Midtown Lunch

A couple weeks ago, Luncher Robert put us on the alert that Joyride the new coffee and fro-yo truck was making the rounds in midtown. Being a lover of both coffee and fro-yo I had to check it out. Their menu after the jump.
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I may not be willing to trek over 10 blocks at lunchtime for a meatball sandwich, but I’m totally willing to do the trek after work for a gelato sandwich! As we told you last week, the Mia Dona cart is now serving gelato sandwiches from around 4 until 7. I stopped by yesterday and went with the ricotta drizzled with honey. The homemade brioche was soft, sweet, and fluffy; the gelato is pretty fantastic, except the freezer is a bit too cold- rendering the gelato a bit hard. The server did mention that if the cart gets more traffic, they’ll offer more flavors. $6 is a bit pricey for a late afternoon sugar rush, but in fairness it’s probably the cheapest dessert on the block, and quite possibly the best take-away one in the area.

Mia Dona Gelato Cart, 206 E. 58th (btw. 2+3rd), 212-750-8170 (Weekdays from 4-7pm)

You might have seen part of this story on Eater this morning, but starting tomorrow (Friday, 7/23), the Mia Dona Meatball Cart that Clay tried back in April (on 58th just East of 3rd Ave.), will extend their lunch hours to 3pm.  And in even more exciting news for those who have a sweet tooth… every weekday at 3pm it will be replaced by a cart selling gelato sandwiches.  For $6 you’ll get your choice of pistachio or ricotta gelato drizzled with honey, and sandwiched inside a toasted house baked brioche bun with a dusting of powdered sugar. That’s kind of pricey for an ice cream sandwich, but I’m sure one of the contributors (Blondie and Brownie, I’m looking in your general direction) would be willing to take one for the team and see if it’s worth it.

Got this email from Lunch’er Robert this morning about the Joyride Fro Yo Truck (first reported about by Grub Street last month) “Spotted a new truck in midtown – Joyride.  52nd and 6th.  They say it’s their second day of ops.  Fro-yo and coffee.  You can get the fro-yo caffeinated (aka “buzzed”).  I’m trying the caffeinated offering now.  Pinkberry-esque.  Coffee = Stumptown!  V tasty.  Had a double espresso at Zibetto right before so might be altogether too much buzz for me.  Now back at the office and the hands are a little shaky.  Not many people sampling.  I have a feeling they’ll eventually flee this corner (a la Schnitzel Truck) so people should try it out before they move on.”  You can follow them on Twitter here.

In yesterday’s hot weather I was craving some soft serve and decided to walk over to the Momofuku Milk Bar inside Ma Peche (on 55th btw. 5+6th) to see if they had changed up their flavors since they opened. They hadn’t, but I did notice a few newish developments. Cake slices are still out but now they are selling cake truffles. And midtown Milk Bar office catering is definitely in.
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We’re being beat by the heat here in Midtown, so imagine our joy on Friday when Lunch’er Asaf told us about a new ice cream pop cart Lily Lolly which just started parking on 34th and Broadway last week – opposite of Macy’s massive red sign. We stopped by a couple of hours ago to see if the ice offerings were worth the $3.50 price (especially with $1 soft serve available this afternoon.) Happy to report: YES THEY ARE.

Check out Lily Lolly’s ice pop flavors after the jump.

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Last week, on my way to the Shake Shack to try out the new concrete menu, I passed by Bryant Park and saw an ice cream truck I’d never noticed before. Turned out it was the famed Time Warner $1 ice cream truck back again for the Bryant Park Summer Film Festival. The truck is appearing around the city throughout the summer selling Mister Softee style vanilla and chocolate cones and cups with or without sprinkles for the suggested donation of $1 and donating the funds to local museums. They’ll be in Bryant Park every Monday night through August 16th from approximately 4 p.m. until 10 p.m.  And what do you know… today is Monday!

If you’ve been living under a rock you might be interested to know that the Shake Shack Theater District is open at last. Early reports are very promising and it seems that they have the line management situation down pretty well. Now all the Shake Shacks in the city have the same basic menu. Shack Burgers. Shack Dogs. Shroom Burgers. Cheese Fries. And they all abide by the same monthly custard calendar. But where the Shacks stand apart is with their concretes–that’s Danny Meyer speak for blended frozen custard treats for the uninitiated. Yesterday three brand new concretes took at bow at the Shake Shack Theater District. Naturally I had to try them all, for the good of Midtown Lunchers everywhere, of course.

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Paris Baguette, a huge worldwide Korean bakery chain, will be opening their first Manhattan branch on 32nd btw. B’way+5th. They do serve sandwiches, but the big deal appears to be about the breads and pastries. The first branches to open in the states were in California (of course), where it got raves from yelpers, chowhounders and bloggers alike.

I had never heard of it until seeing the sign, but it turns out that there is one branch in Queens and two in New Jersey. Anyone been to any of the local branches? What are we in for?