Midtown Lunch

Let me just admit something off the bat… unlike like many bloggers who consider their opinion worthwhile because they have access to software that transmits their words onto the interwebs, I will admit that there are some things I don’t have a ton of experience with (so maybe my opinion should come with a grain of salt).  And one of those things is Japanese udon soup.  Even though there are many cheap versions all over Midtown (a lot of delis now carry it), it has never really made it into my repertoire of lunches. (Sauteed udon is a different story!)  If I want soup, I usually go with ramen… and when it comes to ramen, two of my three favorite places (Menchanko Tei & Men Kui Tei) were kind of bashed by Rameniac.  So either he’s wrong, or I don’t know shit about ramen either.

So, with that in mind- I headed over to Udon West, the third outpost of the East Village chain which replaced Teriyaki Boy on 46th btw. Lex+3rd a month ago.

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Is it possible to love something so much, you end up kind of hating it? That might be the way I feel about Cafe Zaiya. Yes, I’m talking about that Cafe Zaiya (on 41st. btw. Mad+5th), the Japanese fast food place that specializes in bento boxes and rice balls and amazing Japanese baked goods. The place that won best Japanese Fast Food in the Midtown Lunch Readers’ poll. That Cafe Zaiya. The simple fact is, I will step foot in that place and not be able to decide what to get. Everything just looks so damn good. In fact, there have been times where I have spent 15 minutes looking, browsing, picking something up, putting it down, picking another thing up, waiting in line for a baked good, get out of line, contemplate the sushi, put the thing I picked up down… and so forth… until I become so crazed, I just leave and eat somewhere else. I have no excuses. Love will sometimes do crazy things to a man.

What I’m saying is, I could never compile a post like this. It would require too many visits… choosing too many things… making too many decisions. I just don’t have that willpower. I would probably just end up buying one of those little fried chicken sandwiches and a rice ball every single time. Damn you Zaiya! Luckily, Kathy YL Chan, author of the blog A Passion for Food, and our resident Hawaiian food expert, doesn’t have my issues. And she was happy enough to put together this massive look at some of the best things Cafe Zaiya has to offer. Sure it’s nothing groundbreakingly new here on Midtown Lunch… but who would complain about looking at a ton of amazing food porn from one of the best lunch places in Midtown.

Of all the places to eat lunch in Midtown, Café Zaiya is my safe haven. Reliable, cheap, and most importantly, very tasty. Most days I veer straight towards the bakery counter and select two baked goods. That fills you up just about right for less than $5. You’d be hard pressed to find a better deal.

The café is divided into five major sections. The bakery area on the left side of the shop, bento and sandwiches in the middle, a hot food station in the back, a cold food area to the right (sushi, salads, and cold sandwiches) and Bead Papa’s upfront. I find the hot food at Zaiya to be simply passable and nothing more. Same goes for the sushi. Divert your attention to the bakery.

Here you’ll find wonders (most priced under $2) of the sweet and savory sort, either baked, steamed, or deep fried. Below are a few of my favorites.

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The blog Rameniac has released their list of the best ramen from coast to coast, and 3 of the top 10 ramens in New York City are Midtown Lunches: Sapporo (6), Men Kui Tei (8), and Menchanko-Tei (10). While the site has some nostalgic words of kindness for Sapporo, they are less than enthusiastic about Men Kui Tei and Menchanko-Tei, which, despite being the lowest on the list, was voted best Ramen in the Midtown Lunch Readers’ poll. I guess there is no accounting for taste… [via Serious Eats: New York]

Times Square Alliance, the ogranization known most notably for putting on the annual ‘Taste of Times Square‘, is promoting a month-long “Taste Bud Stimulus Package” where local restaurants offer discounts until the end of January. Just like the Taste of Times Square, the list of restaurants run the gamut from expensive, to crappy, to touristy, to expensive touristy crap (Applebee’s anybody?).  And a few of the deals you can get at any time (i.e. the $10 beer and burger deal at House of Brews).  But there were a couple that caught my eye… like 15% off at Empanada Joe’s (I still haven’t completely given up on that place), and there is a special $10 lunch menu at the just out of bounds Bourbon Street Grill on 46th btw. 8+9th (what can I say? I am a sucker for New Orleans.)

I headed over there yesterday to check out their muffuletta.

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According to a tipster, and confirmed on their website, World famous (?) BBQ chain Famous Dave’s Legendary Pit Bar-B-Que is opening their first Manhattan branch right smack dab in the middle of Midtown Lunch central (on 47th btw. 6+7th). I would be down with some good BBQ in these parts (right now, the Daisy May’s BBQ cart on 50th btw. 6+7th is about all I can fully get behind) but considering how many touristy, big box BBQ joints we already have in Midtown (Dallas BBQ, Virgil’s, & Spanky’s) this may not be the answer to our prayers.

