Eagle-eyed lunchers may have noticed that the newish halal cart on 32nd Street (btw. B’way and 5th) has kati rolls on its menu. I happened to spot the sign after work one day a few weeks ago, but my excitement turned to disappointment when the vendor shook his head and said he didn’t have any.  Figuring they were out because it was the end of the day, I stopped by again the next afternoon and got the same answer.

When I asked if he ever planned to have the advertised kati rolls, he shook his head again.  (Clearly the guy enjoys shaking his head.)  Kati rolls isn’t something I ever really expected to be able to get in Koreatown, but now that I’ve been teased I totally want one closer than The Kati Roll Company (on 39th btw. 5+6).  Has anybody managed to score a kati roll from this guy?  Let us know in the comments…

If yesterday’s post about the Serious Eats review of Food Gallery 32 got you thinking about stopping in for dinner or an after work snack tonight, you might want to hold off. This afternoon, around 3pm, a sprinkler burst over O-De-Ppang! in booth 3 of the Koreatown food court. The FDNY was on sight in minutes to get things worked out. Don’t panic though, word is they should be up and running again in the next couple of hours.

Judging by all the heated exchanges in the comments section of last week’s visit to Food Gallery 32, it should come as no surprise that the rest of the food folks around the internet are chattering about Koreatown’s food court as well. On Monday, Eater posted a Good News/Bad News roundup of the reviews so far. Predictably, no one is particularly fond of the ordering system. More importantly, they had some comments on the food. Kitchenette of In a Nutshell somehow wasn’t so into Bian Dang’s pork chop; Dave from Eating in Translation backs me up on not liking the jja jang myon at Jin Jja Roo and wishes the jjam ppong was spicier. Fork in the Road reminds us that we’re talking about a simple food court, so our expectations ought to be a little lower while trying out Hamnok’s seafood pancake (a little doughy and mostly octopus, but well flavored) and bi bim bap (would be better from a stone bowl) along with a hot bowl of haemul kal-guksu from Big Bowl (slightly overcooked noodles, but a good broth).

With only a couple weeks under their belts, I’d again suggest we allow them some time to settle in. If the difference between week one and week two alone is anything to go by, I think they’ll be in good shape by the end of the winter.

At long last, Food Gallery 32, the Koreatown food court is open for business. As with most openings of this scale, there’s a lot still being worked out and finishing touches being made, but all things considered, the slow, snow-laden week is probably a good time for them to get started.

I stopped in on Tuesday to finally get a good look at the place, check it out after the jump.

The main attraction is clearly the seven food stalls or ‘corners’ on the main floor. These include Boon Sik House, Pastelo, Hanok and Jin Jja Roo specializing in various Korean and Korean fusion fare, O-de-ppang serving Japanese Deppan-yaki, Big Bowl serving noodles and of course, the NYC Cravings’ brick and mortar space, Bian Dang.

All seven opened this week, with the Red Mango still in progress and more spaces to be opened in coming weeks on the top floor.

As soon as you enter the ‘gallery’ there is a counter for ordering food. Menus for each of the vendors rotate on screens behind them just a little too fast and most people will end up walking to the back to check out what each place is all about first.

The thing is, you’ll still have to go back to the main counter to order. Logistically, I suspect this ordering system will cause some trouble once they start to draw a crowd. Customers will enter right into the ordering lines, have to cut through or around them to get to the actual vending stations to see what they want and then head back to the doorway to stand in line to order. These guys could probably have taken a page from FoodParc and made a more streamlined ordering process a priority. Not being able to order directly is a little counter-intuitive and will probably cause some confusion.

Independent of the long-term issues, word from some of the vendors is that the staff working the counters are still a little green and have been fumbling some of the orders sent to them.

