Midtown Lunch

I admit it’s not for everybody, but I love eating food off the street, here and abroad.  Meat on a stick in Bali, everything in Thailand, raw clams in Chile… I could go on and on.  There’s something about eating on the sidewalk that is fun and exciting to me, and here in Midtown we have some amazing food carts.  But there is also that step below food cart that pops up every once awhile- like the lady selling tamales in front of the Mexican Embassy, or the Japanese delivery guys selling bento boxes on 50th St. btw. 6+7th.  These are my favorite discoveries, and last week I finally tried a new one on 46th btw. 5+6th. 

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve walked by this lady standing on 46th St. with a grocery pushcart filled with styrofoam packages.  Usually out there around 1pm, she sells containers of Ecuadorian food to workers in the area for $6-7.  I don’t know where she comes from, or where she goes when she’s done, but I can tell you this:  if there is a random lady, selling homemade food in styrofoam containers on a random street in Midtown, I want to know about it.  I want to eat her food.  No matter what is…  Read more »

The New Food Court Sophie’s on 3rd Ave. btw. 49+50th

This just in courtesy of Midtown Lunch’er “Margot”… the food court that houses Pampano Taqueria (and Pump Energy Kitchen) on 3rd Ave. btw. 49+50th will be welcoming a new Sophie’s Cuban into its fold today at 11am.  And as always, Grand Opening day at Sophie’s means free food (from the opening at 11am until 2pm).  For those who are uninitiated, the food court is in the basement of 805 3rd Ave., and free food day at Sophie’s is always exciting!  Check out the last one on 41st btw. 7+8th.

Sophie’s Cuban, 805 Third Ave (Lower Level) btw. 49+50th, 212-308-1024

Update: 1:30 PM  They have officially run out of food… the location will open officially tomorrow (Weds) at 10am.  As a side note, because the location is so small, they won’t do any of the cooking on site.  All the food will be brought over from another Sophie’s locations in waves throughout the day, and it will only be open from 10am to 5pm.

It’s been over a year a half since I originally visited Cafe Cello (46th btw. 5+6th), and wrote about their roast pork.  (I loved it so much, the photo of my lunch became the official Midtown Lunch photo.)  From the outside, you’d never guess that this generic looking deli would serve the best roast pork in Midtown, but it’s the truth (you may say the secret ingredient is crispy pork fat).  I returned last week to check out the scene, and I’m pleased to report that pretty much nothing has changed.  They still serve up a delicious plate of pork, and they still top it with the all important hunk of crispy pork skin.  If you are a lover of pork fat, it really can’t be beat.

But as good as the pork is, it may not be Cafe Cello’s best dish.  That title may have to be reserved for their surprisingly delicious fried chicken…  Read more »

Margon, the Cuban lunch “counter” on 46th btw. 6+7th has always transported me back to my hometown of Miami.  Readers’ Choice for Best Cuban 2008, you can always count on their delicious roast pork, roast chicken, their famous octopus salad, the fried chicken wing version of “chicharones” (a word also used to describe crispy fried pork skin), rice, beans, plantains and of course the cuban sandwich.  Their version is made with salami, a preparation favored by many Dominicans, as well as the Cubans who live in Tampa, who added it to the sandwich to appeal to the large Italian population they lived side by side with.

There was only one thing missing at Margon… until now.  The Media Noche, a very popular pressed sandwich with pretty much the same ingredients as a cuban (pork, ham, mustard, pickles and cheese) but instead of French style cuban bread, it’s pressed inside a slightly sweet egg bread.  Delicious!

For $4, I couldn’t resist, and picked one up the other day.  Check it out after the jump… Read more »

You didn’t think a little rain would keep us cheapos away, did you? It’s 12:01 and the line is already stretched down the block at the newly opened Sophie’s Cuban on 40th btw. 7+8th… but it moves quickly. And they even have oxtails.The inside crowd, what I got, plus the ultimate Sophie’s surprise (for anybody who didn’t take their food to go), after the jump…

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The new location of Golden Krust on 8th Ave. btw. 39+40th. has finally opened.  The Caribbean chain (which has multiple locations in NYC) will be offering a special grand opening lunch special price of $5.99 for fried chicken, stewed chicken or curry chicken served with rice & vegetables.  They have 3 other locations in Midtown…

• 33rd St. btw. 5th+Mad
• 3rd Ave. btw. 43+44th
• A kiosk in Grand Central Terminal food court 

Golden Krust too much of a trek from your office?  Or maybe you’re just feeling lazy, but still want some jerk chicken?  The Jamaican Dutchy cart on 51st & 7th now offers delivery.  It’s a $15 minimum order, so you’ll need to get at least one other person in on the plan before calling (646-287-5004 or 347-213-2851).  Actually an afternoon office Jamaican beef patty party doesn’t sound like a bad idea.

