Midtown Lunch

Photo by Food in Mouth

The Friday scene at El Rey del Sabor, the new Mexican taco cart on 60th and 3rd, is all the proof you need that Midtown is starved for good Mexican food.  According to the comments the line on Friday was “20 gringos deep” at one point, they ran out of pork, and by “2:40 they were out of rice and beans.”  Of course now that they realize the secret is out, I’m guessing this week they’ll be more prepared.  According to one comment yesterday, big changes are already in the works…

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Back in June we mentioned how long the line for the Treats Truck had become on Wednesdays– the one day a week it’s parked on 45th btw. 6+7th. The owner Kim herself has told me it’s her most popular spot, which may lead one to wonder- “Why don’t you park there more often?”  The people want it.  It would be good for business.  What’s stopping her?  Two words.  Mister.  Softee.  Last spring, when the weather started to warm up, and the Mister Softee truck returned to its regular spot on 45th & 6th, a “conversation” ensued.  Kim was told she couldn’t park on that block, but a “deal” was struck between the two vendors allowing the Treats Truck to park on 45th and 6th one day a week.

And that’s the way things were… until the Wafels and Dinges Truck arrived.   Read more »

Oh, what a glorious day! A new cart has arrived, and is serving the most authentic Mexican food I have seen in Midtown. Pampano Taqueria… be afraid.  Be very afraid. This place does not serve small, over priced tacos, on a single, fancy pants tortilla.  Their tacos cost $2 (the way it should be) and come on *two* corn tortillas, warmed up properly on the griddle.  The two sombrero carts– you should be afraid as well.  I don’t even think this cart knows what nacho cheese is.  Every item on their menu comes topped with queso blanco- the real deal Mexican cheese. Tamale lady in front of the Mexican Embassy–  you don’t have to worry about anything.  Your tamales are cheap, authentic, and delicious.  Nobody will ever replace you.

But everyone else!  Commence your shivering.  The Mexican food savior we have all been waiting for has finally arrived.   Read more »

Oh what a difference an avenue makes!  When Boi to Go, the fast food Vietnamese offshoot of the restaurant Boi, opened in May of last year, it caused me to walk one avenue farther than I think any Midtown Lunch’er should have to walk (it’s on 2nd Ave btw. 42+43rd.) But for the only banh mi (Vietnamese sandwich) in Midtown, a man will do crazy things.  That is also why I didn’t complain too much about the price tag ($7.50).  Compared to Chinatown or Sunset Park, what Boi to Go serves is a not entirely authentic (what’s with the avocado?), overpriced sandwich. However, you put it next to most Midtown deli sandwiches, it is competitively priced- and freakin’ delicious.  And now, it’s going to be one avenue closer- in proper Midtown Lunch’ing range.

In about month, Boi to Go will open a second offshoot on 3rd Ave. btw. 44+45th called “Boi Sandwich”.  I haven’t heard exactly what the menu will be, or if it will effect what is going on at the original Boi to Go, but if they serve the same sandwiches I’ll be pretty damn excited.  (Even though I could probably use the extra walking…)

Related: Boi to Go (aka How I Learned to Love the $7.50 Banh Mi)

The Biriyani Cart on 46th btw. 6+7th., which rose to prominence when they added roti rolls in the wake of Kati Roll’s move to 39th Street, unveiled their new cart on Monday.  The menu and prices are much clearer now, with useful descriptions of all their kati rolls.  This is definitely one of my favorite carts in Midtown, and it just seems to be getting better, with the addition of a few new menu items. Their chapli kebab has been offered for a little while now (it can be ordered as a plate or in a kati roll) but today is the debut of the new PWCD Kati Roll which is described on their new flyers as being “egg layered chapati bread with farm fresh scrambled egg and potato.”  Farm fresh?  On a cart?  Get out of town.  I will definitely be trying this soon.  Sadly though 2 kati rolls is now $6 whether you order chicken or lamb.  (Not sure when this price hike occured, but at some point it was 2 for $5 if you ordered chicken- so it is a price hike.)

The old cart is not going away though.  The owner plans on opening a second location with the old cart on Monday.  He is shooting for 43rd & 6th, but I’m a little skeptical that the Trini-Paki Cart will allow that to happen. I’ll keep an eye on the situation for you.

This wasn’t the only unveiling this week on 46th St.  Moshe’s famous falafel cart got a new look as well… Read more »

A Lunch’er alerted me yesterday to the news that 99 Miles to Philly is opening a new location today on 52nd and Second.  (Though he failed to mention that it’s replacing Zip Burger, which had been closed for rennovations.)  2nd Ave. is out of bounds for most Midtown Lunch’ers, but philly cheese steak fans on the east side should be prety excited hear this news. I’m sure for many of you, it will be worth the extra walk- especially for those who consider it better than Carl’s.  It opens at 11:30 today, so Early adopters, let us know how it is. Update: Confirmed Open.

If the new location of Lazzara’s Pizza wasn’t enough “slightly out of bounds” pizza news for you, Slice has recommended Pizza Suprema (on 8th Avenue and 31st Street) as one of the best places to order pizza delivery in Midtown. Normally 32nd Street is the cut off for ML purposes, but I think we can go the extra block for an Adam Kuban recommendation.

I don’t remember seeing lines like this at the XPL truck (on Park Ave. & 48th St.) before they surprisingly took 2nd place at Street Meat Palooza. It just goes to show, all carts are not created equal. (You may say the secret ingredient is the rice.)

Thanks to Blondie and Brownie for passing along the photo.

Midtown Lunch favorite Lazzara’s Pizza (on 38th btw. 6+7th) opened the doors to their second location today. The tiny new location is take out and delivery only, and just out of the Midtown Lunch boundaries (on 9th Ave. btw. 43+44th) but all the food is the same. As of now, it’s much less hectic than the original- but that could definitely change as time goes on. And, even though it’s not on the menu- they do sell single slices. (In fact, I found out today that they’ll sell you a single slice of cheese at the original location as well. They just don’t like to publicize it.) A single slice ends up being $2.40.

Interior shots, and why (a few of) you might care after the jump…  Read more »

Silo Cafe has opened in the food court that houses Pampano Taqueria and Sohpie’s Cuban (on 3rd Ave. btw. 49+50th.)  On first glance it’s just another generic Midtown Deli, but I got this message from a lunch’er the other day:

I know cheap (or even better free) stuff seems to get good mileage on your site, so I thought you’d be interested in hearing that Silo Cafe finally opened in the Pompano food court (50th and Lex). It is probably not much better than your basic (upscaleish) deli at $7.50/lb, except for the udon, bibimbap and sushi bar in the back. My veggie bibimbap was pretty big and also came with miso soup for just $6.50. Chicken and beef are only a dollar more. I’m relatively new to the midtown scene, but to my untrained tastebuds it was also pretty good and they whipped it up for me in about 3 minutes. To top it off, the cashier handed me a coupon for a free breakfast item when I left. You can beat that can you?

Well, you know I’m a sucker for free stuff (and bibimbap), so I headed over the other day to check it out… 

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