Midtown Lunch

Last October it was just a rumor, but today it is confirmed! Baja Fresh will be opening its first Manhattan location in the old Zen Burger space on Lexington btw. 45+46th. Is Baja Fresh the best Mexican food of all time? Definitely not. I don’t know if East coast Baja Fresh is even as good as the ones on the West Coast (I’ve heard they’re not.) But I do know this… when I lived in L.A. the baja chicken burrito from Baja Fresh was my goto lunch (it alternated with the orange chicken and lo mein combo from Panda Express.) So, a Midtown Baha Fresh means I will never have to even consider eating at Chipotle again.

Now if we can only get a Panda Express, Chick Fil A, In N Out Burger, and El Pollo Loco to follow suit- we’ll be golden!

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 »

I have never met a piece of fried chicken I didn’t like. Sure, there have been some transcendent fried chicken moments. My first visit to Roscoe’s Fried Chicken and Waffles in L.A. comes to mind (although you may say the waffle had a little something to do with that.) And of course there was Dunbar’s in New Orleans, which is still the best fried chicken I’ve ever eaten. Hopefully the rumors of its return are not exaggerated. But I don’t mind slumming it either, and it doesn’t take much to please me. Hot Oil + Chicken (+ Salt & Pepper) = Good.

There is some damn good fried chicken in Midtown. I’ve mentioned Cafe Cello as one of my favorites (on 46th btw. 5+6th) and even KFC has gotten the obligatory mention on the site. But if you want to be at ground zero for NYC fried chicken there is only one place to go. Eighth Avenue. The stretch of that road between the Mid 30’s and Mid 40’s is jammed packed with fried chicken goodness. Here is your guide to navigating the corridor. (A Fried-Chicken-Palooza if you will)

Read more »

Popeye’s is freaking good. Anybody who has ever lived in New Orleans will tell you that, and it appears as if New Yorkers are privvy as well. I stopped by the Popeye’s on 40th btw. 7+8th (the only one in Midtown Lunch’ing range) and couldn’t believe the madhouse (despite other fried chicken options in pretty close proximity.) People love Popeye’s.

Bonus Reveal:  Why was I at Popeye’s?  All will be revealed in a post next week that Midtown fried chicken lovers won’t want to miss…

Devastated Arby’s Fan (not me)

When the one and only Arby’s on the island of Manhattan closed at the beginning of the year, fans were inconsolable.  Where will we go to get our beef n’ cheese fix?!?!  Your wails of sadness have been heard by corporate.  Arby’s has just announced that they will be opening 41 new stores in the New York City metro area over the next 10 years.  Bologna style roast beef (covered in cheese) for all!!!  [Serious Eats: New York]

I love fried chicken… and can you blame me?  I won’t step anywhere near a McDonalds, but KFC or Popeyes? You probably aren’t going to want to get in my way.  I don’t know why that is.  Oh wait- yes I do.  Fried chicken is amazing.  And, if you are as big a fried chicken fan as me you might be interested in knowing that a branch of Church’s Chicken recently opened inside that mini food court on 8th Avenue between 44+45th.

I’ll admit, I don’t think I’ve ever eaten at Church’s.  I was always a KFC fan growing up, a Popeye’s fan later in life (after spending so much time in New Orleans), and I had a brief flirtation with Bojangles in 1986.  But never Church’s.  Anybody a big fan?  Feel free to sound off in the comments.  I’m curious if this new addition to the Midtown Lunch’ing landscape is something to get excited about…

From this mornings NY Post: “A Queens man is suing [Subway] for $1 million after finding a large serrated knife he says was baked into the bread of his 12-inch cold-cut sub.  [He] bought the sub from a shop on West 35th Street, where he often went for lunch.” The article goes on to mention that although the man wasn’t harmed by the knife, he did become “violently ill with ‘severe stomach issues’ for three hours.”  There are only 3 letters for this one.  OMG.  Where to begin…  let’s see… uh… don’t eat at Subway?  That seems like a good start.  And then, if you do decide to eat at Subway, and you pick up your sub and feel something hard and knife-like inside the bread, you may not want to eat it.  Seems curious that part of his complaint was that the sub made him violently ill.  Isn’t a knife in a sandwich grounds enough for anger.  Do you really have to “prove” that you are owed restitution by admitting you still ate enough of the knife-filled sandwich to make you violently ill for 3 hours?  Awesome.

“How can I not?” was the first thing that went through my head when I read about the off the menu “Special Vegetarian” sandwich being served at the Blimpie on 46th btw. 5+6th on the Village Voice blog.  Doritos?  Spicy green chutney?  Off the menu?  At a Blimpie?  How… can… I… not.  I posted a quick link to share the info with you people (I’m unselfish like that) and headed straight over to this gross sandwich chain, which had decided to buck the Latin food trend that other Blimpieowners seem to be impressed with, and instead make something for the Indian population working in the area. 

Since I know some of you were probably holding off, waiting for the visual proof of this sandwich’s existence- I present, the foot long crime-against-nature, after the jump… Read more »

Ever since the food court in the Manahttan Mall closed, faux roast beef lovers throughout Manhattan have been mourning the loss of the city’s only Arby’s.  But according to this email, there may be some sort of light at the end of the dark, beef and cheeseless tunnel:

I was outside eating lunch sitting by the fountain in front of the Chase building (on 6th Ave. btw. 49+50th) and saw a girl walk by with a clear plastic Arby’s cup with some sort of colorful, fruity, frozen concoction. It looked like she just got it as it was filled to the top. She was practically running by otherwise I would’ve asked her what she was drinking and from where. What’s up with that?! Did an Arby’s pop up around here undetected?

Interesting… there are many of explanations (which don’t involve a new Midtown Arby’s) for how this mysterious cup could have shown up on 6th Ave. & 50th St.  Check them out, after the jump… Read more »

I love free food, but not enough to eat at McDonalds (notice how I got Andre Mika to blog about their chicken sandwich for me), and even posting about their southern style fried chicken sandwich promotion this morning made me feel dirty.  Luckily I get to redeem myself by posting this email from Midtown Lunch’er “Shauna“:

I saw the slightly tantalizing image you posted when McD’s first announced the Southern Style Chicken Sandwich, but lookie here at what my coworker returned to the office with today [from the McDonalds on Broadway & 51st]…

Are they KIDDING?!?!?! Maybe that’s how they’re saving $$ during the giveaway today.  Pretty pathetic.

I didn’t hear too many complaints from commenters, so I’m guessing this was just one stray breakfast biscuit patty, served as a lunch sandwich… but even so, it makes me feel good to post it.