Midtown Lunch

If you have always dreamed of being a competitive eater, and you love Japanese curry, there is finally an event for you. According to The Feedbag, last night was the first open-to-the-public preliminary round of the Go Go Curry Eating Championship.  Don’t worry if you missed it, there will be 7 more qualifying time trial events every five days between now and May 20th.  Qualifiers pay $20 to enter, and will be timed on how long it takes them to eat “two servings of the Original Walk (12oz) that is sold at Go Go Curry” cabbage not included.  The top 5 times across all of the qualifying events will make it to the grand finals on May 30th, which will also be broadcast on the internet.  If you’re interested, all the info is on the Go Go Curry Website– including a long list of pretty amazing rules involving shoveling (it is permitted), forks (they will provide a regulation fork), and vomiting (where you can and can’t do it).

If anybody thinks they have a shot, and wants to be sponsored by Midtown Lunch (UltimateBet style) shoot me an email.  I might be willing to put up the fee for somebody who is willing to paint MidtownLunch.com on the side of their body. [Official Contest Web Page via The Feedbag]

Related:
Go Go Curry Hits a Japanese Kare Grand Slam
Opening Day Means The Return of Free Toppings at Go Go Curry

Luncher Andrew was kind enough to remind us that now that baseball season has started back up again, we’re entitled to a free topping card at Go Go Curry (on 38th btw. 7+8th) the day after Hideki Matsui hits a homerun.  And a quick look at the box score from last night… TODAY IS FREE TOPPING DAY!!!  If you’re a Yanks fan, this could be a small consolation for them losing last night.  (And if you’re not, it can be a celebratory lunch!)

UPDATE: From a commenter “Just as an FYI, went by today around noon, they’re not honoring this HR because it was an away game. Only homers hit at Yankee Stadium count…sorry guys.”  Damn you Go Go Curry!!!!!!

Schnipper’s Quality Kitchen ran out of sloppy joe’s on Friday before I got a chance to partake, so I ended up walking around the corner to Go Go Curry (on 38th btw. 7+8th) to try their latest topping: fried fish. They use tilapia, so there wasn’t that fishy taste or smell that you’d get from say… Kim’s Aunt Kitchen Cart (which could be a good or a bad thing depending on your preference.) It’s was super crispy, and pretty tasty… but as you can see, for $2 you don’t get a lot of it. (And certainly not as much as the photo in the window would have you believe.)

Next time I think I’ll go back to the standard katsu curry plate… with the fish topping added on! At $9 it would be a little pricey, but completely worth it.

Hello!  So, it looks like this is a month old- but it’s new to me!  Now the only question is, am I going for lunch at Go Go Curry (on 38th btw. 7+8th) today or tomorrow…  has anybody tried it yet?

Related:
Go Go Curry Hits a Japanese Kare Grand Slam

Lunch’ers who ventured over to 38th St. btw. 7+8th today expecting a plate of roast pork over rice from Ying Du, or a plate of katsu from Go Go Curry were greeted by this scene.  Both restaurants were closed today, and converted into sets for “All Good Things” a new Kirsten Dunst/Ryan Gosling movie filming on the street. 

Ying Du as the “Times Square Deli” and Go Go Curry as a “Body Rub Parlor”, after the jump… Read more »

On Monday, Go Go Curry (on 38th btw. 7+8th) will remind us that it’s less about fried cutlets smothered in Japanese kare, and more about weird number superstitions (and an unhealthy obsession with Hideki Matsui).  Go means 5 (a very lucky number), they opened one year ago Monday (5/5), and to celebrate they’ll be selling their Small to Large sizes for $5 all day Monday (5/5).  Normally a large order is $8.50, so it’s a pretty good deal- and just so you know, ordering anything but the large, for the same price, would be an embarrassment. 

The only way they could make a better Cinco de Mayo lunch is by offering their Grand Slam for $5.  Now that would be truly spectacular.  (Maybe it’ll happen on May 5, 5555).  It’s also worth mentioning, now that baseball season has started up, they give out free toppings any day after Hideki Matsui (Yankees number 55), hits a homerun.  Go team!

Thanks to commenter AL@1PP for the news. Got a tip or recommendation to share? Email it to zach@midtownlunch.com  

Normally they give away free topping coupons the day after Hideki Matsui hits a homerun, but why should we be punished because it is the Yankees’ offseason?  Problem solved.  Today is free topping coupon day at Go Go Curry on 38th St. btw. 7+8th. 

