It’s no secret that Midtown Lunch has traditionally had a bit of an Asian soup bias… aka Zach just didn’t eat non-Asian soups. And while I can respect his assessment that the majority of soups in midtown are overpriced and not terribly filling (I’m looking at you, Hale & Hearty!), I’m a soup fan, and try as I might, I can’t live on ramen alone. Though the dine-in menu at Dervish Turkish (on 47th btw. 6+7th) is pretty much out of the Midtown Lunch price range, they make a mean Red Lentil Soup that’s available for take out and it’s well under $10.

For $4.30 (including tax) you get soup and a large hunk of fresh pide, a crusty Turkish flat bread topped with black sesame seeds. The soup itself is pureed until smooth and has a hint of mint. Between the bread and the lentils, you have a decently filling meal. If you are a lentil soup fan, this is definitely worth trying. For those with a larger appetite I recommend hitting up the Biryani Cart (on 46th and 6th) a block away where you can get a single kati roll ($3) that should do the trick in terms of supplementing your meal and still keep your lunch under $10.

Got any other tips for non-Asian soups that make for a satisfying lunch? Put them in the comments.

Related:
Dervish Turkish Restaurant (Original Review 1/10/07)

It’s been forever since I’ve been to Utsav, the fancy all you can eat Indian buffet on 46th Street btw. 6+7th. So when I was told by a friend over at Epicurious that they were now serving Biriyani for take out, I was pretty excited!  I’ve never tried their buffet (it’s too expensive!) but their take out food, which is available daily just inside the front door, is good (especially for those of you who prefer spending a little extra on slightly fancier Indian food.)

The guy behind the bar at Utsav told me that they’ve always had biriyani to go (and that might be true… like I said, it’s been awhile.)  But either way, it was the first time for me.  $8 gets you a decent amount of biriyani (the tray is deeper than it seems) and it had a ton of chicken.  Nice flavor, good kick, and definitely a bit more refined than the version at the Biriyani Cart (which is a couple hundred feet away on 46th and 6th).  For the price, I’ll probably still stick with the Biriyani Cart (I’m a cheap bastard, and you know I love ‘em!), but if you’re looking for something a bit more authentic, less greasy, and more refined, Utsav’s biriyani would make a great addition to yoru lunchtime rotation.

Utsav, 1185 Ave. of the Americas (btw. 6+7th Ave., btw. 46+47th St., 212-575-2525

Related:
$20 Fancy Indian Buffet Food, For Under $10 at Utsav

The new Kosher Oasis Cart has had an interesting first couple of months. It first appeared on 44th street (btw. 6+7th) at the end of last year, but then like a mirage (or oasis?) it reappeared on 47th, only to disappear and reappear again a few times throughout August. It seems to have settled in over on 47th Street (btw. 6+7th), but it was forced to move somewhere else on Wednesdays (possibly related to the intimidation reported by the local news?)

But what about the food?  I headed over recently to sample a few of their menu items. (And by “sample” I mean stuff my fat face with pretty much everything they make.)

This is actually only half of the sandwich (it’s pretty long)

It seems like schnitzel is everywhere these days… Schnitzel & Things, Schnitzel Express, and now this.  Their version is chicken (obviously), but is pounded far thinner than the version at Schnitzel & Things or even Kosher Deluxe. You don’t get a ton of meat for your money ($7), but they make it seem a little more substantial by slicing your two small pieces of chicken into halves and spreading it out over a huge baguette roll. Their special sauces (garlic mayo, chimichurri, and hot sauce) plus the fairly strong tasting pickles made for a tasty enough sandwich, and by pounding the chicken thin they avoid drying it out in the fryer.

The owners of the Kosher Oasis also own the Brooklyn franchise of Burgers Bar (a Kosher hamburger chain that is incredibly popular in Israel) so I was pretty interested in trying their burger.  The patty was pretty thin, and didn’t seem like the best quality meat (from a burger lovers prospective), but it was seasoned pretty heavily with Middle Eastern spices- making for a pretty interesting burger experience.  Bun to meat ratio was way off as well, but the lettuce and tomato was a nice addition. The combo of the meat with the garlic mayo made for an interesting flavored burger, but for $6 I don’t think I’m going to be rushing back to get this one again and again.

The falafel was a pretty standard Israeli number.  The falafel themselves were good, with a nice crunchy outside and creamy inside, although the bread and everything else made it pretty ho-hum.  I’m not the biggest fan of Moshe’s on 46th and 6th (they have a serious ingredient distribution problem) but I doubt many die-hard Moshe’s fans will find this falafel significantly better.  The line is shorter at Kosher Oasis though, and it’s a perfectly decent sandwich ($4.75).

How can shoestring french fries ($2) be bad, right? Actually if you don’t add salt, they are. They didn’t, and I didn’t notice the little salt packets in the bag until after I finished them (well I wasn’t going to *not* eat them.) Make sure to look for the salt and ketchup in the bag, and problem solved!

And finally… I couldn’t leave without trying the Moroccan cigars ($3), right? If the thought of eating an egg roll stuffed with ground beef and middle eastern spices sounds delicious to you, you find these delicious. They are egg rolls stuffed with ground beef and middle eastern spices. Huzzah!