Once you’ve ordered, you’ll get a buzzer from each of the places you ordered from which will vibrate when you’re food is ready. At that point, you’ll hang out in the big open space in the middle of the main floor waiting for your order. I’m hoping that at some point they put in some sort of standing bench where customers can put down the items they’ve already received. Yesterday, I ordered from two vendors (more on the food next week) and had about five minutes waiting with my tray before my other order was done. Standing around there seemed sort of goofy.

Once you’ve got your food, you can eat in the mezzanine section up the stairs or, eventually on the top floor, once it’s open.

Clearly, two days in is no time to judge any restaurant, much less a collection of restaurants that all have to work together. We’ll give it time and hope that the slow week allows them some breathing room to get things fixed up before the real lunch rush hits.

Food Gallery 32, 11 W. 32nd Street (btw. 5th and B’way).

Check it out after the jump!

The main action will be on the first floor where there will be eight food “corners” each specializing in foods that are mostly Korean or variations on Korean food (plus one Taiwanese option, natch.) Here’s the run down of the stations that’ll be there with a bit about what they’ll be serving:

Korea House – Authentic Korean Food Corner – Korea House
Big Bowl Noodle House – Asian Noodle Corner
Jin Jja Roo – Korean-Chinese Food Corner
Bian Dang (aka NYC Cravings) – Taiwanese Food Corner
Pastel – American Food Korean Style
Kim Bob Jip – Kimbap Corner
Hibachi Corner
Ban Chan Corner
Pizza, Hamburger Corner (2nd Floor)
Coffee Shop (2nd Floor)

And Red Mango… we’re guessing?

I expect to devote some quality time to exploring the options. Despite my obsession over Korean Fried Chicken, there’s plenty of Korean food that I’ve yet to try. The food court model might give me an easier chance at getting a proper introduction to some of the stuff I haven’t tried yet.

According to initial reports from the spring, there should be seating space available on a mezzanine as well as on the second flood with the pizza, burgers and coffee. When I get back into town, maybe we’ll manage to convince them to give us a closer look and more details about the food – and the prices.

Related:
Big Changes Ahead For The Truck (Formerly) Known As NYC Cravings
New 15,000 Sq Ft Food Court Coming Soon to Koreatown

Luncher “Donny” comes through once again with a signage shot for the long-awaited Koreatown Food Court. The name, Food Gallery 32 is descriptive if not so interesting, but what I really want to know is when they’re going to open?

Last week I checked in with them to find out how soon they expect to be open. It looks like it most likely won’t be before the end of the year. Right now they are estimating something like another five weeks. They promised to send us a rundown of the vendors that will be selling there, but so far we only know about the upcoming brick and mortar branch of the Cravings Truck, and (now) Red Mango.

Seen anything new popping up? Send us tips at editor@midtownlunch.com or @midtownlunch on Twitter.

It looks like Izakaya Moku has joined Arang in giving up on the lunch crowd. I passed by yesterday afternoon and noticed the curtains closed on the upstairs Japanese restaurant. I went in to check it out and found no one inside. The door was open, so I peeked in and it was a ghost town. Following up on the website, they now list their hours as opening at 5pm daily. I can’t say I’d been back since checking it out in the spring, but I still mourn the loss of any lunch service in the area… except maybe the Pizzacones.

When I first found out about Paris Baguette, I was a little perplexed. Like many of us, my mind first turned to Vietnamese sandwiches, but when I found out that it was really a Korean chain of French-inspired bakeries specializing in pastries and desserts, I was even more confused.

I’ll go for sweets here and there, but they are rarely a big draw for me, so I didn’t rush to check it out. After reading Blondie’s dessert report, I decided it was worth a second look. What I found when I got there was that the menu was even more diverse than I had expected. What really got my attention was the cross-cultural menu of sandwiches from lobster rolls and cheesesteaks to bulgogi and chicken parm.

See the good, the bad and the just plain different after the jump.

