Midtown Lunch

One year ago this month 20 Midtown Lunch’ers converged in Bryant Park to taste 13 plates of street meat and rate them in an event that became known as Street Meat Palooza.  The Famous Halal Cart on 53rd & 6th was crowned the winner, and we vowed to return one year later to give another set of carts a chance at unseating the champ.  Last week a new group of lunchers once again converged in Bryant Park to blind taste test and rate 15 different street meat carts, many of them nominated by you.  Food was consumed, scores were given, and a new winner has been crowned.  Ladies and gentleman, Midtown Lunch’ers, and street food enthusiasts from around the world, I’m excited to give you STREET MEAT PALOOZA 2.

Some of you may be asking, “What exactly is street meat?”  Well, for the purposes of this contest it is an order of chicken and lamb, served over rice, with “white sauce” and hot sauce.  In Midtown it is often referred to as “Halal Food” (the Muslim equivalent of Kosher), but in this case the method of preparation (or its degree of holiness) is not important.  As long as you serve something called chicken and lamb over rice (with white sauce and hot sauce) it could be Palooza’d.  7 carts from last year were granted automatic entry, while the other 8 were culled from your nominations.  Carts received separate scores for chicken, lamb, rice, white sauce, hot sauce, and value, plus received an overall score (the most important.)  Every judge was also asked to choose a top 5 at the very end.

Keep in mind there are no losers in Street Meat Palooza, just different degrees of winning (I see the good in all street meat).  Just getting picked to participate meant that somebody likes the cart, and every single entry showed up in at least one judge’s top 5.  In other words, this isn’t a contest as much as a celebration- and just because a new champion has been crowned doesn’t meat that last year’s winner is no longer great.  It just means that on any given day, any number of amazing Midtown street food vendors might be putting out “The Best” plate of street meat.

Here are the results…

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I don’t know if this is a coincidence or not, but two days ago we were having a conversation in the ML forums about where to find good khao soi (a noodle dish that is popular in Chiang Mai, Thailand), and then yesterday I got an email about Talent Thai Kitchen- a newish Thai place on 34th btw. 2+3rd that specializes in “Northern Thai Noodle Soups… like khao soi.”  It’s technically outside the Midtown Lunch boundaries, but their lunch specials are only $7.95 and I will go an extra 1/2 an avenue to get my khao soi on. If it looks anything like the photo of khao soi after the jump, you will see a very happy Zach.

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Considering its track record, I don’t know if you would want your first White Castle experience to be at the Midtown location on 8th Ave. btw. 36+37th… but that’s exactly where Robyn Lee from A Hamburger Today enjoyed her very first White Castle slider (and order of chicken rings!) last week. In true Serious Eats fashion the post includes cross sections of everything they tried, and the photos are pretty amazing looking (a testament to her photography, considering how gross White Castle looks in person.)  In other words, if you’ve never been to White Castle and are considering the Midtown location as your first forray- don’t be fooled by the photos.  You might want to read what she wrote instead. [A Hamburger Today]

Related:
What Happens When Things Get Rowdy at White Castle
Office Lunch Club: Fantastic Fast Food Friday at the Midtown White Castle

Photos courtesy of Food in Mouth

I’ve always wanted to try that Bento Nouveau place (on 39th and Broadway), but after reading this review on Food in Mouth I might pass.  They have inexpensive pre-made sushi and udon noodle soups, but Danny went for the beef sukiyaki, which doesn’t look too appetizing- and that’s saying a lot because his photography usually makes the ugliest food look great. Overriding theme of the post: you’re better off going to Woorijip (on 32nd btw. 5+B’way.)

Anybody else eaten at this place?  If there is anything worth trying, post about it in the comments.

About 2 and a half years ago, when I first ventured into the basement food court of the building on 3rd btw. 52+53rd to write about Fusion Grills (a typical Chinese/Japanese food court establishment), I got loads of emails recommending its neighbor Gourmet 53.  It might look like a typical generic Midtown deli, people would tell me, but it’s a really good deal- and the food is great.  Most  people recommended their coconut shrimp special (what can I say, the longtime readers know me so well!) and even though I put it off for way too long- I finally made to Gourmet 53 last week to see if all the hype was warranted.

