catering.  And I was kind of surprised at how good and cheap all the food was.

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Yesterday I made it back to that Halal cart on 53rd & Park that is now serving tacos and burritos (not to be confused with the new El Rey del Sabor cart on 49th btw. Lex+3rd).  The cart has been around for a few months, but they only started serving the Mexican food a month ago.  I tried the $3 chicken burrito with everything (rice, beans, lettuce, tomato, sour cream, jalapenos) as recommended by Lunch’er “Alan”, and was pleasantly surprised with how tasty it was.

The innards are after the jump…

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If you were bummed out about the Pinche Taqueria news from earlier today, this should immediately cheer you up:  There were a lot of comments and emails yesterday asking what happened to the El Rey del Sabor cart (on 60th & 3rd).  Apparently they were missing from their usual spot yesterday because they were… wait for it… wait for it… setting up a second cart on 49th & 3rd!!!  That’s right- El Rey del Sabor now has a second cart on 49th Street and 3rd Ave. So if you’ve been meaning to try what I think is the best Mexican food in Midtown, but couldn’t make it all the way up to 60th street and back to work in an hour, now you have no excuse.  And for those who were missing the original cart yesterday, fear not- it will be back in its normal spot today.

Related:
The New El Rey del Sabor is Serving Authentic Mexican Food from a Cart
El Rey Del Sabor Round Two: Mole, Tamales, and a Spicy New Creation You Won’t Want to Miss

After settling on my “chicken scampi” lunch the other day from the Magdy’s Cheesesteak cart (on Park and 46th), I stumbled across this random sign on what seemed like an otherwise standard street meat cart.  I was super curious, but already full- and vowed to return in my obligatory roll as Midtown guinea pig.  Luckily Lunch’er “Alan” beat me to the punch, and sent along this mini-review:

This Cart on 53rd & Park has been here for a month or two has recently added burritos to their menu. The cart appears to be run by a Mexican couple. For $3 the decent sized burrito included chicken or ground beef, rice, tomato, onions, cheese, hot sauce and sour cream. It was a pretty good burrito considering the options in the immidiate area. Really a great price for what it is, a nice change from your typical halal cart.

The photo of his burrito is after the jump…

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El Tequilazo (on 46th btw. 5+6th) has always been a bit too expensive, and… “bright”… for my tastes (well, the sign anyway) but I passed by yesterday and noticed their sandwich board is advertising lunch specials that are well within the Midtown Lunch price range.  I’m pretty sure they never had anything for this cheap before, so I’m guessing this is some sort of recession special?  Anybody tried this Colombian/Mexican place before?  I’m a little wary, but kind of curious if it’s worth it at the cheaper price.

El Tequilazo, 43 W 46th Street (btw. 5+6th),  212-768-0770

Photo courtesy of Lunch’er Tom

And so it has officially begun… I went to El Rey Del Sabor (the Mexican cart on 60th and 3rd Ave.) or Monday for the first official payoff of the Midtown Lunch Sandwich Challenge.  It’s called the “Alambre” on the sign advertising this new $6.50 sandwich- but I prefer to think of it as a “spicy Mexican cheesesteak.”  You may remember reading about this off-the-menu treat a few months back, when they served it to me as a plate lunch.  Thankfully they took my suggestion a turned it into a full fledged sandwich… and just in time to introduce it as their entry in the sandwich challenge.

Check it out after the jump…

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Got this question today from “Lunch’er Miguel”:

“Since it is Christmas time, and I am Mexican, I am dying to buy a bunch of tamales from the tamale lady in front of the Mexican Embassy(on 39th btw. Mad+Park). But I just realized I haven’t been since early this year. She still around? Also, any idea if she sells by the dozen or is that asking too much?”

Coincidentally enough, I walked by the “Tamale Lady” in front of the Mexican Embassy this past Wednesday and have some pork tamal proof that she is still there (shown above). $1.50 and it was even better than I remembered from last time (with a huge chunk of slightly spicy pulled pork in the middle.) I’m not sure if she’ll sell in bulk, but I can’t imagine she wouldn’t if you set it up with her beforehand (I’m assuming you speak Spanish, which will be very helpful.) If that doesn’t work, I’d suggest hitting up any of the other places in Midtown that have tamales. Anybody done this before?  Or know a good bulk tamales option in Midtown (or farther afield?)

Got something you’d like to “Ask Midtown Lunchers”?  Email it to zach@midtownlunch.com

Got an email from Blockheads Burritos the other day, which has one location in the Midtown Lunch boundaries (3rd Ave. btw. 33+34th) and two locations just outside of the ML boundaries (one on 50th btw. 8+9th, and one on 2nd Ave. btw. 50+51st).

“I am the Administrative Assistant over at Blockheads Burritos and I’m very interested in getting our locations on your map. How can we go about this? Can you send me some literature or a link? Maybe even a call? Thank you in advance!”

I’ll tell you how you get on the map… serve good lunch food, for cheap- and if the Midtown Lunch readers deem you worthy, then you get added to the canon of official Midtown Lunches.  I admit Blockheads is not completely off the radar…  it’s been mentioned by a few commenters and Profiled Midtown Lunch’ers (most notably Kristy) and I have considered crossing 8th Ave. on many occasions to try one of their burritos.  But part of the former L.A. resident in me feels a little bit of skepticism towards this after-work-party-spot.  They do have a $9 lunch combo (which includes chips, salsa, and a soda) which is intriguing. 

Anybody been?  Thoughts?  I’ll leave this one up to you guys…

My first trip to El Rey Del Sabor, the Mexican cart on 60th and 3rd Avenue, consisted of a taco and a huarache.  It was enough to know that this place was the real deal, and I posted immediately about the new-found gem.  But that lunch was not nearly enough to satisfy my own personal desire to eat everything on their menu. I mean, the food I had was good… but what about their tamales?  Or the fried empanadas?  Oh, and most importantly the mole.  I love mole poblano (the thick, dark, spicy, chocolaty sauce) and this cart serves up a version made from scratch by the owner’s sister.  How could I not?

Enchilades topped with mole, tamales, and a new off the menu creation that is pretty crazy- after the jump…  Read more »

Step aside Chipotle and Qdoba, rumor has it a far superior option is coming to town. A manager from a recently opened Midtown Lunch’ing spot told me the other day that three of his friends have a franchise license from Baja Fresh and plan on bringing a location of the chain to 8th Ave in the 50s.  That’s Midtown people! No word on timetable or exact location…

Why I like Baja Fresh 10 times more than Chipotle and Qdoba, after the jump…   Read more »