Midtown Lunch

Fresh on the heels of the off-the-menu “Special Vegetarian” sandwich at Blimpie, comes word that Zen Burger (on Lex. btw. 45+46th) has been serving their own off-the-menu filet-o-fish sandwich.  When Zen Burger first launched at the beginning of the year, the only thing keeping it from being an exact replica of McDonald’s (in vegetarian form) was the lack of a filet-o-fish.  They had a “Zen Tuna” sandwich, but it wasn’t fried, and quite frankly, who wants fast food that isn’t fried.  Considering that most adult vegetarians probably refused, as kids, to eat anything *but* the filet-o-fish during family trips to McDonald’s, this addition to the Zen Burger menu should be pretty well received.

The fishless fish sandwich, and my anti-McDonald’s tirade, after the jump… Read more »

“How can I not?” was the first thing that went through my head when I read about the off the menu “Special Vegetarian” sandwich being served at the Blimpie on 46th btw. 5+6th on the Village Voice blog.  Doritos?  Spicy green chutney?  Off the menu?  At a Blimpie?  How… can… I… not.  I posted a quick link to share the info with you people (I’m unselfish like that) and headed straight over to this gross sandwich chain, which had decided to buck the Latin food trend that other Blimpieowners seem to be impressed with, and instead make something for the Indian population working in the area. 

Since I know some of you were probably holding off, waiting for the visual proof of this sandwich’s existence- I present, the foot long crime-against-nature, after the jump… Read more »

Photo by Kayoko from Umamimart

The plywood has come down at Crisp, the- not as generic as I expected it to be– sandwich/salad place, on 3rd Ave. & 43rd, and they are open for business.  Far from being another Chop’t or Just Salads, the all vegetarian menu (which can be seen on their now live website) consists of salads (of course), pita pocket sandwiches, hummus bowls, and a nice selection of homemade teas.  It’s typical Midtown prices, with everything on the menu ranging from $6 to $10.75, but a few things on their website stand out enough for me to want to check it out:

• Their pita breads are baked from scratch every few hours on premises
• Their fresh made teas sound really good (with flavors like lychee, ginger/peach, & apple mango)
• Some of the ingredients they use in the sandwiches I could be down with… like mango curry, eggplant, goat cheese, and pomegranate dressing
• I won’t eat salads, but a hummus bowl with mango curry or roasted eggplant sounds pretty damn good
• Everything they serve is organic, when possible, and always delivered fresh daily.  Plus they change their oil every 24 hours, and they only use eco-friendly, recycled materials

Is there potential for anger and disappointment?  Of course, but I can’t help but get excited when new places open in Midtown, and this one looks alot more promising than we initially gave it credit for.  Full +/- coming soon… and for you early adopters who can’t wait to check it out, please post your thoughts in the comments.

Crisp, 684 3rd Ave. (btw. 43+44th), 212-661-0000

Official Website: http://www.eatatcrisp.com/

This sign popped up last month while Law & Order was filming inside Goodburger

A few weeks ago Serious Eats couldn’t help but post a clip from an episode of Law & Order: SVU where Robin Williams plays a deranged “locavore” (seriously) who used his “condition” as an alibi for why he couldn’t have committed a crime inside a fast food restaurant.  Even funnier was the fact that Zen Burger (on Lex btw. 45+46th) makes an appearance as “Happy Burger”, the generic fast food restaurant where the crime was committed.  Playing a crappy “ecoli” and “salmonella” filled fast food chain was quite the stretch for the all vegetarian Zen Burger, but the giveaway is the the orange and green stripes that line the walls.

Check out Zen Burger in its acting debut, after the jump… Read more »

I remember the first time the “newsstand” that serves Indian food was mentioned here on Midtown Lunch. It was October of last year, and like most great Midtown Lunch discoveries it was mentioned in a comment, posted to the piece I had written about the Latin food being sold inside the Blimpie on 6th Ave btw. 37+38th:

Zach, if you had walked one storefront down from there, you would have found an even odder lunch option—the “newsstand” next door has a sign in the window: “Indian Vegetarian Food.” For $6 you get basmati rice, dal, two scoops of whatever vegetable dishes they have that day, bread (paratha? roti?), some pakoras, and a tin-foil ball filled with onions, lettuce, and tomatoes…though the selection has varied the two times I’ve tried.