The new House of Pita on 8th Ave. btw. 39+40th finally replaced the Mandler’s Sausage sign.  They smartly decided to keep the H.O.P. name, and only add the “Chicken Bar” part to the sign underneath.  I guess they “discovered” that Chicken Bar already exists.

Kashmir Express, the Indian take out place on 8th Ave. btw. 38+39th, has converted to a by the pound buffet.  Looked pretty good, although having to pay for my lunch by the amount it weighs is always a scary proposition.  The $4.99 price tag is not bad, but Indian food can get heavy!  And it forces you to break the #1 rule of eating at buffets by the pound… go easy on the rice and bread.

A shot of the buffet, plus Piece of Chicken’s shocking new menu changes, after the jump… Read more »

I haven’t really been interested in baseball this year, but I still followed the Yankees every day.  Not because I’m a fan of the pinstripes (10 years of living in Boston beat that out of me), but I am a fan of fried meat cutlets served over mounds of rice and covered in curry.  And every time Hideki Matsui hit a homerun this season, it meant free topping coupons at Go Go Curry, the Japanese Curry shrine to the Yankees #55 (Go means 5 in Japanese).  It only happened 25 times this season (so disappointing!), but hopefully he’ll overcome his injuries in the Playoffs to salvage a few more coupons for us before the end of the season.

Kare Raisu (Curry Rice) is an incredibly popular lunchtime dish in Japan, and while a number of Midtown Lunch places serve it (Yagura, 47th St. Convenience Store), Go Go Curry is the only place in Midtown where it is the specialty.  You can’t get anything else.   I wrote about it when it first opened, but didn’t give it a proper write up at the time.  With baseball season coming to an end, I figured it was a perfect time to really see what they’ve got, and give it a proper +/-.

The Katsu Curry (fried pork cutlet) is the industry standard, but they also offer chicken cutlet, sausages, & fried shrimp- and if you are anything like me, there’s only one option.  All of it.  And the only way to do that, is The Grand Slam- a $12.50 platter of everything Go Go Curry has to offer.

Here’s what a normal $7.50 order of Katsu Curry will get you:

The $12.50 Grand Slam after the jump… Read more »

The Bulgogi Cart on 49th btw. 6+7th Ave. popped up in Time Out New York’s Cheap Eats Issue yesterday, in what can only be referred to as a huge surprise.  Now, I know I’ve written about this cart a ton, and I want to love it, I really do, but it’s just not that great.  It’s gotten better, and I’m sort of into their kalbi & japchae- but overall, to put it in a Street Food category with the likes of Otafuku & the Red Hook Ballfields is a huge stretch.  I wouldn’t travel too far out of my way for this one.  It’s not even the best cart serving Bulgogi in Midtown, which I think is probably Kim’s Aunt Kitchen Cart.  But NY Magazine already wrote about that one, and I’m guessing the editors at TONY were looking for something new.  In the end, crap like this makes me call into question all the other places in the issue.  Here are some of the other Midtown spots they mentioned:

• Bread & Olive (45th btw. 5+6th) – Your standard Middle Eastern Fare from Lebanon.  TONY recommends the Stuffed Grape Leaves.
• Go Go Curry (38th btw. 7+8th) – Japanese spot with four kinds of curry over rice.  TONY recommends… the curry!
• AQ Cafe (Park Ave. & 38th) – This Aquavit owned Scandanavian cafe is pretty awesome.  I ate there a few weeks ago, and plan on writing about it soon.  TONY recommends the Smorgasbord.
• Grand Central Oyster Bar (42nd & Park, Grand Central) – TONY puts this one (along with the AQ Cafe in a “Gourmet” category, and suggests you order the Oyster Pan Roast for $9.95.

And that’s it.  For cheap desserts they recommended these 3, available in Midtown:

• Treats Truck – Ah yes.  We are all too familiar with the amazing Treats Truck.  They have been at 38th & 5th on Weds or Thurs. for the past few weeks, and will be there again today (because of the steam explosion they will not be at that location today).  Check www.treatstruck.com for locations.
• Landmarc (Time Warner Center, Columbus Circle) – The Cotton Candy.  Free for kids, $3 for adults.  According to TONY they have different flavors every day, including Pink Vanilla, Cherry, grape, lime & tangerine.
• Prime Burger (51st btw. 5th+Madison) – The Coconut Layer Cake.  Now that sounds interesting… 

A few more reommendations slightly out of bounds for Midtown Lunch’ing, but sound like they may be worth the walk.  After the jump… Read more »