A few weeks ago, the Fishing Shrimp truck parked in Midtown for the first time, serving a menu of various basic fried seafood treats. And it looks like they’re committed to coming back at least once a week.  There was some speculation from commenters as to whether or not the $7 fish n’ chips could possibly be any good…so of course I went to investigate.

For $7 you get a hefty portion of fried white fish (about 4 decent-sized filets), and I can confirm that the “chips” are indeed french fries… but if you’re expecting an English style fish and chips you might be disappointed. The fish was flaky, moist, and battered with a surprisingly light batter, not the heavy, thick coating you usually see with fish n’ chips. In the forums, there was some mention of the breading being a little too salty, but I actually found it perfectly seasoned. It also wasn’t as greasy as I would’ve expected, which was very much appreciated. The skin-on fries were actually crispy and delicious, despite their somewhat limp appearance in the photo.

I’m curious to try some of their other offerings, particularly the shrimp basket and the ($15!) Bahamanian Cracked Conch. Hopefully this truck will put midtown in its regular rotation, as decent deep fried seafood is always a welcome addition to the neighborhood. According to Twitter they are supposed to be back in Midtown East today, somewhere around Park Ave., but as always, check the ML Twitter Tracker before you head out.

Fishing Shrimp Truck, 48th + Park Ave

I wasn’t immediately excited when I read about the $10 lunch special at the bar of McCormick & Schmick’s. I like cheap lunch specials at a fancy restaurant just as much as the next guy (i’m looking at you burger from Wolfgang’s, but schlepping up to Rockefeller Center didn’t really seem worth it in this heat. Then I saw that a half po’ boy and lobster bisque was among the options – I reconsidered. I love a po’ boy and haven’t had a one since our ML Team excursion to the Grand Central Oyster Bar. Clearly I was past due.

See what ten bucks gets you after the jump.

The special also offers four other options, including a linguini with clams in either a red or white sauce that looked pretty good when I saw the remnants on my neighbor’s plate down the bar. The rest of it, a cobb salad, tuna nicoise and a chicken and brie sandwich all sound fine, but aren’t anything I’d make a special trip for.

The po’ boy turned out to be four plump, crispy fried shrimp with lettuce, tomato and mayo squeezed into a wedge of buttered hero roll. I’d say it was more like a third of a po’ boy rather than a half, since I walked away wishing I’d had three times as much of it.

Instead of more po’ boy, there was a cup of lobster bisque and fries. Both might have been enough to make up for the rest of the sandwich, if they’d been a little better.

The fries were fine, not bad, not great. It’s the bisque that was disappointing. The intense lobster flavor was great and usually I’d be all over something so creamy, but it was just too salty to really enjoy. On the plus side, the deal offers a glass of wine on the side for just $5 more, which goes great with a leisurely lunch in a fancy place. You know, hypothetically.

If I worked close to Rockefeller Center, I’d take this as a win and definitely return (if nothing else for the happy hour) but from where I work, I’d just as soon head to Grand Central next time I want great seafood.

The + (What somebody who likes this would say)

• I like to get a cheap meal at a fancy restaurant.
• I work near Rockefeller Center, so it’s really easy to get to.
• The po’ boy is so good, you wish you had three times more of it.
• A $5 glass of wine eases the pain of not getting enough shrimp.

The – (What somebody who doesn’t like this place would say)

• That’s not nearly enough sandwich.
• The bisque is too salty.
• If I’m going to take a train for seafood, I’ll go to Grand Central, or better yet, to Pearl Oyster Bar.

McCormick & Schmick, 1285 Avenue of the Americas (btw. 51+52nd)

Lamb over rice. Chicken over rice. Combo over rice. All these things are what brought you here to Midtown Lunch. These things gave us Streetmeat Palooza. This year, one of my favorite carts (Little Morocco) came in dead last. Yeah, out of fifteen competitors they’re last? How could that be? The cart with a great hot sauce and serves kofta over rice (which is hard to find in Midtown), is last?! But I knew that Little Morocco was better than that. And I went back this week to the corner of 39th and 7th to check out something on the menu that was always intriguing to me… fish over rice.

Fish over rice just doesn’t get enough play here on Midtown Lunch. We talk about fried fish sandwiches like Kim’s Aunt. But for those of you who love meat over rice, but want to switch it up every now and then… this is your thing. Little Morocco has Fish over Rice for $5 dollars, and it’s probably one of the better deals you can find for seafood in Midtown.

Little Morocco is known for throwing in extras into your chicken over rice platters, and here they do the same thing. Instead of a falafel ball or french fries, they do it up with some corn. Nothing like sweet corn to pair up with your fish over rice dish. It’s nice to get kernels of sweetness mixed into your bites of fish and hot sauce.