I don’t have anything against BBQ chains (if Corky’s opened a NYC branch, I’d probably pass out from excitement), and I’ve never been to a Famous Dave’s, which apparently has locations all over the U.S., but the background info doesn’t seem reassuring: it was founded in Minnesota (huh?) about 15 years ago by the same guy who helped found the “Rainforest Cafe“. Sweet!

There is a menu posted on their website, but there aren’t any prices, so I’m not sure if this place is even going to fall under the Midtown Lunch price range. I’m not holding my breath. Have you been to a Famous Dave’s? Let us know in the comments if we should be excited…

A interior taken-through-the-cracks-of-the-plywood photo is after the jump (if such a thing excites you).

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After almost 3 years of doing Midtown Lunch, I feel like I’ve walked down every single block of Midtown (multiple times.)  And while the site would be nothing without your recommendations, and tips about new places, I thought there weren’t very many older places I didn’t know about. So imagine my surprise last week, when (based on a recommendation in the comments) I walked into Nino’s to discover a pretty cool, old school Italian place that I somehow managed to avoid in over 1000 days of Midtown Lunch’ing.  So embarrassing.  Even my wife was like “oh… you went to Nino’s?  I’ve been to that place a million times.” How did I miss this? Aside from the obvious… it’s not Asian food. 

I can’t even blame it on the location somehow being a random hidden block… it’s on 46th btw. 5+6th (!!!) the same block as Cafe Cello, Kim’s Aunt Kitchen Cart, Moshe’s Falafel, Kosher Deluxe, Ranch 1, and (at one time) Rangole & House of Pita. I’ve walked down this street one or two times…  

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The second location of Matt Kenney’s FreeFoods NYC opened this morning on 52nd btw. Lex+3rd in the old F&B Gudtfood space. The original location (on 45th btw. 5+6th) was always a little too rich for my taste, but vegetarians, vegans, and fans of organic food who work in Midtown East (and don’t mind spending the extra money) should be excited for this new option. Maybe if the economy rebounds, or I win the lottery, I’ll try their by the pound buffet (it looks pretty damn amazing.) They will open at 10am every day this week, with breakfast and regular hours (7:30 am opening time) beginning next Monday.

FreeFoods NYC, 150 E. 52nd St. (btw. Lex+3rd), -212-302-7195

Now available at ‘wichcraft. Photo by nycblondieandbrownie

It just got a little bit easier to enjoy a treat from the Sullivan Street Bakery.  You could always trek all the way to to the actual bakery on 47th btw. 10+11th, or you can visit one of Midtown’s many Dean and Deluca locations, and now, according to Blondie and Brownie you can visit ‘wichcraft for your Sullivan Street Bakery fix.  The sandwich chain, which has a number of Midtown locations, is now offering up Sullivan Street Bakery pastries, including their very famous bombolini, which B&B call “a mighty fine doughnut.”  Indeed it is.  Indeed it is.

I may be in the minority, but I happen to like the banh mi at Boi to Go (on 2nd Ave. btw. 42+43rd), and their newly opened Boi Sandwich (on 3rd Ave. btw. 44+45th).  But even I’ll admit, it’s only good for Midtown.  Put their $8 Vietnamese sandwich in Chinatown and I probably wouldn’t even give it a second look. So dreaming of something a little better, I decided earlier in the week to venture just outside the Midtown Lunch boundaries to try Baoguette, Chef Michale Huynh’s new take-out Banh Mi counter on Lexington btw 25+26th Street. It replaced a closed down Blimpie (unlike our three closed Blimpies which remain empty) and I have to say, if you work in the southern part of Midtown- the choice between waking 8 blocks north to Boi Sandwich, or 10 blocks south to Baoguette is no choice at all.

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Last August Muhammed Rahman, the cart operator who famously used to cook at the Russian Tea Room, left Midtown for a new pizza and pasta venture on the Upper West Side; entrusting his famous Kiwk Meal cart (on 45th and 6th) to helpers.  Well, this week Muhammed made his triumphant return- opening a new cart called “Quick Delight” on 45th Street and 3rd Avenue. This is the third cart in the Kwik Meal empire, replacing Kwik Meal 2 which used to park on 5th Ave. until it was stolen a few months ago from the garage where it was parked.  Kwik Gourmet, the second cart, is still parked on 47th & Park Avenue.

This is huge news, and the tips poured in yesterday from excited Kwik Meal fans on the East side who have always had to walk West for a taste of Rahman’s famous lamb pita… but even more exciting is the news that Quick Delight will have two menu items not available at either of the other two carts.

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