Midtown Lunch

Big changes at one of my favorite fast food Chinese places in Midtown… Hing Won (on 48th btw. 5+6th) which is famous for their two different lines, has upended the left side of their operation by making their steam table into a pay by the lb. self serve food bar.  The Americanized Chinese food they served on the left side used to be one of those point-to-what-you-want situations, but now you help yourself- and pay $5.80 a pound for whatever you take. The food itself hasn’t really changed, so you probably end up paying more for less of the exact same food- but you do end up with greater variety, so it’s not all bad.  And $5.80 is still cheaper than most generic deli by the lb. buffets.  So if Chinese food is what you like, and buffet by the lb. is your preferred method, this news should be very exciting to you.

That’s not all though.  The right side, where Hing Won serves up their more ”authentic” Chinatown style fare, didn’t escape unscathed. 

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Hing Won (on 48th btw. 5+6th) re-opened for business on Friday after being shut down by the Department of Health for the second time in as many months.  You have to wonder how long this can keep going, but I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again:  for good Chinese food, I’ll deal with the dirty.

Unfortunately some sad news on the Midtown East sandwich front.  Just after finding out that Hing Won had re-opened, I got an email from a Lunch’er reporting that Milant has been closed for “renovations” until further notice.  No word on whether this is related to their DOH closing a few months ago, but either way this is a huge loss… not just on the sandwich front, but on the cold gazpacho front.  It’s been really freakin’ hot out lately.

Got any news to report?  Email it to zach@midtownlunch.com

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 »

Tomorrow is the big day.  It is the One Year Anniversary of Midtown Lunch.  On June 7th, 2006, it all began, and the next day my first restaurant posting went up, about Hing Won on 48th btw. 5+6th.  At the time, Hing Won was my favorite place for Chinese food in Midtown.  Authentic Chinese food on the right, Steam Table “Chinese Food” on the left.  The best of both worlds.  Which means everyone in your office can enjoy it- from the guy who only eats Beef and Broccoli to the more adventurous eater, looking for an authentic Chinatown style lunch. Cheap, authentic, fresh, and delicious.

But more than the good food, Hing Won showed me there was a better way to Midtown Lunch.  While other people I knew were eating crappy Chinese food (Manchu Wok, I’m looking at you), my wife had showed me a place that most people in Midtown would ignore (because of the crappy exterior), if they even noticed it at all.  So with much excitement (I’m so busy looking for new places I don’t usually get to have lunch at some of my favorite old places), I returned to Hing Won- the place that one year ago was worthy of being the very first Midtown Lunch.

What I got, and the obligatory food porn, after the jump… Read more »

I am a huge fan of chinese food, in all its forms.  Dim Sum, Chinatown, cheap, upscale, authentic or american style, mall food court, street fair and of course- the almighty chinese buffet (my personal favorite).  Cheap chinese is one of my favorite lunch choices.  You might say it's a disease.  If given the choice between Chinese, or anything else under the sun, I find it hard to turn down the chinese.  Sometimes my mind and my stomach might be saying something else (sandwich, salad, Italian, Indian) but if god forbid, there's a cheap chinese place (one where you point to what you want) from here to there, the chinese will probably win out. 

You can't deny the genius of the cheap chinese food place.  You get to see all your choices before selecting and it's great if you like variety (most places give you 2 or 3 choices).  Further proof is the fact that every mall food court has one of these places, and even the non-chinese places have started serving some sort of "chinese" style chicken, in those little metal steamer compartments, that you point at to order … my favorite being Bourbon chicken at the Cajun Grille.  Is there really a difference between that and teriyaki? Don't get me wrong, I love authentic chinese food too.  I love Dim Sum and am a big fan of Chinatown (not just NYC, but Boston, San Fran, and L.A) and the more authentic chinese areas outside of big metropolitan cities, like Monterrey Park (the real L.A. chinatown)… and this is the beauty of Hing Won.  It's got both.

More on Hing Won, Pictures and the +/- after the jump… Read more »