I think they squeeze a little lemon juice onto the fish before it goes on the rice because there was definitely some acidity with every bite of fish. Obviously people expecting the same quality as the Grand Central Oyster Bar are going to be disappointed, but hey, this is $5 dollars. I kind of also like fish over rice because it requires less chewing than chicken or lamb. This makes me sound like a mouth breather, but some of you out there are with me on this one, I just know it. But you’re looking for a quick lunch, eating on the sidewalk, and you’re just downing it. Nothing like mystery fish to help you out there!

So, Little Morocco might not have scored so well with their chicken over rice (Street Meat Palooza 4, anybody!?), but I’ve always been a big fan of their kofta and now I’m a new convert to their fish.  Who’s with me?

THE + (What somebody who likes this place would say)

• Fish on rice is pretty awesome
• Street food with a wicked hot sauce? I’m in!
• The whole point of Midtown Lunch is to try stuff like this

THE – (What somebody who doesn’t like this place would say)

• I only eat sustainably raised fish
• Eating fish from a street cart in Midtown is uh…

Little Morocco Cart, NE Corner of 39th & 7th Ave.

I asked last week if any one had ever tried the the fairly nondescript 41st St & 3rd Ave Halal cart, specifically their fish. Since discussing A Salt & Battery and Chip Shop’s fried specialties were deemed more important (this I can understand, both are filled with fried goodness) I took it upon myself to go back yesterday to try out the $6 Fried Fish. What I discovered was the Midtown East equivalent of Kim’s Aunt’s fish sandwiches. Check it out after the jump.

Instead of the flounder or whiting at Kim’s Aunt, this cart is offering up fresh tilapia only. And it doesn’t come between two slices of bread like a neat little sandwich. You can get this baby in a pita or with rice, just like any other meat. I chose to eschew rice and go with the pita wrap. I am a little faint at heart when it comes to fish from a cart, so I made sure to watch the production. Each piece of fish comes from its own vacuum-sealed bag, and is breaded on site before being placed into the deep fryer. And when it comes out about a minute later, it’s crisp to fine fried deliciousness.

The breading has some faint spices supplementing the tasty fish, and it’s a good size hunk of fish you get. My pita wouldn’t fully close, not that I minded losing a few pieces of my fish. This is definitely an answer for the few workers who want a fresh fried fish lunch, but can’t make it over to the Grand Central Oyster Bar. Interestingly enough, this is also one of the rare carts that offers BBQ sauce-no word yet on the BBQ fish pita though. I’ll be having that next week.

Halal Cart, Northeast corner of 41st Street & 3rd Avenue

I can’t exactly say why, but we here at Midtown Lunch have always been big fans of seafood from a cart. Cheap fish sandwiches, fish and chips, fried shrimp, tilapia… even Zach has continued the tradition in L.A. by eating sushi off of a truck. I recently spotted this sign at the cart on the Northeast corner of 39th & 3rd Ave. Since this isn’t a regular cart of mine, I have no idea how long they’ve had this, or if it’s a contender for next year’s Lenten Lunches. Or, after searching ML, whether or not this cart is any good at all. (They weren’t nominated for Street Meat Palooza 3 either, results coming soon btw.)   Sadly, I had already eaten lunch when I walked by… but it is totally calling to me right now.  Has anybody taken the plunge?

The Urban Lobster Shack’s Twitter account has been pretty active since they opened their new Midtown location. Just before New Year’s they took over the little take out space in the basement food court on 3rd Ave. btw. 49+50th, that used to be occupied by Yorganic, and since then they’ve been sending out messages about mascots, shrimp & mussels lunch specials, and of course the $10 lobster roll. In this world you always get you pay for, but the under $10 lobster roll has a special place in my heart. I wrote about the one at Fairway for Serious Eats, and always dreamed that eventually Midtown would get its own.

Did I expect beautiful big lumps of lobster meat, no filler, and a fully intact claw adorning the top? Of course not. I’d settle for a decent size sandwich, that tastes somewhat like lobster. (What can I say… for $10 you have to lower your standards.) Thankfully Urban Lobster Shack doesn’t disappoint.

You could argue about the proper makeup of a lobster roll (and you guys have), but for $10 if you don’t mind mayo, and celery, this guy was pretty good. Decent size, good amount of “meat” (and by that, I mean that they stuff the hot dog bun with a good amount of the lobster salad), and it tasted like lobster. Is it as good as the almost $30 lobster rolls you get around the city? Of course not. And even though I haven’t been, just from looking at photos I can tell it won’t hold a candle to the $14 lobster roll at Luke’s in the East Village. But this is Midtown, and with our options limited- this is the best we’re going to do. Toss in a caesar salad, and I’m sold.

