Midtown Lunch

It might surprise some of you to hear this, but sometimes even I have trouble deciding where to eat lunch.  (It’s a daily dilemma we all share.)  And on Friday, I was having an especially tough time picking a place to go.  I even asked for recommendations via Twitter and Facebook, and offered free lunch to anyone whose suggestion I ended up taking.  Of course that was before I read Friday’s Downtown Lunch column.  After that, there was no question what I was eating for lunch… bourbon chicken!  And I didn’t even have to head to the FiDi to get it.  I just walked over to DC Fusion Cafe (on 7th Ave. btw. 37+38th.)

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With baby and the wife in tow (she got the day off today!), I headed down to Koreatown for a leisurely today.  Normally I am a $10 and under kind of a guy, but I think if you have to work on a holiday you should be allowed a little bit of a splurge.  So, with that new rule guiding me I decided to hit up Gahm Mi Oak- one of the nicer (and more unique) Korean food options on 32nd btw. B’way+5th Ave.  The menu is pretty small, and almost everything on it is over $10, but if you’re looking for something completely offal- this is your place.  Gelatin of cow knee? A soup made with ox bones?  Raw oysters and pork belly?  It all sounded great to me… but I was there for one thing and one thing only.  Soon dae! (Korean blood sausage.)  Ever since I had Woorijip’s version, I’ve been craving a solid hot version from a restaurant- and all the Midtown Lunch commenters seem to agree, Gahm Mi Oak’s is the best in K-Town.

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It’s been forever since I’ve been to Utsav, the fancy all you can eat Indian buffet on 46th Street btw. 6+7th. So when I was told by a friend over at Epicurious that they were now serving Biriyani for take out, I was pretty excited!  I’ve never tried their buffet (it’s too expensive!) but their take out food, which is available daily just inside the front door, is good (especially for those of you who prefer spending a little extra on slightly fancier Indian food.)

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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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I finally got to try the Schnitzel Burger from the Schnitzel & Things Truck today.  It required me getting there at 11:40am (the line was already 11 people long, 30+ by the time a left at 12:05), but was completely worth it.  And after taking one bite… the music started loud and clear in my head:

At last… my love has come along
My lonely days are over, And life is like a song
Oh, yeah, at last, The skies above are blue
My heart was wrapped up in clovers
The night I looked at you
I found a dream that I could speak to
A dream that I can call my own
I found a thrill to rest my cheek to
A thrill that I have never known
Oh, yeah when you smile, you smile
Oh, and then the spell was cast
And here we are in heaven
For you are mine…. At last.

But what did I really think?

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Maoz Vegetarian, the European build your own falafel chain with branches in Union Square, NYU, and the UWS, opened their very first Midtown location a few weeks ago (on 7th Ave. and 40th Street). There is no shortage of falafel options in Midtown, but I have always been intrigued by Maoz- especially since Serious Eats: New York named it the best falafel in Union Square. So last week I headed over to give this new addition to the Midtown Lunch scene a try.

If you’ve already been to Maoz, I’m guessing this is no different than any of the other locations. Like any chain, the operation seems pretty streamlined and I’m guessing it’s the same from place to place. I had no basis for comparison, so on this visit was just a fat guy wondering if this was going to replace any of my other go to falafel places in Midtown. I like the idea of building my own sandwich, because layering is incredibly important to me- and so many places just don’t do it right. I was kind of excited to get to give the sandwich building a go.

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99 Cent Fresh Pizza seems to be taking it from all sides these days.  First, 2 Bros Pizza opens one block away from their “flagship” location behind Port Authority, and now this.  It seems as if another 99 Cent Pizza place is opening on Lexington btw. 45+46th. (just two blocks away from the 99 Cent Fresh Pizza on 43rd.)  But here’s the kicker, apparently the owner of the new spot is a disgruntled former employee of 99CFP.  And to add insult to injury, he’s never opened a pizza place before- so after securing the lease, when back to the owners of 99CFP for help.  (Are you following all this?)  Part of me thinks that we can always use more $1 pizza in Midtown, but tell that to the now shuttered Prince Deli (which very well could have been put out of business by the arrival of 99 Cent Fresh Pizza on43rd.)  At least 2 Bros Pizza had something to offer (aka better pizza) when they opened one block away from the Port Authority 99CFP.  If this new location turns out to be a bad 99CFP ripoff- it might just end up going the way of the Prince.

I love all you can eat buffets… and within that vast and wonderful realm the Chinese buffet is probably my favorite.  I don’t discriminate against any buffet, but sushi buffets tend to be too expensive, Mexican buffets don’t seem to stand up well to the steam table treatment, and Latin buffets are fine- but rice and beans and plantains always kill me in that equation!  Indian buffets are plentiful in Midtown, and I’m all about a good Indian buffet… but Chinese is my all time favorite.  Sadly Manhattan is practically devoid of Chinese buffets.  And in Midtown, there is only one option.  The “Midtown Buffet” on 7th Ave. btw. 40+41st.

It’s only $8 (and actually used to be cheaper) and I used it as the backdrop for the Midtown Lunch Guide to Beating the All You Can Eat Buffet a few years ago.  But it didn’t really get a full +/-, so yesterday on the holiest of holy Jewish days I hit up the Midtown Buffet for a little Yom Kippur lunch action.

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Fancy fried chicken is all the rage these days, with Eater, New York Magazine and Serious Eats both putting together lists of the best fancy (aka expensive) fried chicken in the city.  I can’t think of any fancy fried chicken  in Midtown that should have been included on these lists (can you?), but NYMag did put together a taste test of the best fast food fried chicken, and Popeye’s was crowned the king (completely deserved.) In fact, I think they’d even beat some of the fancy spots in a blind taste test. Popeye’s is (still open) on 40th btw. 7+8th.

Related:
8th Avenue is the Fried Chicken Corridor of NYC
Please Don’t Forget That Popeye’s is Still Open