Midtown Lunch

What does 3 years of hardcore Midtown Lunch’ing do to a psyche?  For one thing it alleviates all food fears. I will pretty much eat anything at this point.  (Except for a sandwich from Walgreens… but that has nothing to do with fear.)  I feel kind of proud thinking back on some of the ways I’ve sacrificed my body in the name of of this site. Eating at Tad’s Steaks after being dared by a reader gave me a sense of personal accomplishment, although no dare was necessary to get me to try that street ceviche from the Ecuadorian lady on 46th Street (although some called me insane for that one.)  I admited to being incredibly frightened of the Kashmir Buffet.  but surprisingly less scared of the jury duty tripe lunch from that Chinatown cart (in fact it was a revelation.)  But all those seem like child’s play compared to this…  a liver sandwich- from a Midtown Halal cart.

Remember that cart with the liver sandwich I posted about back in February (on 55th & Madison)? Well, I finally tried it on Tuesday… and amazingly, survived to tell the story.

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Man, I was really in the mood for street meat yesterday… and can’t for the life of me figure out why.  (Oh, that’s right.)  I decided to hit up the Famous Halal Cart on the SE Corner of 53rd and 6th to try their kofta kebab (which we reported about a few months back.)  Probably not the smartest move considering they had just come in 3rd place in Street Meat Palooza 2 , but the line moved quick, and I just had to get my fix.

Check out my chicken and kofta combo plate, after the jump.

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One year ago this month 20 Midtown Lunch’ers converged in Bryant Park to taste 13 plates of street meat and rate them in an event that became known as Street Meat Palooza.  The Famous Halal Cart on 53rd & 6th was crowned the winner, and we vowed to return one year later to give another set of carts a chance at unseating the champ.  Last week a new group of lunchers once again converged in Bryant Park to blind taste test and rate 15 different street meat carts, many of them nominated by you.  Food was consumed, scores were given, and a new winner has been crowned.  Ladies and gentleman, Midtown Lunch’ers, and street food enthusiasts from around the world, I’m excited to give you STREET MEAT PALOOZA 2.

Some of you may be asking, “What exactly is street meat?”  Well, for the purposes of this contest it is an order of chicken and lamb, served over rice, with “white sauce” and hot sauce.  In Midtown it is often referred to as “Halal Food” (the Muslim equivalent of Kosher), but in this case the method of preparation (or its degree of holiness) is not important.  As long as you serve something called chicken and lamb over rice (with white sauce and hot sauce) it could be Palooza’d.  7 carts from last year were granted automatic entry, while the other 8 were culled from your nominations.  Carts received separate scores for chicken, lamb, rice, white sauce, hot sauce, and value, plus received an overall score (the most important.)  Every judge was also asked to choose a top 5 at the very end.

Keep in mind there are no losers in Street Meat Palooza, just different degrees of winning (I see the good in all street meat).  Just getting picked to participate meant that somebody likes the cart, and every single entry showed up in at least one judge’s top 5.  In other words, this isn’t a contest as much as a celebration- and just because a new champion has been crowned doesn’t meat that last year’s winner is no longer great.  It just means that on any given day, any number of amazing Midtown street food vendors might be putting out “The Best” plate of street meat.

Here are the results…

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There has been a lot of press (and even more twittering) about the new Schnitzel and Things truck, coming soon to Midtown.  Hell, they even have “merch” for sale– and they haven’t even sold a single bite of schnitzel yet!  Well, Fressagirl is reporting that another truck serving schnitzel quietly hit the scene a month ago on 9th Ave. btw. 32+33rd (just outside the Midtown Lunch boundaries.)  In fairness to Schnitzel & Things, schnitzel is just one of the many items on the Brucha Caterer truck- which is entirely kosher.  (And, as you know from this post, Austrian schnitzel and kosher schnitzel can be two completely different things.)

Of course Midtown has plenty of room for two schnitzel trucks.  And I’m still looking forward to the arrival of veal schnitzel!  In fact, Schnitzel & Things just released the first photo of their truck, which you can check out after the jump…

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If it wasn’t clear before, the Rickshaw Dumpling Truck (which parks in Midtown, and Downtown, a few days a week) has become quite the love ’em or hate ’em kind of vendor.  We’ve read the hate, and seen the love.  I fall somewhere in the middle.  I love me some Chinatown dumplings, and don’t think that Rickshaw comes even close to being what I’d consider a “great dumpling” (and they’re shockingly overpriced to boot.) There’s not enough filling, and the wrapper doesn’t stick together.  They’re also steamed, so you don’t get that delicious crisp of the far superior pan fried dumpling. If you think the dumplings are terrible, I can’t really say that you’re wrong.  Did I mention that they are freakin’ expensive? And most Midtown Lunch commenters hate them. I get it.