And the best part is, for those who though the $10 lobster roll lunch special was a temporary grand opening special… it’s not. They told me at the register that it’s permanent, not just here in Midtown- but also at the Downtown location. So Urban Lobster Roll is officially a proper Midtown Lunch, and Midtown officially has an under $10 lobster (salad) roll.

THE +

• I love mayo
• I don’t care what it tastes like.  If I can get a lobster roll lunch for $10, I’m in.
• For the price you’re not really going to do much better
• Did I mention I love mayo?

THE -

• I hate mayo
• The lobster “salad” is more like tuna fish.  Where’s the chunks?  Where’s the claw?
• Celery has no business being in a lobster roll.  And where’s the butter?
• I’d rather pay more $$ and get a better product
• Did I mention I hate mayo?

Urban Lobster Shack, 805 3rd Ave. (btw. 49+50th) in the Basement

Related:
Downtown Lunch: Urban Lobster Shack

I’m all for the Department of Health making sure our food is safe to eat, but this is ridiculous!  Apparently at the end of last year, the Department of Health adopted a resolution that rewrote many parts of the health code as it pertains to street vendors.  It takes effect January 1st of this year, and if enforced it’s going to have a huge effect on Midtown Lunch’ing.  Namely, no more fish, shellfish, or seafood from street vendors.  Here it is direct from the newly rewritten Article 89:

§89.19 f(2) Fish. No fish, shellfish, or any food consisting of or made with an aquatic animal, as defined in Article 81, shall be prepared, stored, held for service or sold from a mobile food vending unit.

The full ramifications of this are just sinking into my brain right now, and it’s easy to joke about the “safety” of eating seafood from a truck. But think about all the great seafood options being offered right now from carts and trucks in Midtown alone… the fried cod from the Schnitzel Truck, Tianbula from the NYC Cravings Truck, and the always delicious salmon and tilapia served by Kwik Meal (shown above.) And worst of all, what the hell is Kim’s Aunt Kitchen Cart going to sell?! This must be some kind of a bad dream.

And that’s not all.

It also goes on to create new rules regarding the proper refrigeration of fruits and vegetables, that could put potentially put the smoothie vendors out of business.

§89.19 f(3) Processed fruits and vegetables. Mobile food vending units in which sliced, peeled or processed fruits and vegetables are prepared, stored, held for service or sold shall have adequate refrigeration at all times, and shall during a pre-permit inspection. Mobile food vending units only authorized to sell whole fresh pre-packaged fruits and vegetable may not sell or hold for service sliced, peeled or processed fruits and vegetables and as such refrigeration for such units is not required..

It’s kind of sad when laws meant to provide “better” food, end up having the opposite effect.  The new rules take effect on January 1st, but I haven’t talked to any of the vendors to find out what they are going to do…

At this point everybody should know that Kim’s Aunt Kitchen Cart (on 46th btw. 5+6th) makes the best (and cheapest) fried fish sandwich in Midtown.  And I’ve even tried their bulgogi beef and lo mein.  But did you know that their fried shrimp are pretty spectacular as well?  As you may or may not know, I’m a big fan of the fried shrimp from a cart.  Little Morrocco (on 39th & 7th) does a nice job, as does the Halal & Seafood Cart (on 39th & 5th), and the 100% Halal Food Cart (on 54th and Park).  But those little jobbies pale in comparison to the monsters being served of the Kim’s Aunt Kitchen Cart.

Check ‘em out after the jump…

Holy mama-jama.  These are some serious fried shrimp.  And relatively cheap too!  I decided to go the combo platter route, with shrimp (they give you 5!)  the bulgogi beef, and lo mein.   The breading is slightly thicker on these bad boys than on the shrimp from other carts mentioned above- but not nearly as much as say these shrimp I got from that random new by the pound buffet, so it’s all good.  Also, as a warning… they might look like tempura fried shrimp, but the breading just tasted like standard breading, not panko.  So don’t get too excited if tempura is your thing.  They’re also slightly under-seasoned, but that’s solved pretty easily with some hot sauce (and or tartar sauce.)

I had also forgotten that the beef really bears no resemblence to any sort of decent bulgogi, and the lo mein is fairly tasteless and mushy… so next time I’ll probably go for the plain shrimp platter (or the shrimp + chicken or fried fish combo.)  It’s $6 and you get 8 shrimp!

Related:
Kim’s Aunt Kitchen Cart Gets a Proper Look See
The Best Fried Fish Sandwich in Midtown is at Kim’s