Oh the Blarney Stone, my divey Midtown sanctuary. I find solace in your burgers, and sliders, and corned beef, and Guinness, but what about the practicing Catholics among us? Surely they want to celebrate the end of the workweek regardless of Lenten responsibilities. Enter the Blarney’s Fried Fish Sandwich…

Last week, I stopped by for a little lunch-time fun-time, passed on my usual cheeseburger to try out their fried fish, and was rewarded with the East Midtown version of eating from Kim’s Aunt Kitchen (Blarney is one step up from a cart, let’s be serious). I didn’t catch if my fish was frozen, breaded, or thawed before hitting the grill-I was busy placing my drink order-but they do give you the option of tartar or no tartar, and any add-ons. I’m sure you could pretend this was a Filet-O-Fish and throw some faux American on this hot piece. Fries is another option; mine were crispy, hot, and delicious.

The fish had a milder taste, similar to the whiting from Kim’s Aunt, with a nice crunch on a good-sized roll. It came piping hot which is always a plus. For $5.50 this sandwich is not just worth it, it just might be the best option in the area.

While at my spot, I spotted a most curious sign: “Mix n’ Match Sliders”? For $5 you can pick any three sliders you want from the ones available: burgers, chicken cutlet, pulled pork, and fried fish. The combinations are endless!

Blarney Stone, 710 3rd Ave. (btw. 44th & 45th) 212-490-0457

Related:
Friday During Lent? It’s Time For Cheap Fried Fish Sandwiches!
The Friday Guide to Midtown Lent

As much I hate Chipotle, there is no denying that their model has proven to be incredibly successful. The chose your protein, carrying method, and toppings, assembly line structure allows for the high volume, quick service that a popular lunch destination in Midtown needs to be profitable. Meze Grill (on 8th Ave. btw. 55th+56th) opened their “Middle Eastern Chipotle” back in August, and it looks like Pump Energy Food is moving in that direction as well. But my favorite new ode to Chipotle has got to be Naya Express- the new quick service Lebanese spot on 3rd Ave. btw. 43+44th. It’s got the same assembly set up, and customizable menu… but with one noticeable difference. The food is really tasty.

I’ve never been to Naya, the fancy sit down Lebanese restaurant on 2nd Ave. btw. 55+56th. But clearly they have somebody serious in the kitchen, because this food tastes really good.

Just like Chipotle, you choose your protein (beef or chicken shawarma, falafel, beef kebab, kafta lamb kebab, chicken shish taouk, or sujuk- a spicy lamb sausage), your delivery method (wrap, bowl, or salad), your toppings (hummus, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, pickled radishes, onions, parsley, and jalapenos), and your sauce (tahini, garlic whip, red sauce, green sauce.) I attempted to try as much as I could fit into my fat face in just one visit…

Falafel Wrap w/ everything, topped with green sauce. ($6.43) Seeing as how Crisp is on the same block, and was my choice for best Falafel in Midtown this year, you’d think I’d have no need for a new falafel spot on 3rd Ave. Not so. Naya Express’ falafel is the perfect balance of crunchy on the outside, but moist in the middle, and the flavor is excellent. It’s got a nice sweetness in the background and while the thin Lebanese style bread they use is not my favorite, it is a tasty wrap (you may say the secret ingredient is 1 minute in a sandwich press!) The green sauce packs a really big punch, so ask for just a little if you don’t like it super spicy.

Also had to try the lamb kafta kebab ($7.81), long tubes of ground lamb meat with spices. They recommend a sauce for each protein, or you can just choose whatever you want. I went with the garlic whip… which could turn out to be the ace in the hole for Naya. Essentially a thick super garlicky mayo, the garlic whip is just out of control good (provided you like garlic) and reminded me of the garlic sauce you get at the Lebanese owned Zankou’s Chicken in L.A. (west coast expats will know what I’m taking about.) The kafta kebab was no slouch either, perfectly cooked with a great blend of Lebanese spices.

Sadly the chicken shawarma wrap ($7.81) was the most disappointing out of everything. The meat was good quality, but completely flavorless (as far as shawarma goes) especially when compared to places like Pick a Pita and Kosher Deluxe. Your co-workers who aren’t into ethnic food will probably love it, but if you’re looking for real Middle Eastern flavors you’ll want to go with one of the other choices.

