Midtown Lunch

Jamaican Olympic hero Usain Bolt will be making the Midtown talk show rounds this week, and if admiration is worth anything, he should totally visit the Jamaican Dutchy Cart (on 51st and 7th.)  Not only are there articles hanging on the side of the cart, but the Bob Marley videos that normally play on the flat screen tv have been replaced for the past month with a loop of Usain Bolt’s Olympic triumphs.  O’Neill, the owner of the Dutchy is hoping to meet the man by stalking one of this appearances- but I think Bolt should come to him! (Perhaps for a plate of jerk chicken and stewed peas?)  He’ll be on The Late Show w/ David Letterman on Wednesday (which films right around the corner from the Dutchy!), The Daily Show on Thursday (which is on 54th & 11th), and Regis and Kelly on Friday. 

How awesome would it be if one of the shows worked the Dutchy into their Usain Bolt appearance?  They do that kind of crap all the time on Letterman, right?  Anybody work for CBS (or Comedy Central or ABC) that could make this a reality? I’m sure if you made it happen, O’Neill would give you free jerk chicken for life! Plus, I want a photo of Usain Bolt standing in front of Midtown Lunch’s favorite Jamaican cart. It’s a no brainer people! Let’s make this happen…

A few weeks ago I wrote about how the new Carribean Spice cart (on 46th btw. 6+7th) was distinguishing themselves from the Jamaican Dutchy (on 51st & 7th) by offering coco bread, the perfect vehicle for a Jamaican patty.  Well, it turns out the Jamaican Dutchy has coco bread as well… in fact they’ve always had it.  For $3.25 it’s still the perfect snack, and now that I know the Dutchy has it, roti is really the only reason to go to the Carribean Spice cart.

Oh… and speaking of the Jamaican Dutchy, they’ve got a new LED screen:

Exciting news for the people who wondered if anybody would ever upstage that hot dog cart on 53rd & 5th.

Jerk Chicken at the Jamaican Dutchy

Julia Moskin has a great Jamaican jerk feature in this mornings New York Times and guess who should pop up, but our good friends at the Jamaican Dutchy (on 51st & 7th Ave.)  She interviews owner Oneil Reid and calls his jerk chicken one of “the best truck lunches in the city.”  No argument here.

But the most interesting part to me is what the article had to say about jerk pork, and why Oneil doesn’t offer it at the Dutchy:

He said that he would like to make jerk pork sometimes, but that many of the other food vendors, and the taxi drivers who inch past his cart in Midtown traffic, are Muslim, and the pork smell bothers them.

That’s a bummer, although entirely commendable.

I hadn’t seen this one before… the recently shuttered Hing Won on 48th btw. 5+6th pulled their gate down just far enough to “coincidentally” obscure the bright yellow DOH sticker (you can see the top sticking out a little bit).  This guy wasn’t fooled though!  You can’t see it in this photo, but the hordes of confused slack jawed yokels hovering around, asking “are they closed?” to no one in particular totally reminded me of the scene on the very same street almost 2 years ago when Variety Cafe was DOH’d.  That post spawned the creation of the “Closed by the DOH” category, and these clairvoyant words:

“EDITOR NOTE: We have created a new “Closed for Health Reasons” Category, which given our content, and location will probably have to be used more often then any of us would like. Hing Won, you’ve been warned.”

Still no word on exaclty why they were DOH’d, but it’s not hard to imagine.  They were in the process of “cleaning” up the place, and said if the re-inspection in the morning goes well, they’ll be back open tomorrow.

Also closed (but not by the Department of Health, and seemingly for good) is Le Croissant Shop on 6th Ave. btw. 38+39th.  Popular for their croissants (naturally) and Mexican food (huh?), they will certainly be missed on Cinco de Mayo (and Bastille Day?).

It’s not all bad news though… Read more »

While I was away in Chile, I turned the site over to you for the first ever Midtown Lunch Readers’ Poll.  All of the nominees had to have lunch for under $10 (except the buffet category, where a $1 exception was made), and they all had to be within the Midtown boundaries (32nd St. to the South, Central Park to the North, 3rd Ave on the East, and 8th Ave. to the West).  Thanks to everyone who participated.  Thousands of votes were cast, and here are the results:

Best Fast Food Indian: Kati Roll

Despite changing locations this year (Kati Roll is now on 39th btw. 5+6th), Indian burritos just barely beat out old steam table standby (and former neighbor) Minar, on 46th btw. 6+7th.  35% to 32%  Editor’s Pick: Man do I miss being 2 blocks away from Kati Roll.  It’s the unanimous winner.

Best Cheap Chinese Food: Hing Won

“Cheap” is code for fast food, take out Chinese, and while Szechuan Gourmet (on 39th btw. 5+6th) may possibly be the best Chinese food in Midtown- Hing Won/Hop Won wins the battle of the steam tables, easily beating out the competition.  Editor’s Pick:  No secret here.  Hing Won was my first Midtown Lunch post, and still remains my favorite Chinese food take out in Midtown.

Best burger, best street carts and a best pizza shocker, after the jump… Read more »

“The Arepa Lady”. “The Dosa Man”. “The Dragon”. New Yorkers love their street food… and while most carts toil away in anonymity, there are a few street food vendors that have achieved legendary status. Singled out by magazines, posters on Chowhound and the Vendy Awards, these “destination” carts draw people across borough lines for some of the best food the city has to offer.  Like most of the great food in New York, most of these special carts are outside of Midtown, but there are a few we can brag about.  Hallo Berlin, Daisy May’s BBQ, and of course the Famous Chicken & Rice Cart on 53rd St. & 6th. (The one with the line at 2 in the morning.)

Now, we have one more to add to that list. The Jamaican Cart. While it may take a lot of time for most carts to build up a following, there was a line 15 people long on the second day The Jamaican Cart appeared. Serving up jerk chicken, and stewed meat, word spread quick and the lines never seemed to go away.  Unfortunately, it didn’t take a genius to realize the lines were more from the slowness of the service, than anything else… but it was still a line. And if people are willing to wait 45 minutes for food from a cart, then it must be good, right!?!

What they serve, food porn and a +/- after the jump… Read more »