Hello! Lunch’er Sal spotted this at Cafe Zaiya (on 41st btw. Mad+5th) and was kind enough to send the photo along. How can that be bad?!?! (No word on whether or not they’ve begun pumping cinnamon bun smell onto the sidewalk.)
Related:
A Food Porn Guide to Navigating Your Way Through Cafe Zaiya
Posted by Zach Brooks at 4:00 pm, March 4th, 2009 under Cafe Zaiya, Sweets.
Back when I was on my quest for a real deal Greek gyro (not a Middle Eastern shawarma sandwich, or a chopped up gyro from a cart), a number of commenters mentioned Akdeniz. Sure it’s Turkish, and not Greek, and the place is a sit down restaurant- but their gyro sandwich is under $10 (one of the few things on the menu that is) and came highly recommended. Well I finally got around to trying the thing, which is only available during the day, and although it wasn’t what I initially was asking for, it is definitely a tasty sandwich.
Posted by Zach Brooks at 11:45 am, March 4th, 2009 under 46th btw. 5+6th, Akdeniz, Gyro, Turkish.
Tony Luke’s, the famous Philly based cheesesteak/pork sandwich purveyor, used to have a “location” on 9th Ave. btw. 40+41st- before the franchisee got sick of paying the fees and changed the name to Shorty’s (they still serve practically the same menu.) Well, according to the official Tony Luke’s website there is another location “to be announced” in NYC. It’s not clear whether it will be another “franchise” situation, or if it will the real deal- but either way, may I humbly suggest they return to the Midtown area? Even a half decent Tony Luke’s is probably better than most of the Philly cheesesteak (and roast pork with broccoli rabe!) options we’ve got. [via Serious Eats Comments]
Photo courtesy of Josh Bousel
Posted by Zach Brooks at 9:00 am, March 4th, 2009 under Cheese Steak, Steak.
New York Magazine has released their annual ‘Best Of’ issue, and while there isn’t much in the way of Midtown Lunch’ing honors, editor Robin Raisfeld chose Beacon as her favorite (bargain?) burger in New York City. I don’t see how it fits in the “Best Bargains: Cheap Food” category, but then again NYMag and Midtown Lunch have always had a different idea of what cheap means.
Related: Beacon’s Burger Bar Attempts to Gain Coveted Midtown Lunch Status
Posted by Zach Brooks at 4:00 pm, March 3rd, 2009 under Burger.
My one visit to Grand Sichuan International (on Lexington btw. 33+34th) was just for a bubble tea, and it was a complete failure. Danny from Food in Mouth actually ordered one of their lunch specials, and found it to be lacking in the heat department (despite being called gui zhou spicy chicken). “Like with any other restaurant experience, it’s all about tempering your expectations. If I had walked into a tiny hole-in-the-wall Chinese joint serving Americanized version of Chinese food, and this was the product? I would be absolutely delighted. But Grand Sichuan bills itself as a serious Sichuan restaurant and the heat was just ok. I’ve had the spicy hot pot at that exact same store and it was no joke. Their hot pot is serious business. As far as lunch specials though, go in expecting the same thing you get anywhere else.” You’ve been warned. [Food in Mouth]
Posted by Zach Brooks at 9:00 am, March 3rd, 2009 under Chinese.
Soul Fixins’ Introduces “Bailout Special”: The just out of bounds Soul Fixins' on 34th St. btw. 8+9th Ave. is serving a "bailout special" of fried chicken, coconut rice with gravy, mixed vegetables, and a small lemonade for $6.95. [Eating in Translation]
Posted at 9:00 am, March 2nd, 2009 | 2 Comments
*******THIS RESTAURANT IS NOW CALLED MAD FOR CHICKEN*********
When Bon Chon opened up a few years ago in Koreatown (on 5th Ave. just south of 32nd Street), it probably never intended on being a lunchtime destination. It was meant to be an Izakaya style restaurant, made for after work and late night drinking and snacking- in this case, on their much lauded Korean fried chicken. It looks more like a night club, or fancy restaurant, than a branch of KFC- and the service is not exactly conducive to a one hour lunch break. But, after many years of hearing complaints about the lack of Korean fried chicken in the area during lunchtime hours, Bon Chon clearly decided that it was time to capitalize on their popularity. And a few months ago, they opened for lunch.
It took awhile for this unbelievably exciting news to make its way to Midtown Lunch HQ, but once it did, I rounded up a crew and headed to Koreatown for some kfc action!
Posted by Zach Brooks at 11:45 am, February 26th, 2009 under 32nd btw. B'way+5th, Fried Chicken, Korean, Mad For Chicken.
Forget about vacuum packed sandwiches made in Massachusetts and shipped to Walgreens… this is what I’m talking about! From an Egyptian cart called the “Charcoal Grill” on 55th btw. Mad+5th, which also has “Egyptian sausages” (whatever that means.) Anybody sampled the liver sandwich from this cart yet?
Photo courtesy of Ultraclay dot com
Back in September my quest to find the best chicken parm in Midtown took me to Mondello (on 37th btw. Mad+5th). It was “satisfying, but nothing to write home about.” And yet, it appears as if I missed something crucial that would increase the awesomeness of their chicken parm tenfold.
From the blog Ultraclay:
Shut up! Meat sauce on a chicken parm!?! That… is… awesome. I don’t remember them giving me a choice, because if they had I would have obviously gone with the meat sauce. Clearly it’s time to revisit this one.
Mondello Pizzeria & Restaurant, 3 East 37th (btw. Mad+5th), 212-684-2411
Posted by Zach Brooks at 10:30 am, February 25th, 2009 under 37th btw. Mad+5th, Italian, Mondello, Sandwiches.
After its Vendy Award nomination, and people’s choice victory, the Biryani Cart on 46th btw. 6+7th flirted with a second cart (parked next to the original cart) to accommodate the demand. It was a little confusing for customers, who didn’t realize which cart was serving kati rolls and which cart was serving their chicken tikka masala and chicken biryani. Once the lines died down, the second cart disappeared… but last week it reappeared right next to the original Biryani Cart as “Sandwich Land”, a cart dedicated to sandwiches.
The new sandwich land cart (which is parked directly to the right of the original cart) features two burgers, two cheesesteak sandwiches, a variety of pita sandwiches, and their non-Indian spiced chicken and lamb over rice plates. And of course… an entry for the Midtown Lunch sandwich challenge.
Posted by Zach Brooks at 11:45 am, February 23rd, 2009 under Biriyani Cart, Cart, Midtown Lunch Sandwich Challenge, Sandwiches.
