Midtown Lunch

After visiting Chile last winter, I returned to New York City looking to feed my new-found craving for all the foods I had discovered on the trip. I needed an Empanada de pino, a heaping plate of chorrillana, completos, and churrasco sandwiches. And I wanted to wash it down with a mote con huesillos.   And while you’d think NYC has pretty much every cuisine you could ever possibly want, for some reason Chile is woefully underrepresented… especially in Manhattan, where Pomaire (on 46th btw. 8+9th) is pretty much your only option (and too expensive for my taste.)

Well, this week my prayers to the food god of all things Chilean were answered when Barros Luco opened on 52nd Street, just east of 2nd Ave.  Taking over the space that was occupied by 99 Miles to Philly, it’s pretty far out of bounds for Midtown Lunch’ing purposes… but I will walk that extra 5 minutes when avocado topped hot dogs are involved!

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It’s been exactly a month since Mantao Chinese Sandwiches opened up on 53rd btw. 2+3rd.  I never got a chance to go to Province Chinese Canteen, its original Tribeca incarnation, but I had always heard good enough things that their move to Midtown got me pretty excited.  Plus, I like Chinese food… and I like sandwiches.  What could possibly be bad about this place?

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You know how much I love the Asian sandwiches (I can’t get enough!) so there was no question I was going to travel the extra avenue outside the Midtown Lunch boundaries to check out Xie Xie– the newly opened sandwich shop from Angelo Sosa (formerly a chef at Jean Georges.)  You’ve already seen the menu, and heard the reports from the ML early adopters.  But the question still remains… for Midtown Lunch’ing purposes, are these freakin’ sandwiches worth the $8+ price tag.

In short, yes…. if you love Asian sandwiches as much as I do.  And provided that the chef makes one small change.

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It’s been almost three years since Macchiato Espresso Bar opened on 44th btw. Lex+3rd, selling their line of Italian coffee, sandwiches, salads, and pastries.  When it first opened, I posted my first impression (meh) which drew the ire of the owner because I hadn’t actually eaten any of the food or tries the coffee.  At the time I just wasn’t interested in trying another turkey and swiss sandwich for $9.  So sue me.  Well, it’s taken me almost three years… but I’ve finally gotten enough positive emails to warrant actually trying Macchiato Espresso Bar.  Well not me, but our resident coffee and baked goods expert Kathy YL Chan (from A Passion For Food).  I thought this place would be right up her alley, and asked her to check it out and report back.  Here’s what she found…

Welcome to Macchiato Espresso Bar on 44th Street, the last thing you’d expect to discover in discover in midtown. Coming in from 3rd Avenue, the bright blue entrance looks like some sort of strange oasis. The Bar exudes a Euro-trash meets midtown business vibe. Music is energetic, and the counter service is knowledgeable, efficient. Prices are high, though quality justifies to a certain extent.

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I know Xie Xie, the newest Asian sandwich place from Angelo Sosa, is technically outside the Midtown Lunch boundaries- but the menu that Grub Street posted this week looks pretty amazing. And if it’s as good as Baoguette (on Lex btw. 25+26th) or Num Pang (in Union Square), it will be well worth walking the extra one avenue (to 9th and 45th Street).  According to Eater they plan on being open by the end of the week, but from the looks of things today I can’t see how that’s possible (unless they don’t need to wait for city approval once construction is done.)  Also mentioned in Eater’s earlier post, but something I didn’t originally pick up on, is that technically the sandwich place is part of Zanzibar (blech… not a fan.)  But all will be forgiven if the sandwiches are as amazing as they sound.

Now here’s a sandwich from a drug store I’ll try!  According to Eater, the Duane Reade in Grand Central Penn Station is now serving pre packaged sandwiches from Zabar’s in a fancy little kiosk. No word on what kind of sandwiches are available, or how much they are, but I’m sure they are 1000 times better than the poor excuse for sandwiches being served at the Times Square Walgreens. Normally if I’m in GC I’ll probably end up making my own sandwich at Murray’s Salami, but I suppose I could try the Duane Reade/Zabar’s sandwich… if I was dared.

Photo courtesy of Eater

Just when you thought the whole banh mi craze couldn’t get any crazier, Hing Won (on 48th btw. 5+6th) has added banh mi to their menu.  Yes, my favorite fast food Chinese place, known for their Chinatown style meats, soups, and noodle dishes is now serving Vietnamese sandwiches.  W…T…F?  My gut instinct is to laugh this one off and- in what should be a surprise to no one- it’s not a completely “authentic” banh mi, but that doesn’t mean it’s not good.

Check out what they’re serving, after the jump…

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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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To say I was inspired by this post on Fork in the Road about a pork chop stuffed bo lo bao would be an understatement.  Mesmerized? Entranced? Seduced?  Whatever you want to call it, seeing a pork chop sandwiched inside a sugar topped Chinese pineapple bun stirred up feelings in me of extreme desire. But how to get one of these creations?  The piece mentioned that this treat is indigenous to Macao- but nothing about where to enjoy one here in New York City!  Clearly I would have to take matters into my own hands, and go to the one place in Midtown that I knew had buns and pork chops: Ying Du (on 38th btw. 7+8th).

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I don’t understand what is with all the banh mi backlash? Why would anybody get sick of a delicious Vietnamese sandwich? (Maybe we’re just getting sick of all the traditional media latecomers acting like these sandwiches are a brand new trend!) Anyway, I don’t think I’ll ever get sick of banh mi, but for those who are Metromix has put together a list of ten Asian sandwich alternatives to the banh mi– and 3 of them are in Midtown.  Their suggestions in our neck of the woods: the Vada Pav at Sukhadia’s Gokul (on 45th btw. 5+6th), the Indonesian Sloppy Joe at Danku (on 57th btw. 5+6th), and the Yakisoba Pan at Cafe Zaiya (on 41st btw. Mad+5th).