Midtown Lunch

For German sausage freaks, July 2006 was a terrible month.  Not only did you have to watch your Football (aka Soccer) team lose in the Semi-Finals of the World Cup in their home country- but you had to suffer the indignity of not being able to drown your sorrows in a delicious bratwurst during lunch time.

Well, there’s good news.  As of yesterday, the Hallo Berlin Cart is back and operating at it’s usual spot on 54th st. & 5th Ave.  Back from their annual July trip to Germany, the Babiel Brothers’ cart is back open (as usual) from 11:30 am to 3:30 pm and serving up the best German sausage Midtown has to offer.  Choose from 10 different kinds of sausages, in all sorts of different combos. 

Our favorites (for no other reason then our love for the pictures of Kennedy & Mao Zedong): The Dictator or Democracy Special.  Dictator special… you get no choice.  One Berliner frank, one bratwurst.  Topped with German fries, cabbage, onions and crusty bread for 6 bucks.  The Democracy Special…  your choice (obviously) of any two wurst, covered in German fries, cabbage, onions and 2 pieces of Bavarian meatballs.  Served with crusty bread for $8.

I’ll save my review of the cart, and the +/- for another time…  see you on line this afternoon!  After all, what could be better then eating sausage, outside in 97 degree heat!

The lack of good Mexican food in New York City is a well known fact.  You saw what happened when Midtown got a Chipotle.  It shows how pathetic our choices for Mexican really are.  In L.A. (where I used to live) taco stands are a way of life… and it boggles my mind that so few places in NYC are able to recreate something that seems so simple.  2 Soft corn tortillas, some good roast pork or chicken, and some salsa (preferably salsa verde).  If anybody wants a place to try after work, trek over to 10th avenue btw. 47th and 48th- Tehuitzinga is outstanding.

Anyway, I’ve heard rumors that Pampano Taqueria on 3rd Ave. is the only worthwile Taco in Midtown- but on this day I was on my back from a failed trip to the Burger Joint (line was too long) and decided to stop at this taco cart that some people from my work had eaten at.  And quite frankly, how could you blame me?  Could you resist a cart that looks like this one.  I mean, nothing says authentic quite like a giant sombrero with a picture of Speedy Gonzalez on it (aren’t there any Trademark lawyers in Midtown?).  But that’s typical Midtown for you.  Dumbing it down for the business lunch crowd… “Can you tell we’re not a halal cart by our big stupid looking Mexican hat?”  I wonder if you can see it from the top of Rockefeller Center?

Despite the sombrero, I decided to try the place out.  I love trying dirty, annonymous carts- and this one certainly fits the bill.  For $4 you get a Taco with Chicken or Beef, Spanish Rice and Beans w/ melted cheese.  $7 will get you the same combo with two tacos.  For the sake of comparison (and because I’m a fat bastard), I went with the two taco combo (one beef, one chicken).  The minute he started making my meal, I had a sneaking suspicion I was in big big trouble.

Pictures of the food, and the +/- after the jump… Read more »

I know not everyone works on 48th st. between 6th & 7th ave., so I’ve been trying to branch out whenever possible, and try places that while out of the way for me- might be your favorite lunch spot.  Some of the places that might be close to you- but far from me that I’ll be hitting up in the next few weeks:  ‘wichcraft, Burger Joint, Pampano Taqueria, Men Kui Tei, Zip Burger, Jiannetto’s Pizza Cart, & Arang- just to name a few.

The other day, I ventured out of my way (based on a suggestion from a reader) and tried the Indian food vendor cart on 53rd & Park.  While I wouldn’t necessarily recommend walking too far out of your way to eat at this cart- it could possibly be one of the greatest deals in all of Midtown for anyone who works close to it.

Ordering is really simple.  You have two choices, the vegetarian meal ($3.99) or the chicken meal ($4.99).  Each day, both entrees will change- but the menu doesn’t.  It’s either the vegetarian choice, or the chicken choice.  Both entrees come with rice, dal (lentils), bread and salad (which is just some lettuce).  On the day I was there, the vegetarian entree was mixed vegetables, and the chicken, was Chicken Tikka Masala.