Wanted to at least try one bowl, which comes with their “vermicelli” brown rice and your choice of protein- plus whatever toppings you want. It’s a little more food, (and they give you bread as well) but I don’t know if it’s worth the extra $2- unless you’re a light eater and plan on saving half for another meal. (Obviously a wrap won’t keep nearly as well.) The beef shawarma ($9.87) was more flavorful than the chicken, but still not as good as the falafel or kafta kebab. But you do get a lot more hummus, which is tasty (although thicker than some people might be used to.) I’m pretty sure the “salad” is exactly the same, but instead of the rice you get you a full salad underneath your meat and toppings.

Everything is a tad bit more expensive that it should be (especially the bowls), but some of the food they’re putting out is delicious. Plus I really want to try their lamb sausage, and all the delicious looks pastries they have at the front of the assembly line.  And the garlic whip alone will keep me coming back…

THE +

• I love Lebanese food, and this is the only fast food version on the East side
• GARLIC WHIP! GARLIC WHIP! GARLIC WHIP!
• Their falafel is super tasty
• Their kafta kebab is good as well
• Their green sauce is super spicy
• I like Crisp, and think it’s interesting… but for something more traditional this is better.
• Did I mention their garlic whip?

THE -

• Too expensive.  No way I’m paying $7 for a falafel, and $8.50 for shawarma
• The Kwik Meal cart on 45th and 3rd is better and cheaper
• The chicken shawarma is flavorless
• I prefer pita bread or Isreali laffa to Lebanese flat bread
• They haven’t gotten the assembly line perfected yet, so it can take awhile during peak times.

Naya Express, 686 3rd Ave (btw. 43+44th), 212-257-0007

Eater dropped this great news late on Friday afternoon: “A PR rep informs us that Five Guys Burgers and Fries secured a lease for a 1,700 square foot space at 690 Third Avenue (between 43rd and 44th Streets).”  For those keeping track, that’s the old Prince Deli space… and even though they had a 99 cent pizza deal, and decent falafel I don’t think it will be missed once Five Guys goes in!

Related:
Five Guys is NYC’s Closest Thing to In N Out Burger
SHOCKER: Prince Deli is Closed For Good

I think I’m finally ready to go out on a limb here, and say that Crisp is one of the best falafel places in the city.  That’s right.  The yuppie-fied, way overpriced, unconventional falafel place (on 3rd Ave. btw. 43+44th) is serving up some of my favorite falafel in New York City.  Is their bread as good as Olympic Pita (on 38th btw. 5+6th)?  No.  Is their menu as authentically Israeli as Azuri Cafe (on 10th Ave. and 51st). Uh… definitely not.  And yet, each time I go there I really enjoy trying the strange flavor combinations they create.  Sandwiches you cannot find anywhere else in NYC.  And for that they deserve some recognition.

Last week, they introduced their entry into the Midtown Lunch Sandwich Challenge. The Taj: Falafel with mango chutney, lime chili pickles, greens, cherry tomatoes, poppadums, and a cold curry sauce inside a traditional Israeli pita. I tried it on Friday, and it solidified my feeling that Crisp may be one of the best Falafel places in New York City.

Ok, so here is the disclaimer: Crisp makes a standard Israeli style falafel (falafel + hummus + Israeli salad in a pita). And it’s fine. Would I take it over Olympic Pita or Azuri Cafe? No way. Never. But, outside of the standard falafel, Crisp is doing some really interesting things. And most importantly, their sandwiches are really tasty.

I wasn’t completely sold on the concept of overpriced, weird falafel combinations when I first went to Crisp last year. But I really enjoyed “The Mexican”, their falafel sandwich topped with corn salsa and avocado, smeared with a cilantro pesto that brought the whole thing together (and I don’t really even like cilantro that much.) It was interesting, albeit expensive at $7.75. But where else are you going to get something like this in NYC? Answer: Nowhere.

The second time I visited, I realized that their menu was constantly morphing… and they like to swap sandwiches in and out. Essentially, every couple of months you could show up and find something entirely new. In October my interest was piqued by “The Exotic”, an aptly named creation featuring falafel with coriander spread, eggplant, cabbage, pineapple, and wasabi vinaigrette. How could I not? I love sweet and salty and spicy, so I was kind of into this. As weird as the flavors were together, they kind of fit- and it made me realize that whoever was the Chef behind the creations, at least knew what they were doing enough to pull something like this off.

