Midtown Lunch

It’s the beginning of the new year, which traditionally means a lot of change in the eating landscape.  Leases run out, new places move in, and many use it as a time for “holiday cleaning”.  First the openings…

Yummy Sushi in Rockefeller Center has opened a second location in the Food Court at the bottom of the building on 3rd Ave. & 53rd St.  It joins Fusion Grills, Gourmet 53 and of course- the piano player!  I believe it replaced a different sushi place, owned by the same people who own Menchanko-Tei.

In the soon to be opening category…

Ignore the construction, the “food court” in the basement of the building on 3rd Ave. btw. 49+50th is still open- and the new sign confirms the rumor we mentioned a few weeks ago.  Pamapano Taqueria & Pump Energy will be getting a new neighbor soon.  Clearly not deterred by the defections of two of their prime Midtown locations, a new Sophie’s Cuban will be opening soon.  The fliers on the storefront make mention of a “Grand Opening Celebration”, which can only mean one thing.  Free food day!  Once a date is firmed up, I’ll let you know.

Closings, plus closings masquerading as “renovations”, after the jump… Read more »

Have you figured out yet that I’m excited for conveyor belt sushi from Singapore?  It’s not open yet, but after much begging, they finally let me into Sakae Sushi (43rd btw. Lex+3rd) last night for a first look at the conveyor belt and computer system (which they’ve been putting together all week). 

The belt itself, which snakes in a u shape around the entire restaurant, carrying little small plates of sushi to every table, doesn’t actually go back into the kitchen- where all the food is prepared.  There are no sushi bars either.  All the food is made in the back, and brought out by servers to be placed on the conveyor belt.

For those “crazy” people, who don’t want to eat sushi off a conveyor belt, there is a mouse operated computer at each table you can use to order anything off of the menu.  This not only includes freshly made small plates of sushi, but larger things that don’t fit on the conveyor belt as well.

A look at the complete menu after the jump, plus an update on their “Friday” Grand Opening… Read more »

It looks like we are just days away from the opening of Singaporean conveyor belt sushi chain Sakae Sushi on 43rd St. btw. Lex+3rd.  Already enormously popular in Asia, this will be their first location in the USA, complete with signature computerized ordering and hot water spouts (for refilling tea) at every table, plus the main event… little plates of sushi ushered from seat to seat via conveyor belt.   

Two emails were sent out today about the place, with both Urbandaddy giving the impression that the place is already open (it’s not), while and Thrillist are reporting a Friday grand opening (albeit without hot water spouts, which they report will be installed in the next month).  (Urbandaddy did make a fleeting mention of the Friday opening, so I’ve modified the post to reflect that.  I just didn’t notice it when I read their email.) The photo above was taken at Sakae Sushi today at 2pm, and our sources are saying they *hope* to be open on Friday, but if not Friday- then ”probably” Monday.  With the way red tape works in NYC, I’ll believe it when I see the conveyor belts fired up, and moving little plates of raw fish.  Either way, as soon as I know, you’ll know…

Everybody knows how expensive Red Snapper is, and with good reason. Whether being used by seminal rock bands to pleasure groupies, spun on wheels of fish by Long Duck Dong from Sixteen Candles, or eaten at sushi restaurants, it is a very versatile, and delicious fish. Well, apparently some Midtown sushi restaurants are serving tilapia, and calling it Red Snapper. Inside Edition has the story…

Some flat out refute the claim, some claim ignorance, and one lady just clearly doesn’t know how to read a package. Of course, even if the plastic package she brought out said “Red Snapper”, I still don’t think I would want to eat it.

A list of uncovered Midtown East sushi restaurants pulling the tilapia switcheroo, after the jump… Read more »

Ever since the news hit that the Malaysian chain Sakae was bringing conveyor belt sushi to Midtown, I’ve been in the mood for raw fish.  A few weeks ago, I wrote about Kikku, a sit down place on 55th btw. 5+6th that is considered one of the best cheap sushi options in Midtown, and of course there was my trip to Mitsuwa in New Jersey this past weekend.  But the quest for good, but cheap sushi in Midtown continues. 

