Midtown Lunch

Now that the Super Bowl is out of the way, you’re probably sick and tired of fried chicken wings. Here at Midtown Lunch, we never get tired of fried chicken, especially when it’s covered in a sweet and spicy sauce. Many of you probably had traditional buffalo wings for the big game, but Korean fried chicken is not like Southern fried chicken or buffalo wings. The texture contrast and sauces make Korean fried chicken a different beast. A beast that I like eating. When I heard about Bon Chon opening up on 38th, I was really ecstatic until I heard about the 2 hour wait… After waiting for the dust to settle and giving Bon Chon time to figure out a better system, I decided to go check out their famous Korean fried chicken.

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It’s been over a week since Ying Du on 38th btw. 7+8th was shuttered by the DOH, and no “live animal present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas” or “evidence of rats” is going to keep me away from my favorite take out Chinese place in the Garment District. Ok, so maybe I would have felt different if I had looked at the restaurant inspection before I went… but it doesn’t matter! Clearly they’ve fixed the problems if they’re back open, right? And my $5.50 order of head on salt and pepper shrimp and roast pork over sauteed noodles was most excellent.

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 »

Awhile back I posted a “Where to get Bubble Tea” Ask Midtown Lunch post, which yielded a few responses: Dishes (which is supposedly terrible) and Hing Won on 48th btw. 5+6th, which is not that bad. You can get in Koreatown on 32nd btw. B’way and 5th, but for those of us working in the heart of Midtown Lunch, there’s not much. I did however noticed the other day that Ying Du on 38th btw. 7+8th (formerly the 38th St. Restaurant and Bakery) is now serving bubble tea. For $2.50 you get a decent size cup, and the regular black tea version I had was pretty darn good (especially in the ridiculous heat,) and definitely better than Hing Won.

If you’re heading over to Go Go Curry today for your 3 free toppings coupons, you might want to check it out- it’s right next door.  Anybody else have a bubble tea suggestion?  Feel free to put it in the comments below…

Whether you’re a Yankees fan, or a fried cutlet with Japanese curry fan, you’ll want to be at Go Go Curry tomorrow (Thursday, June 12th) where they’ll be celebrating Hideki Matsui’s Birthday by giving away 3 free topping cards to every customer. It’s not as good a deal as their $5 1 year anniversary day, but I’ll take it.

More important than that though, Go Go Curry has decided to top their oh so giant and awesome “Grand Slam” with a newly introduced “World Champion Curry.” Check it out (in all its greatness) after the jump…

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Walked by a couple of shuttered establishments yesterday…

Super cheap Chinese steam table, Rong Bao Fast Food, on 38th btw. 7+8th, was mysteriously closed yesterday.  Not sure if this is permanent, but if it is, it’s no big surprise.  Given the choice between Rong Bao, and the newly renovated Ying Du directly across the street (formerly the 38th St. Restaurant and Bakery), I’d always go to Y.D.

How the DOH is pushing more business to the best sandwich shop in Midtown, 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 »

Medium Size Katsu
Posted to the Midtown Lunch Flickr Photo Group by Roboppy

It’s May 31st, so today is the final day to enjoy any size dish of curry for $5 at Go Go Curry (38th St. btw. 7+8th Ave).  Starting tomorrow, every item will be its normal menu price ($7.00 and up).  On the plus size, you’ll be able to finally take food to go,  and toppings will finally be available, which include Raw or Boiled Egg, Rakkyo (a Japanese pickled shallot), natto (fermented soybeans), or cheese.  PLUS you’ll be able to use those Free Topping Cards you’ve been hoarding over the past month.  But that’s all tomorrow.  Today, it’s $5 curry!

A little over a month ago, this photo was posted to the Midtown Lunch Flickr Photo Group by joshbousel:

For un-fat people not looking to stuff various foods with french fries, a picture like this might be hard to decipher.  I am not one of those people.  Thanks to Josh, I became aware of the very exciting information that Pick a Pita (on 38th btw. 7+8th) will stuff your falafel or shwarma sandwich with french fries.  Immediately this place went from “that shwarma place I heard was good and should probably try out” to “Pick a Pita.  The greatest place ever invented in the history of mankind”.

Apparently stuffing your shwarma sandwich or falafel in pita is commonplace in many countries in the Middle East… but for some reason I have not seen it done at any of the places in Midtown.  I’m sure there are places I have been to that will put french fries in your sandwich if you ask, but Pick a Pita doesn’t force you to figure this out for yourself.  They suggest it for you:

50 cents is a small price to pay for the greatest sandwich condiment of all time.  Sure, you can order french fries anywhere and put them on top yourself, but then people might think you are fat and disgusting.  Pay someone else to do it, and now it’s not your fault!  “Honey… it wasn’t MY idea.  They put them in the sandwich BEFORE they gave it to me!”  If that doesn’t work, I just go with the more accurate “I’d be crazy NOT to get the fries stuffed into the sandwich!”

More food porn, and the +/- after the jump… Read more »

There are a lot of reasons to travel.  Some people travel to see sights, experience different cultures, meet new people.  I travel to eat.  To me there’s nothing more exciting than visiting another country and experiencing the food.  Get to a museum and find out it’s closed… eh, no big deal.  Force me to waste a meal on bad food, and you will see one pissed off traveler.  It helps that I’m pretty much willing to eat anything, so the language barrier is not a huge issue.  If it looks like it tastes good, and people are eating it- I’ll eat it too.  Pig intestines in Bali, anything off the street in Thailand…  bring it on.

Last week, I found a place for lunch that made me feel that way, without leaving Midtown.  It’s Chinese, and in the Garment District, and eating there made me feel transported to a different country.  I’m not saying the food was the best, most authentic Chinese food I’ve ever had (far from it).  I’m saying that this place was a dirty hole, packed with people speaking a different language. I had no idea what I was ordering, sat at a cramped table with three people I didn’t know (who also didn’t speak very much English)… and I loved every minute of it. 

Just like most eating in Foreign countries, this place is not for everyone.  The food is hit or miss, the place is real dirty, and you don’t necessarily know exactly what you’re eating.  But the price is right (it’s super cheap),  and if you like meals to be adventures, this is as good as it’s going to get in Midtown.

Pictures, what I ate and the +/- after the jump… Read more »