Which brings us to the Taj. The Mexican is good, and the exotic was a weird kind of good… but the Taj has now sealed the deal for me. You find tons of chickpeas in Indian food (falafel is made of chickpeas) and being so close to the Middle East, they share alot of the same spices… so in a lot of ways this flavor combo is a no-brainer with falafel. And yet, I’ve never seen anything like this anywhere. I loved the spicy, curry flavor mixed with the sweet mango chutney… the poppadoms didn’t really hold up so well in such a wet sandwich, and in the end are not really necessary, since the falafel itself is already crunchy. But being the kind of person who in junior high stuffed his sandwiches with chips, I appreciate the attempt. I could take or leave the lettuce and tomatoes, but they added some lightness, and weren’t terrible.

Finally, it came with a “cold curry sauce” which really should just be named “cold yogurt sauce”. Semantics aside, it provided the perfect cool, creamy balance to the strong flavors of the sandwich. If you don’t like Indian flavors, or mango chutney you are not going to like this sandwich (obviously), but if you do, it is completely worth the $7.75. Don’t look for it on the menu though… the Midtown Lunch special is listed on their flat screen TV.

As for our old friend “The Exotic”, it has been replaced with “The Africa”, which I decided I also had to try. It features falafel topped with north African peanut sauce, sweet potatoes, corn salad, cherry tomatoes, green onions, and a habanero harrissa. I don’t know if it was because of the Taj, but I couldn’t really detect too much spiciness from the smoked red pepper/habanero paste… but that might be my only complaint. I loved the peanut sauce and the thinly sliced sweet potatoes- which might have been soggy sweet potato chips… I’m not sure. But either way it was good. Another winner from the mad scientist kitchen of Crisp. Not sure how long they’ll offer this one… but I’m kind of excited to see what they come up with next.

As for the falafel themselves, they are tasty Israeli style falafels. Not too dry, and not too dense. It’s hard to argue about “authenticity”, because the owner has a successful chain of similar falafel places in Israel. And, to top it off they’ve heard our complaint about the prices. On Friday Crisp lowered prices of some of their items, and the $10 and $11 sandwiches that were on the menu when they first opened are gone. The most expensive sandwich is now $8.75, although the Mexican is still $7.75. Expensive for a falafel? Yes. But it is one tasty sandwich. They also have falafel and hummus platters, but those are too much like salads for me to be interested in.

I could have easily bitched about Crisp, and I think a lot of the readers of this site would have backed me up. This whole post could have been one long complaint about how lame this place is- trying to pass off these weird falafels as “gourmet” and charging an arm and a leg for the privilege. The stupidity of calling them handbags… and their lame, and unnecessary packaging. But that would do a huge disservice to the food being put out at Crisp, which right now is making some of the most delicious and interesting sandwiches in the city. Whether you want to consider them “falafel” or not, is entirely up to you.

Crisp, 684 3rd Ave. (btw. 43+44th),  212…

Speaking of Crisp-the overpriced falafel place on 3rd Ave. btw. 43+44th that I reluctantly admire for its boldness and tastiness-they’ve done a little menu switcheroo this week. They’ve gotten rid of the Milan (a falafel sandwich with roasted red peppers and feta) and added two new sandwiches. The first is the CLT. At $5.75 it is the cheapest option, and made with falafel, lettuce, tomato, and pickles. I admire them for trying to add a cheaper option, but how can you have a falafel without hummus (or at least tahini.) And, if you are going to get a standard falafel, Crisp is too expensive. There are cheaper options, that are good enough… like at the Prince Deli on the same block. If you are going to eat at crisp, you should get one of their special combos- like the Mexican (falafel with corn and avocado) which I’m kind of into.

Which brings us to their latest creation… “The Exotic”. Falafel with coriander spread, eggplant, cabbage, pineapple, and wasabi vinaigrette. I shit you not. How could I walk away without trying this monstrosity?

At $7.75 it’s the same price as the Mexican… which is too say, it is expensive for a falafel- but you have to admire their balls (terrible pun intended). As promised it had pineapple (you can see it) and all the rest… and I have to say, it kind of worked- in the worst way possible. I’m a big fan of the sweet and savory combo, so I liked the sweet pineapple mixed with spicy horseradish flavor of the wasabi vinaigrette. The falafel and coriander spread (which is the exact same thing as their cilantro spread) provided a nice balance to the strong sweet and spicy flavor, although most of the wasabi vinaigrette was mixed with the cabbage on top of the sandwich- making the first few bites way too sauce heavy. By the time I got to the end, there was no wasabi flavor at all. Hopefully they will get better at mixing the ingredients evenly through the whole sandwich… or you can not risk it and ask for the wasabi vinaigrette on the side.

