Midtown Lunch

Now this is exciting.  The new Popeyes I reported on a few weeks ago (on 40th btw. 7th & 8th) has opened!!! And just in time to celebrate Fat Tuesday. 

For those of us longing to be in New Orleans right now for Mardi Gras, this will be have to be our consolation prize.  (It’s no “Mama’s” Chicken Box, but it will do!)  Spicy Fried Chicken, biscuits (made with lard), and red beans and rice.

Pics of the inside, after the jump… Read more »

The hits just keep on coming in ’07.  I walked by this amazing sign last week on 40th btw. 7th & 8th:

That’s right, Popeyes is back baby!  When my wife first started working in Midtown, there was a Popeyes in the 40s btw. 5th & 6th (I think it was on 46th).  But by the time I had started working there, it had disappeared (literally… I think they tore the whole building down).  Very disappointing.  Sure, there are other places for fried chicken in Midtown- but none that are as cheap, spicy, or with biscuits that are so delicious, they leave you wondering whether the main ingredient is biscuit or butter. 

Anyway, if you are sick of your desk job, and looking for a move into the chicken and biscuits field, they are hiring.  Just call 347-534-5478.  A call to that number revealed that they plan on opening within two weeks.  I’ll be there on Day 1 with a bib on (you don’t want to get beans and rice on your work clothes).

There’s other good news in that same area of town.  I’ve gotten a few worried emails and comments about Yum Thai (44th btw. B’way & 6th) being shuttered.  Fear not cheap Thai fans- they were only closed for renovations and plan on re-opening tomorrow (Thursday). Though to be safe, I may wait until Friday or Monday before trekking over there.  

And now for my first installment of “Restaurant Tips from a guy who knows very little about the restaurant industry, but knows this”:

Tip #1:  If you are going to temporarily close down your business (for whatever reason), but plan on re-opening, put a sign up to let your customers know that you are not closed forever.  Even if the sign has poor grammar, and you get made fun of on a blog, you will still get your point across…

People,  I’ve got some big news.  You’ll probably want to sit down for this one (although chances are you’re already sitting- unless you have some sort of weird “stand while you work on your computer” thing going on).  I will now dispense my amazing information in the form of a photograph:

That’s right…  Chicken & Waffles has arrived in Midtown!!!  If you are unfamiliar with the concept, it’s pretty simple.  Take a waffle.  Put some fried chicken on top.  Cover the whole thing with syrup.  Enjoy!  (A final step of pounding on your chest to ward off a heart attack may be necessary)

I was first introduced to the Chicken & Waffle phonomenom at Roscoe’s Chicken & Waffles (an amazing L.A. institution), but apparently it’s a restaurant/jazz club in Harlem that takes credit for inventing the dish.  They claim it was created in the 30s to serve late night patrons who couldn’t decide between breakfast and dinner (would Gladys Knight lie!?!?)

From the moment I heard that you could get fried chicken served on a waffle, I knew it would be good.  How could it not be???  Fried chicken.  Good.  Waffle.  Good.  Syrup.  Always good.  I had heard that Amy Ruth’s in Harlem (116th btw. Lennox & 7th) is one of the best places to go for this amazing treat, but I haven’t found time to make the pilgrimage.  Well, I guess they got sick of waiting- and have now decided to bring the Chicken & Waffles to me!  The owners of the famous, always a line out the door Amy Ruth’s in Harlem, have opened Ressie Mae’s Soul to Go in Midtown, across from the Port Authority (on 8th Ave. btw. 39th & 40th.).

Surprisingly, there are some who are not with me on this chicken and waffles thing.  Those people are communists (I don’t even know what that means… but I’m sure it’s true.)  These are the same people who probably eat every last bite of their eggs and bacon before biting into their pancakes.  Craziness.  Lucky for them (and all of us for that matter), Ressie Mae’s serves up all kinds of delicious soul food, all made from the same recipes used at Amy Ruth’s… and their lunch specials are so cheap it makes me wonder how we got so lucky.

The rest of the food, more pictures and the +/-, after the jump…

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There are a lot of reasons I choose to write about a place.  Being “Cheap” is a given… but other than that the first, and most obvious is the food.  A lot of the places I write about do something interesting- something that isn’t available everywhere.  Whether it’s the Indian Burritos at Kati Roll, the rice balls at Oms/b, the various ramen places, or the meat pies at Tuck Shop– these postings are most popular because they are destination lunches- worth walking that extra 5 or 10 minutes if you don’t work right near the place.

I write about carts because there are so many of them, and it’s hard to know which ones are good and bad.  Plus, a lot of people are scared of them… and would rather read about my suffering after eating at a bad cart- then experience it for themselves.  I don’t usually write about the deli/salad bar places, because there is one on every block of Midtown- and they bore me.  I will, however write about one if they are doing something different or interesting… like the Korean Food at Cafe Duke, or the Soups @ Dishes. 

I very very rarely write about fast food- so the next question is obvious… Why the hell would you write about KFC???  Well the answer depends on who’s asking.  If you haven’t heard yet, New York City is considering banning artificial trans fats from all restaurants in the city.  In light of this possible ban, KFC has taken preemptive action, phasing trans fats out of the fried chicken at all their Manhattan restaurants (it’s still in the biscuits) as of the first of this month.  They plan on rolling out the change in all of their restaurants Nationwide by April of next year.

Clearly this is topical.  People need to know if this new KFC, fried in trans-fat’less soybean oil is as good as it used to be!  Right???  I’m doing a service to the community.  How does the new chicken compare to the old chicken.  (The real reason I’m writing about KFC, pictures and a less than helpful +/- after the jump)

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