But here’s their one saving grace (and it’s probably why they are starting to build up a Midtown following among those who don’t frequent Chinatown.)  They don’t taste terrible.  For all their faults, the dumplings use quality ingredients, and have a decent flavor.  (Unlike, say, the NYC Cravings vegan dumplings.) Plus you can’t argue with their dipping sauces. Would I pay for Rickshaw Dumplings? No.  But a lot of people do.  So in the spirit of the +/-, I went to check out their newest special: the peking duck dumplings.

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As promised, the new Korean cart on 50th btw. 6+7th began serving bulgogi topped hot dogs and Korean short rib tacos this week. I stopped by yesterday, not only to check out the two new items but also to ask if they had been getting the same “treatment” that chased the Happy Well Being House Cart from the same spot a few weeks ago. The Korean guy who runs the cart said that they ran into a bit of trouble earlier but that “everything is ok now.”  I don’t know whether to feel happy for them, or sorry for the Happy Well Being House Cart for not sticking it out in the spot longer.

So for now, it looks like these guys are going to be around.  The question is, how is their new bulgogi dog and short rib tacos!?! (The answer, plus photos of the craziness, is after the jump.)

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You would think that all the stories of new food carts being intimidated out of their spots would curb the number of new mobile food vendors coming to Midtown, but nope.  The parade marches on.  The latest venture (which the owner claims has been in the works “for a while”) is Schnitzel & Things, a new truck that plans on launching in early July serving an Austrian style schnitzel and side dishes. They will be parking all over the city, but plan on splitting lunch between Midtown & Downtown (“with a focus on Midtown”.)  For those who aren’t familiar with schnitzel it’s a breaded cutlet, and Schnitzel & Things plans on serving versions made from chicken, pork and cod. The menu (which you can see here) also includes bratwurst, Austrian potato salad, sauerkraut, and various other salads and condiments.  The owner is from the Ukraine, but has lived in NYC most of his life.  The inspiration for the truck came from a year spent in Vienna where he was inspired to quit his banking job and come back to New York to cook.

If you can’t wait until early July, you can get Israeli schnitzel at Kosher Deluxe (on 46th btw. 5+6th) or Baguette Express (on 37th btw. 5+6th), and German Schnitzel at Hallo Berlin Express (on 9th btw. 50+51st.)  But for the Austrian version, you’ll have to wait for the truck- which you can follow (naturally) on Twitter.

Those who have been reading Midtown Lunch for awhile may recall the Cartwatch of January ’07.  A croque monsieur truck popped up, and just as quickly disappeared a few days later, before ML got a chance to sample their wares.  Since then, I have dreamed of the day when we would be able to buy a French ham and cheese sandwich from a truck- and earlier this week, my dream finally came true.

The Le Gamin truck, which has been parking all over NYC since late last year, finally gave Midtown a chance to try their menu of French sandwiches, crepes, quiche, and (of course) frites.  They set up shop on 47th btw. Lex+3rd on Tuesday and Wednesday, and not even the rain could keep me away from date with destiny!

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Even if Kogi BBQ does end up opening a truck in Midtown, as promised on Monday, they won’t be the first cart serving Korean tacos here.  That  distinction will probably go to a brand new “Korean BBQ” cart that popped up this week on 50th btw. 6+7th, in the same exact spot that used to belong to the Happy Well Being House Cart.  More like the Bulgogi Cart on 49th than the Happy Well Being House Cart (which had fried fish, and grilled chicken), this new Korean BBQ cart has bulgogi and “shortribs” (or their boneless version of kalbi.)  But what caught my eye was at the bottom of the menu: bulgogi hot dogs, and Korean tacos. Hello!

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I’m not exactly sure how much “new Midtown truck!” news you can handle… but clearly this week we’re pushing the limits.  Got a few reports from Lunchers about this new crepe truck (known as “Tripie”?) parked in Columbus Circle. Lunch’er Mike tracked them down on Facebook and Lunch’er “Jonathan” was kind enough to send along the photo on the left via twitter. $4.95 for a crepe is kind of cheap by Midtown standards. Has anybody tried this cart yet, or know anything about it?  I’m curious how it stacks up against Madeleine the Crepe Lady (on 49th btw. B’way+8th) or the Le Gamin Truck (which parked in Midtown for the first time yesterday, and will be back in the same spot today.)