Will there be people who hate this sandwich? Of course. It is still hard for me to spend this kind of money on a falafel, but these guys are doing some cool things that you just don’t get from the standard falafel places… and most importantly their sandwiches taste good. Will it replace Olympic Pita? Of course not… but it’s a nice change of pace every once in awhile (and for that, I don’t mind spending an extra couple of bucks).

As for the grossness that is falafel mixed with pineapple and wasabi- I will admit it is only for a select group of weirdos… but if it sounds intriguing to you (and you don’t mind shelling out $8 for a falafel sandwich), you just might like it.

I admit it.  This post should have been done a long time ago.  And I don’t have an excuse. I’ve walked by the Prince Deli (on 3rd Ave. btw. 43+44th) so many times in the past two years, and never once have I pulled the trigger.  Admittedly, I usually hate generic Midtown delis like this, but the Prince has two things going for it. 1) 99 Cent Pizza.  How can you not?  And 2) a falafel sandwich that was touted by the New York Daily News as “the best in the neighborhood.”  The article has proudly hung in the storefront for awhile now (although there is no date on it, so lord knows how long ago this was written.)

Anyway, I finally took the plunge last week, testing out their two signature dishes. 

Prince is one of only three 99 cents pizza places left in Midtown, and it’s probably the worst of the three.  Even more unfortunate is the fact that one of the other ones (99 Cent Fresh Pizza on 43rd btw. Lex+3rd) is right around the corner.  The slice I had was pretty bad, and even though no 99 cent slice is going to be outstanding, the 99 Cent Fresh Pizza slice is fresher and better.  If you are lucky enough to get a fresh slice from Prince, maybe it would be slightly better… but overall I’d skip it. (Btw… Z Deli on 8th Avenue is the only other 99 cent slice in Midtown)

The falafel was a completely different story.  I was kind of skeptical that this place was pumping out one of the better falafels in the neighborhood, but truth be told it was pretty damn good.  The whole wheat pita was kind of dry, and fell apart but the falafels themselves were really delicious.  A really good spice mixture gave the falafel a really interesting sweetness that you don’t get at many other places.  And most importantly it wasn’t dry at all.  Good bread or not, at $4.50 it’s kind of a steal these days. Since the pita left a little bit to be desired, maybe the falafel platter is the way to go. 

Lesson:  Don’t write off generic Midtown delis that have been praised by the New York Daily News?

THE +

• A slice of pizza is only 99 cents
• The falafel has a really good spice mixture, and is not as dry as you would expect
• Great spicy red sauce
• Falafel sandwich is only $4.50

THE -

• The whole wheat pita the sandwich came on was a little stale and kind of fell apart
• The 99 cent pizza is not that good, and not that fresh
• 99 Cent Fresh Pizza (right around the corner) is better

Prince Deli, 690 3rd Ave. (btw. 43+44th) 212) 661-2240‎

Oh what a difference an avenue makes!  When Boi to Go, the fast food Vietnamese offshoot of the restaurant Boi, opened in May of last year, it caused me to walk one avenue farther than I think any Midtown Lunch’er should have to walk (it’s on 2nd Ave btw. 42+43rd.) But for the only banh mi (Vietnamese sandwich) in Midtown, a man will do crazy things.  That is also why I didn’t complain too much about the price tag ($7.50).  Compared to Chinatown or Sunset Park, what Boi to Go serves is a not entirely authentic (what’s with the avocado?), overpriced sandwich. However, you put it next to most Midtown deli sandwiches, it is competitively priced- and freakin’ delicious.  And now, it’s going to be one avenue closer- in proper Midtown Lunch’ing range.

In about month, Boi to Go will open a second offshoot on 3rd Ave. btw. 44+45th called “Boi Sandwich”.  I haven’t heard exactly what the menu will be, or if it will effect what is going on at the original Boi to Go, but if they serve the same sandwiches I’ll be pretty damn excited.  (Even though I could probably use the extra walking…)

Related: Boi to Go (aka How I Learned to Love the $7.50 Banh Mi)

Tomorrow is Jamaica’s Independence Day, and Golden Krust  is celebrating by selling their jerk chicken patties for 99 cents the entire month of August. With the Jamaican Dutchy (on 51st & 7th) readily available, I’ve never given GK their full +/-, but with 4 locations in Midtown- maybe it’s time. Thoughts?

4 Locations in Midtown:

• 33rd btw. Mad+5th
• 8th Ave. btw. 39+40th
• 3rd Ave. btw. 43+44th
• Grand Central Terminal Food Court (although this is just a kiosk, so I’m not positive if they are participating in the August promotion)