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The annual summertime Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory stand has returned to Pershing Square.  It is set up on 42nd and Park, right next to the restaurant Pershing Square, and Blondie and Brownie are reporting that they will be open from Noon to 7pm seven days a week until August.  The dirty little secret… Pershing Square (the restaurant) sells Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory ice cream all year long on their menu (but it’s obviously a lot more fun buying from an outdoor stand!) [Blondie and Brownie]

There has been a lot of press (and even more twittering) about the new Schnitzel and Things truck, coming soon to Midtown.  Hell, they even have “merch” for sale– and they haven’t even sold a single bite of schnitzel yet!  Well, Fressagirl is reporting that another truck serving schnitzel quietly hit the scene a month ago on 9th Ave. btw. 32+33rd (just outside the Midtown Lunch boundaries.)  In fairness to Schnitzel & Things, schnitzel is just one of the many items on the Brucha Caterer truck- which is entirely kosher.  (And, as you know from this post, Austrian schnitzel and kosher schnitzel can be two completely different things.)

Of course Midtown has plenty of room for two schnitzel trucks.  And I’m still looking forward to the arrival of veal schnitzel!  In fact, Schnitzel & Things just released the first photo of their truck, which you can check out after the jump…

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I’ve always been a huge fan of the roast pork over rice at Hing Won (on 48th btw. 5+6th.) Beautiful strips of Chinatown style red roast pork, laid over rice and bok choy, and topped with their sweet soy sauce, it’s probably one of the most popular dishes served from the right hand side of the counter. (Hing Won has two sides, the left is a steam table of Americanized Chinese food, the right, a bilingual menu of Chinatown style specialities that are made to order.)

But last Friday I noticed a new sign hanging on their already jam packed wall of signs.  I don’t know what it said in Chinese, but the English surely got my attention:  “Roast Pig over Rice”.  Wha!?!  Isn’t it funny how changing one word from pork to pig can have such a big impact.  Some would probably consider pork and pig the same thing, but those familiar with pork in all its forms know the subtle menu nuances.  Deep down in my heart (which is already dangerously clogged with pork fat, I’m sure) I innately knew this was something completely different than the standard roast pork over rice. (And I was hoping it would involve something crispy.)

Despite my hopes and dreams for the dish, I didn’t actually know what the distinction between pork and pig was going to be, but there was only one way to find out.

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Remember when Kati Roll was the only place in midtown that served kati rolls.  When they moved from 46th street to 39th street, the Biryani Cart jumped in and served their own version of the Indian burrito.  (And we all know how that turned out.)  They were followed by Indus Express’ naan wraps (on 48th btw. 5+6th), the standard kati rolls from Grill 44 on the East side, and even Spice Fusion (which is known for their all you can eat buffet) jumped on the bandwagon.

Now Touch of India (on 37th btw. 7+8th) becomes the latest to join the fray. I didn’t love their all you can eat buffet when I tried it last August, but for $9 it’s good enough.  And there’s no reason a mediocre buffet would stop me from trying their “kathi rolls”.

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Here’s a strange marketing decision… Remember Golosi, the by the inch pizza and gelato place that took over the old Yolato spot on Park Ave. btw. 41+42nd.  Well, it looks like they are now selling Golosi branded gelato in other locations. (Thanks to Lunch’er Dave for sending in this photo of Golosi being sold in the Old Bridge Deli on Lex. and 41st.) I thought we had confirmation that Golosi was pretty much the same owners and product as Yolato, but in different packaging.  So it seems strange that they would do anything to confuse the situation.  Yolato is already being sold at a large number of Midtown delis. I tried to get more info on their website, but it’s just a static page designed to look like a website.  Very strange… UPDATE: Apparently any similarities between Golosi and Yolato (and there are a lot of them) are just a coincidence. A rep from Golosi has emailed in to say that “Golosi and Yolato are two different companies with different owners.” And their website is under construction. Their “temporary website” (an online ordering page, run by Seamless Web) can be found here.