Logic (and basic economics) tells me that it’s impossible to find good and fresh raw fish, in a 100% takeout setting- that doesn’t cost over $10.  But I refuse to give up.  Kikku and Taki have established themselves as decent and cheap sit down sushi meals, but I want sushi you can grab and go.  Right now that kind of lunch is dominated by Midtown Delis, the last place I want to be eating raw fish from.  Enter Naruto Sushi, a brand new exclusively take out place on 49th btw. Madison and 5th that is hoping to be the solution to my cheap sushi problem.

Why it is, and why it isn’t as part of a gigantic +/- with photos, after the jump… Read more »

Searching for good, cheap sushi in Midtown has always been a difficult proposition.  It is not hard to find since every single deli now has a sushi bar.  But how cheap is too cheap?  At some point, when raw fish costs too little, you have to wonder whether eating this food that makes no financial sense for the people selling it, is going to make you sick (or taste just plain terrible).  Now, some people can’t or won’t eat cheap sushi, and I can totally appreciate that mentality.  After a meal at Sushi Seki or Soto, it’s easy to understand why there is a group of people (usually with a ton of money) who would never eat cheap sushi.  I’m not one of those people.  I can appreciate both ends of the sushi spectrum- in the same way I can enjoy a fast food hamburger while still appreciating the greatness of a steak from Peter Luger’s.  Similar ingredients, of very different quality, with different preparations.

In the end, it’s all about balance.  The goal- finding something that is not so cheap it’s just gross, but not too good, because then it ends up being too expensive for Midtown Lunch’ing.  I’m pretty excited for the new conveyor belt sushi place opening at the end of the year, but I know in my heart that filling up at Sakae Sushi for under $10 is going to be a very difficult task.  In the end, I can’t seem to find an end all be all for cheap sushi.  There are some delis with decent sushi counters (Cafe Duke is ok, as is Variety Cafe on 48th btw. 5+6th), but none that I would wholeheartedly recommend.  Yummy Sushi in rock center is pretty bad.  Kiiroi Hana, a restaurant that served to go sushi on the sidewalk of 56th St. was pretty good, but it closed.  In the end, even good pre-packaged sushi is still pre-packaged, and your best bet is to find a sit down place with a really good lunch special

My favorite, hands down, used to be Wu Kong on 46th, a Chinese/Japanese combo, but it closed over a year ago- leaving me searching for a replacement.  Taki Sushi on 48th btw. 5+6th is pretty good, but when I wrote about that place I got a ton of people who recomended Kikku on 55th btw. 5+6th, claiming that it is the best cheap sushi in Midtown.

I finally made it down there last week.  What we ordered, and a +/- after the jump… Read more »

I may be too excited to type out this post.  Sushi.  On conveyor belts.  In Midtown.  Oh my lord,  my prayers have been answered.  No, not the one where David Chang starts serving Korean burritos out of a cart on 49th St. & 6th Ave,  or the one where Saigon Banh Mi opens a Midtown branch, but doesn’t change their prices.  It’s the dream, where I’m sitting in a Midtown Japanese restaurant, and all the food is circling around me, there for the taking, around and around, each plate begging “Pick me!”  “Take me!” “Don’t I look good?!?”

That’s a good dream.  And hopefully by the end of the year, I will finally get to visit this place while I’m awake.  Sushi Sakae, a very large and famous Singapore chain of Japanese (go figure) Conveyor Belt Sushi restaurants is opening their first U.S. location here in Midtown.  It’s going up on 43rd btw. Lex. & 3rd Ave. and they are hoping to open it by the end of November.