Like many who may have seen that comment, I envisioned one of those green square sidewalk newsstands, somehow serving up vegetarian Indian food (behind all the gum and candy bars, I guessed?), although I had no idea how. Alright, I don’t know what the hell I was picturing… but I knew it sounded awesome. When I finally made it down there, I discovered it was actually a convenience store that was mostly a newsstand- and sure enough, in the back left hand corner, there it was… Gujarati Indian food, a vegetarian cuisine from the Gujarat region in Northern India, being served out of a mini steam table.

It’s almost six months later, the magazines are all gone, and the Latin food that used to be sold out of the Blimpie, is now occupying the back, right hand corner of the store. I think it’s finally time for a proper +/- (and some hardcore Gujarati food porn) Read more »

Got this posted in the comments by “Vishal” on Monday:

I have some great news- the Latin Food that used to be at this Blimpie has now moved next door to the Convenience store that serves Vegetarian Indian Food!

That is indeed great news.  I guess that is the benefit of being a latin food place inside the back of a Blimpie.  When the crappy sub place closes, just move your business one door down, hermit crab style.  I’m a big fan of latin food in strange places, and luckily their new shell is almost as weird as the Blimpie, protecting their all important hipness cache; the Midtown newsstandwith the Gujarati Indian steamtable on 6th Ave. btw. 37+38th. 

A photo of the vegetarian Indian food place, living side by side with the pork-a-licious latin food, after the jump… Read more »

This past week saw the grand opening of a entirely new concept in fast food eating right here in Midtown.  From the owners of Zen Palate (a mid-range mini-chain of vegetarian restaurants here in the New York), comes Zen Burger, a vegetarian McDonald’s that they hope will change the face of the fast food business. 

Now, when I say Zen Burger is a vegetarian McDonald’s, I really mean vegetarian McDonald’s.  From the backlit menus behind the counter, to the numbered list of combo meals, this is a fast food joint through and through.  They even have the option to super size.  Those expecting some sort of crunchy, granola bar eating, meat hating, haute cuisine vegetarian concept are going to be sorely disappointed.  Zen Burger is cheap fast food-  and this might surprise you (considering there is no pork anywhere on the menu), but I actually really like it.

Curious what this Zen Burger food looks like?  I do something you never want to do at McDonald’s (take a bite and look inside), after the jump… Read more »

Amid rumors of financial problems (the Union Square Zen Palate closed two weeks ago), Zen Burger is scheduled to open the weekend of November 24th on Lexington btw. 45+46th.  Here’s a look at a mock up of the inside:

_{Courtesy of The Angel Group for Branding & Design}

It’s a lot more McDonalds’ish than I expected (down to the photos on the overhead menu, which don’t look like veggie burgers to me).

From the looks of a photo of the entire interior, leaving Zen Burger may require some sort of teleportation (achieving Nirvana perhaps?).  That photo, after the jump… Read more »

When I was in Bali, I fell in love with a little thing called tempeh.  A cousin of tofu, tempeh is a “cake” made of whole soybeans that has been fermented.  Sounds delicious right?  Well in Bali, where they sliced it thin, fried it and then sauteed it in Indonesian sauces- it was! (Photo to the left posted to Flickr by rheanna2)  Now I don’t think I have to tell anyone who reads this site, that I am far from a vegetarian (unless somebody decides to classify roast pork as a vegetable)- but I can appreciate good vegetarian food, and when I saw that the Organic Harvest Cafe on 53rd btw. 2+3rd had an “Indonesian Wrap” made with tempeh, I decided it was worth the extra half an avenue walk outside of Midtown Lunch boundaries to check it out.

The Indonesian Wrap (PLUS a bonus Bulgogi Wrap at a little place called “Spoons”) after the jump… Read more »

Just when you thought the burger-mania couldn’t get any crazier in Midtown…  the Five Guys on 55th btw. 5+6th is opening on Friday , the Goodburger on 45th btw. 5+6th is opening in mid-November, and Pop Burger is on the way.  Now, the good people at Zen Palate have decided to get in on the action, and why not- vegetarians probably feel left out of the NYC lunch’ing fad that just keeps on giving.

Above is the plywood for the first “Zen Burger”- opening soon on Lexington between 45+46th.  They plan on serving a whole menu of “healthy” fast food, all of it meat free. This will include meatless chicken and fish sandwiches, patty melts, hot dogs, chicken tenders, shrimp, and 10 (that’s right- 10) different kinds of burgers- all of which promise to “look, feel and taste of meat without the detrimental effects that meat causes to one’s health and the environment”. 

The interviewing finished up yesterday, interviewing is happening next week, so it should be opening soon… thanks to tipster Rafi for the info- and as always if you have any news, info or recommendations, email them to zach@midtownlunch.com