Cupcake question, and El Sabroso hits the blogs, after the jump… Read more »

 

Got this posted in the comments by “Vishal” on Monday:

I have some great news- the Latin Food that used to be at this Blimpie has now moved next door to the Convenience store that serves Vegetarian Indian Food!

That is indeed great news.  I guess that is the benefit of being a latin food place inside the back of a Blimpie.  When the crappy sub place closes, just move your business one door down, hermit crab style.  I’m a big fan of latin food in strange places, and luckily their new shell is almost as weird as the Blimpie, protecting their all important hipness cache; the Midtown newsstandwith the Gujarati Indian steamtable on 6th Ave. btw. 37+38th. 

A photo of the vegetarian Indian food place, living side by side with the pork-a-licious latin food, after the jump… Read more »

So, about three weeks ago I took Benji Lanyado, a Travel writer for the Guardian UK, to El Sabroso, the latin lunch counter hidden inside a freight elevator hallway on 37th St. btw. 7+8th.  He told me he was interested in writing about Midtown Lunch for his “Meet the Bloggers” series, and wanted to check out one of my favorite places to eat.  Unbeknownst to me, it was a blogger competition- and El Sabroso won!!!  He gave it a 9/10, calling it “what foodie blog content is all about – really good food with a cultural angle, off the beaten track, and with a quirky situational twist. ”

Amanda from Eater took him to the ultra hip (and what I would have picked as the hands down favorite) Fette Sau in Brooklyn & Josh from Grub St. took him to a generic NYC Deli near the NY Magazine offices- but in fairness to the other “competitors”, I didn’t know it was a competition- so they probably didn’t either.  But who cares!  Midtown never wins shit, so I’m taking it.

The dishes that won it for El Sabroso, after the jump… Read more »

The Village Voice doesn’t branch out into Midtown too often (and quite frankly, do you blame them?), but I still love their blog Eat For Victory, and -of course- Robert Sietsema’s “Counter Culture” column.  They always have great recs, especially for inexpensive and authentic eats, and we’re clearly not the only ones who think so.  Last week, in response to a challenge from the owner of Casa Havana, Eat for Victory launched a best Cuban sandwich contest- and Comedian Aziz Ansari from Human Giant, posted this nominee in the comments:

My favorite cubano in the city hands down is at Margon on 46th btw 6th and 7th ave. They throw in a slice of salami that takes the whole thing to another level. I’m not sure that raw garlic can compete with that as far as genius.

Midtown represent! That piece of salami actually makes it more of a Dominican style ”Cuban” sandwich- but why bother getting technical?  It’s freakin’ Aziz Ansari!  (Sorry, I’m a huge Human Giant fan.  That dude is freakin’ hilarious.)  You may remember Human Giant from such informative films as this K.C. Rib Ticklers video I posted a link to a few months ago.

To nominate your favorite Cuban Sandwich, go to Eat For Victory.  You have until tomorrow.

In the pantheon of great foods, rotisserie chicken has got to be towards the top, somewhere just below fried chicken and above every other kind of chicken imaginable. You may say the secret ingredient is the chicken fat waterfall, created by rotating chickens stacked one on top of another. Now that’s some Chinese water torture I can get into.

Golden brown skin is the key to what makes rotisserie chicken so great, but once you add super cheap prices, Latin style side dishes, and Peruvian aji (green sauce), you’ve got a real winner. Sound good? Well then head to Tio Pio West (the original is in Brooklyn) on 36th btw. 5+6th, where $7.50 will buy you half a chicken, rice, beans, and plantains. Oh, and not to mention a fairly big cup of aji.

What I got and a +/1 after the jump… Read more »