Conveyor belt porn, and a sneak peak, advance look at the U.S. take out menu- after the jump… Read more »

It’s just outside of the “official” Midtown Lunch Boundaries, but I’ve been meaning to make it up to Katagiri for awhile- hearing for months now that it’s a pretty sweet Japanese Market on 59th btw. 2+3rd.  When I finally made it up there, I was surprised to find that the sushi and bentos available for purchase during lunchtime, are actually supplied by Chiyoda Sushi, one of the Trinity on 41st btw. Madison & 5th, and a Midtown Lunch favorite.

I have already written a ton on Chiyoda, not only about the actual store on 41st, but also about their super fantastic online bento ordering service, and their “delivery guy” who sells them on the street (50th St. btw. 6+7th) during lunch.  Well, Katagiri is now the third place in the area you can buy Chiyoda stuff, and is a great option for anyone working on the Upper west hand corner of Midtown.

Photos after the jump… Read more »

In the far reaches of Midtown, there exists a magical place whose enormity, and depth of choice, is only eclipsed by its price.  A wonderland of lunches, that makes Dishes or Variety Cafe look like a sandbox inside Disney World.  Where prepared meals circle ethnic food stations, and pre-packaged sushi is turned out fresh by the minute.  If only it wasn’t hampered by the anti-fat man, pay the lb. price structure, it could possibly be the Midtown equivalent of Willy Wonka’s Chocoate Factory.

This place I speak of is Whole Foods, and I finally got a chance to check it out last week for lunch.  It rests on the Upper West Side corner of the Midtown Lunch boundries, on 8th Ave. & 59th St., Columbus Circle, in the basement of the Time Warner Center.  It is easily the best “Grocery Store” in Midtown, and despite its high prices and questionable business practices, the food is undeniably fresh and of a much higher quality than any other place in our area.

The grocery store is nice, but for lunch purposes, we’re looking at the prepared foods area.  The gigantic section between the “store” and the registers.  What they’ve got, grocery store porn and a +/- after the jump… Read more »

You still have five more days to enjoy Summer Restaurant Week 2007.  If you have a job like mine (i.e. one where you don’t get to take summer associates out to lunches paid for by your company) then Restaurant Week is a great excuse to see how the other half lives.  As far as I’m concerned, $24.07 is not that great a deal for lunch, especially since there are already a lot of fancy places with normal prix fixe lunches that cost somewhere around that amount (like Jean Georges).  But, I am a big advocate for using your full one hour lunch break to relax, and there is no better way to do it than treating yourself to a fancy, sit down, expensive lunch.  It’s obviously only going to be a once in awhile thing, and Restaurant Week is the perfect excuse.

Restaurant week is not without its flaws (it’s not really that great a deal, and you often get what you pay for), but when your wife offers to pay for it- you’d be crazy to say no.  Right?  See, my wife is one of those lucky people who gets to eat out on her company’s dime every once in awhile- and her guilt over getting to go to these great lunches and dinners (without me) often results in her treating me to meals that we would probably never go to otherwise.  (I’m still waiting for my dinner at Del Frisco’s- a place that I’m pretty sure you can only enjoy if you are not paying.)

She has been to Hatsuhana a few times for work, and really wanted me to get to try it- so when she offered to take me there for a Restaurant Week lunch, I decided to hold back on my “Restaurant Week is not really worth it” speech.  I may be a cheap bastard, but I’m not crazy.  No arm twisting necessary.  I don’t mind cheap spicy tuna rolls from a deli, but if you have the money and don’t mind spending it on food, there are few things better than high quality raw fish.

Hatsuhana already has lunches priced around $25, so it sort of breaks the cardinal Restaurant Week rule (eat at some place that you wouldn’t be able to afford otherwise), but they do give you a much nicer lunch for RW, than you get normally for that price, and I wasn’t even paying- so don’t mistaken this for complaining.  For $24.07 you got a miso soup, salad, and this box of goodies:

A breakdown of each section, after the jump…

Read more »