What I ordered, pictures and the +/-, after the jump…

Read more »

The Northwest corner of 54th st. & 5th avenue was surprisingly empty today.  Normally it is home to the infamous Hallo Berlin Cart, THE place for German sausage in town.  I figured what better time to review it… one day after the German soccer (football if you want to be a snob about it) team was knocked out of the World Cup.  I was hoping the Cart could bring solace to any fans of German soccer looking to drown their sorrows in one of the best German delicacies the city has to offer.

But the cart was nowhere to be found… and I can’t help but wonder, if yesterday’s game has anything to do with this?  Is it possible that Rolf Babiel was too depressed to come to work today?

Hoping to get to the bottom of this, I phoned Hallo Berlin’s actual restaurant on 10th Avenue and 44th street… but they were no help.  Partially because whoever answered didn’t speak english very well, but even after my question was finally understood, they told me the cart should be there.

Anyway, sorry to all the German Soccer fans looking for solace today… the actual restaurant is open, if you want to drown your sorrows with a beer after work- but the cart’s whereabouts are a mystery for now…

Hallo Berlin Cart, Usually at the Northwest Corner of 54th St. & 5th Avenue

Hallo Berlin the Restaurant, 626 10th Ave. btw. 44th & 45th st., 212-541-6248  

DAY 3 of FALAFEL WEEK 

Finally, after two days of mediocrity- I finally hit the goldmine.  A fresh, hot falafel- that isn’t dry in the middle, or messy.  Happy times.

Definitely the tastiest falafel so far this week.  The pita is that pillowy soft kind of pita, so they have to roll it up with the falafel inside, rather then cut a hole in it and stuff the falafel inside.  They also brush it with butter and stick it on the skillet- so it’s hot and delicious.  The falafel is made fresh right in the cart, so it’s still hot when you eat it and the balls are small so it’s not dry.  They are served on top of a little bit of lettuce and tomato, and some yogurt sauce, which is a really refreshing change from some of the tahini heavy falafel in Midtown.  The only downside is the size… definetely the smallest, but at only $3.75 you can afford to get two (if you’re super hungry), or a bag of chips!

All in all, the butter grilled pita, and the lack of veggies make this the least healthy of the falafel I’ve had this week… but sometimes, least healthy translates to tastiest.

THE +

• Fresh falafel that are not dry in the middle
• Pillowy pita bread, that is brushed with butter and grilled
• If you like yogurt sauce instead of tahini, this is the place for you

THE –

• The size
• If you’re into veggies, this place isn’t for you.  There’s only a little lettuce and tomato on the falafel
• If you’re not into carts… it’s a cart

Kwik Meal, Cart on the SW Corner of 45th and 6th

• Day 2 of Falafel Week: Moshe’s Falafel
• Day 1 of Falafel Week: House of Pita

Day Two of Falafel Week!

It's day two of my search for the best Falafel in Midtown… and while nobody has ever recommended Moshe's to me- I have walked by it many times, and it usually has a really long line.  Well, in most places, long lines means good- so I figured I'd try it.

I'm not sure if I was there on a bad day or what, but the falafel I got was a mess.  There was so much tahini poured over the top it was impossible to eat.  I asked for hot sauce, but couldn't taste any under all the tahini- so I'm not sure if it was there, or they forgot to put it on. 

Because this is a cart, and the falafel are made right there, they were warmer and a little fresher then yesterday's falafel (House of Pita), and had a really delicious outer crust that tasted sort of like the batter that you find around fried seafood in New Orleans (definetely not a bad thing!).  Unfortunately the inside was a little a dry.  You would think the tahini would have helped, but all of that was on the top, and the falafel was on the bottom.  Their layering could definetely use a little work.  Four falafels on the bottom of the pita pocket, lettuce and tomato on top of that, and then one falafel on top to make it seem layered… with the whole thing smothered in tahini.

I basically had two bites of falafel covered in tahini, four bites of just lettuce and tomato, and then the bottom was all falafel.  The pita was better then yesterday, but it started falling apart after bite two, because of the tahini.  Pretty disappointing.  Usually taste rules, but when considering a place to eat a quick lunch on your break from work- messiness has to be taken into consideration. 

Like I said, there was a really long line, so people must like this place- and maybe I just got one bad falafel.  Next time I will definetely ask them to go easy on the tahini… maybe that will be an improvement.  $4.25 for a whole, $3.00 for half… although I'm not sure what would constitute half… maybe less filling?  That might be an improvement as well… If you've been here before please comment and let me know if your experience has been the same as mine.

The +/- and location info after the jump… Read more »