Midtown Lunch

El Rey Del Sabor’s carts have long been a mainstay of Mexican Midtown Lunch’ing. Their menu has everything you’d expect: tacos, burritos, quesadillas, nachos. But did you know that they also serve a Mexified version of classic street meat? I sure didn’t until I saw someone get a plate of it from the cart on 43rd and 6th. The only logical thing for me to do was order one of my own (Street Meat Palooza 4 results might not be out yet, but it’s never too early to start doing research for next year).

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The out-of-bounds Leon Bakery (9th Ave. btw 47+48th), one of the greater Midtown area’s premiere purveyors of tamales (not to mention their selection of baked goods), is currently closed for renovations. From what I could see of the interior, the changes are extensive and the space will probably look much different. As long as there is still a barrel of tamales in the back, I’ll be happy. One of the workers told me they should reopen in the next few weeks. Can’t wait!

After tasting two of Potbelly’s three dessert options–I’m not counting the mini cookies as a real option–and being greatly surprised with the taste and quality of their cookies, I was anxious to try out the last dessert, the Dreambar. The Dreambar is a bar equivalent of their Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie in that it’s filled with chocolate chips and rolled oats. But there are some major differences that will steer you towards one or the other.

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In this week’s New York Magazine the Robs take note of how ubiquitous and eclectic falafel has become here in NYC, pointing out 12 different takes on the fried chickpea balls. Olympic Pita (on 38th btw. 5+6th) got singled out for its delicious laffa, Maoz got the nod for its DIY set up, and Taim for its different flavors. But we couldn’t help but notice that Crisp was left off the list entirely. Love ’em or hate ’em, how can you have a “unique falafels of NYC” list, and leave off the place that is responsible for these monstrosities! We’ll chalk it up to harmless oversight…

Thanks to Lunch’er Tom for sending in this great report…

Across the street from Taam Tov, and one floor down from El Rincon Del Sabor, there’s a new Glatt Kosher Uzbek restaurant on 47th (in the space where Dougie’s BBQ used to be.) It’s $2 cheaper than its neighbor, the staff outnumbers the patrons, and the kicker? Mukpatz!

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Well some of you may or may not know that I love adding cranberries to burgers, so it she be no surprise that while walking by Cafe Hestia (3rd btw 43+44th) a sign for a $6 Thanksgiving sandwich caught my eye. Cafe Hestia looks like any other Pret A Manger or Cosi or Europa in Midtown. But besides sandwiches and salads they do serve ramen and bibimbap. But how did Thanksgiving taste in the middle of September? I wanted to find out…

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When I first heard about Schweddy Balls, Ben & Jerry’s latest Limited Edition flavor named for the classic Alec Baldwin SNL sketch, I had to go check the Rock Center shop to see if they had scoops. And come on, Schweddy Balls are tailor made for amusing interactions.

Me: “hi, I’d like a cup of Schweddy Balls.”
Woman in business suit next to me: “Getting some Schweddy Balls today?”
Me: “Yup.”
Woman in business suit next to me: “Me, too. Those are some good Schweddy Balls.”

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With Potbelly Sandwich slowly blanketing Midtown, I decided to finally stop by their newly open Rock Center location to check out the desserts. When compared to some of the other dessert options around, theirs are fairly cheap, and apparently baked fresh for the shops. Since I was in a cookie mood, I picked up their oatmeal and chocolate chip cookie for some afternoon snacking. At less than $2, I was pleasantly surprised with what I got.

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We get pretty excited when new halal carts pop up in Midtown.  Even though there is practically one on every block, new ones don’t come along that often.  So when I spotted Tazy Halal Food (on44th btw 2+3rd) last week right across the street from my office, I had to check it out. The menu looked like pretty standard Halal cart stuff (chicken and rice, lamb and rice, gyro and etc), but the cart quickly proved me wrong.

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Any savvy luncher in New York knows by now that Koreatown (32nd St between 5th and 6th Ave) is a wonderland of cheap and filling lunches. In fact, it’s almost becoming difficult to choose between the overflow of options – Shilla, Food Gallery 32, Woorijip, Miss Korea, Arirang, etc etc. Last week, I stumbled across yet another lunch deal at Muk eun ji, the reincarnation of the old Hang Gang space, where you have an option of at least 10 different dishes that fall at or below the $10 price range.
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