I’ve been to Paris a few times and I can’t say that anything about this place seems particularly French, certainly not the berets and striped shirts. Similarly, there is very little about the menu that reminds me of anything I’ve seen in France, but really, that’s besides the point. The gimmick is unusual, but generally irrelevant. It’s all about the food.

As Blondie mentioned, the desserts are gorgeous. Display after display shows off all sorts of sweets. I still haven’t tried any, but they look pretty great.

The sandwiches are not small, exactly, but certainly aren’t massive by any stretch of the imagination. In most cases, the fillings make up for that by being pretty good. Take the bulgogi sandwich ($6.80), sweet shreds of marinated beef were topped with lettuce, tomatoes, and cheese and packed into a small, soft baguette. The bread itself probably doesn’t compare to a classic French baguette, but it’s still pretty good – certainly better than most of the chain sandwich shops around town. It’s soft, chewy and has a nicely crisp exterior.

I particularly appreciated the gooey cheese inside, although it kind of made me wonder what exactly the difference might be between this and their version of a cheesesteak. The idea that this would be any better with unmarinated beef is pretty unlikely, so I don’t really see the point of even trying it over just having another of these.

Sadly, I’ve got to put the chicken parm ($6.80) under “the bad.” I usually don’t get chicken parm from anywhere but my longtime favorite, Mondello, but I decided to give it a try here.

I ordered it to go, so that may account for it not being warm when I got back to my desk a couple blocks away. Topped with onions and mushrooms, a sweet sauce and a slim layer of cheese, there wasn’t much there to cover up the fact that the chicken was mealy and didn’t really taste so good. I got through about half of it before tossing it. Not finishing a lunch is an unusual occurrence for me. I’d definitely advise to stay away from that particular sandwich.

More interesting, but decidedly different is the lobster roll ($7.80). I never got a chance to check out the lobster roll that Limelight Grill was offering, so I tried it here with thoughts of reclaiming summer in my head.

The New England-style lobster roll I was imagining is not what I got. The mayo-less sandwich was served warm with a sweet cream sauce, onions and mushrooms. The lobster meat came from the claw and, though it wasn’t jammed with lobster, it was tasty and an interesting take on something I’ve only ever known one way.

Paris Baguette has plenty more to offer beyond the sweets that get so much attention. These three sandwiches were less than half of the offerings on the menu. The savory dishes are also not solely relegated to the back of the shop. Along the corridor in the middle of the store, options like these meatball pastries ($1.50) are available as well.

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

• Interesting takes on a variety of food.
• Bulgogi with cheese – brilliant!
• Dessert, it’s what’s for lunch.

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

• Um, why’s my lobster roll hot?
• WTF is wrong with this chicken sandwich?

Paris Baguette, 6 W 32nd St (btw. B’way+5th)

I headed to Koreatown for lunch yesterday hoping to get some of my favorite katsu in the neighborhood, only to find the door locked up at Arang (on 32nd btw. 5th+B’way). A quick phone call got no answer or voicemail. Judging by the Halloween decoration in the window, it doesn’t seem like they’ve been closed for very long. Has anyone heard about them closing up shop? Let us know in the comments.

Walking down 32nd street the other day, I caught this moving sign in front of the old Red Mango space. Typically, I wouldn’t have thought anything of it – I never got on board with the frogurt craze – but the new address was familiar. 11 West 32nd street is the site of the Koreatown Food Court we reported on back in the spring. The initial word was that they hoped to be open by September or October. That could be any day now, although word on the street is that they’ll probably open early next month.

With FoodParc and Eataly open within 10 blocks, the whole food court scene has changed dramatically from the spring. Still, I’m pretty excited about the potential for some underrepresented Asian food to finally come to the area. Back in the spring speculation was that we might get some “Korean Pizza”, and I’m still holding out hope for some Vietnamese sandwiches.  Plus NYC Cravings’ brick and mortar will be in there.  But with the Korilla truck and Baorrito seemingly covering our Korean Taco needs, what else are you all hoping to see in the new food court?