In the end, if you keep Kosher, you’ll be pretty excited to have another lunchtime option in Midtown. If you’re just looking for the best burger, best falafel, or best schnitzel in Midtown- and don’t care about the Kosher thing, this cart doesn’t really qualify for any of those titles. It’s just another decent cart, amongst a lot of decent carts.

Kosher Oasis, 47th btw. 6+7 on M-T, Th-Fri; 49th btw. 6+7th on Wednesdays

Utsav, a fancy Indian buffet on 47th btw. 6+7th, solves that problem with a little take out section in the bar area of their $17.95 all you can eat buffet.  For $7.95 or $9.95 you get a lunch size sampling of what the fat cats upstairs are shelling out $18 for- and it’s pretty damn good.

What you get, and a +/- after the jump…

Utsav is actually one of those restaurants that resides “underneath” a Midtown building, accessible through an outdoor tunnel that runs through the ground floor.  The Utsav tunnel is accessible from 47th or 46th St. and you’ll see signs on both sides pointing you in towards the restaurant.  The buffet is on the second floor, but the “take out” area is actually just to the left of the bar when you first walk in.

They only have two vegetable items and two meat items on the steam table each day, and there are only two combo choices.  Two vegetables with rice, lentils, salad and naan for $7.95, or One Vegetable & One Meat with rice, lentils, salad and naan for $9.95.  $10 is alot for Indian lunch, especially with the $9.95 Spice Fusion Buffet two avenues away, and Minareven closer- but after the trying the food I was surprised not only by the quality, but how much food you get for your money… and if you work nearby maybe you don’t want to walk all the way to the buffet, or deal with the pandemonium of Minar.

I went with the one meat, one vegetable lunch deal- and chose the lamb, and the saag (spinach).  Both were incredibly flavorful, and a much higher quality then you find at many cheaper Indian places in Midtown.  We were lucky enough to be the only people at the steam table when we walked in, but with only one guy spooning out the food, and taking the money, a line quickly grew while he served us.  I can definitely see this becoming a problem, depending on what time you show up.

The naan was also delicious, with a beautiful oily sheen (you might say the secret ingredient is fat).  When they first spooned the food into the tray, I was thinking “this really isn’t a lot of food for $10″, but 2/3 of the way through eating the meal I realized my eyes were way bigger than my stomach.  They really fit a lot of lamb into that little square of the tray, and after the thick, and creamy saag and the whole piece of naan, I was stuffed.  I had a small bit of the lentils, but it was just all too much.  Embarrassingly, I gave up, even leaving two piece of lamb behind (the big money item!!!).   It shames me to do it, but in the interest of full disclosure, here’s what was left over from my meal…

Utsav is a good choice if you’re looking for “quality” Indian food to-go, in a less hectic environment than Minar (which is total pandemonium).  I’m not sure who gives you more food (Minar obviously has more choice), but I was more than satisfied with my lunch.  At $9.95, it seems more expensive- but Minar forces you to choose between rice and bread, so if you want both, you end up paying almost $10 anyway.  For variety, value, and a place to sit, nothing really beats Minar- but for quality, it’s nice every once in awhile to get to eat some food from a place where the fancy pants people eat.

THE +

• Take out Indian, for under $10, from an expensive Indian Restaurant
• The food is very high quality
• You get naan and bread (plus a little couple of lentils)
• It doesn’t look like it (to a fat guy like me), but it’s a lot of food

THE -

• Spice Fusion is $9.95, all you can eat, and only a few avenues away
• Minar is a Midtown Lunch standard, and only half a block away
• There’s not alot of variety.  Only two vegetable choices, and two meat choices each day.
• They don’t give you raita (yogurt sauce)
• You are not allowed to sit in their bar area (even though there are empty seats).  It’s take out only
• There’s only one guy working the steam table, and taking money- so if a line forms, it may take awhile (maybe he calls for reinforcements???)

Utsav, 1185 Ave. of the Americas (btw. 6+7th Ave., btw. 46+47th St., 212-575-2525

But that is just one end of the spectrum.  The other end is the place that fits every rule.  Weighing the positives and negatives isn’t necessary, because it is the perfect Midtown Lunch spot.  El Rincon del Sabor is one of those places.  Cheap.  Check.  Something different (it’s Ecuadorian food).  Check.  Authentic.  Check.  Homemade.  Check.  Not a chain (owned by real people).  Check.  Hidden (it’s on the fourth floor of a Diamond District building with a paper sign that you wouldn’t notice unless you were looking for it).  Check.  And best of all, it’s got history. 

El Rincon del Sabor has spent the past 12 years dishing out delicious Ecuadorian food on 46th St. btw. 5th & 6th.  A few months ago, they moved to a new location (47th St. btw. 5th & 6th), but the food is still the same.  There is a rotating menu of dishes every single day, and even though there is a printed menu a breakdown of the week, it doesn’t always match exactly.  The best way to find out what’s being served is to give them a call.  I went last Wednesday with 3 co-workers and we sampled four of the 10 or so dishes they had available.

Pics, the phone number and a +/- after the jump…

Tallarin con Pollo (Spaghetti w/ Chicken).  Or as I like to call it, “The Carb Special”.  Spaghetti, rice & lentils.  Awesome!  The chicken was stewed, and really nice.  $7, and I was told it was their most popular item on Wednesdays.

Carne Asada de Res (Grilled Steak).  $8.  If you like latin style skirt steak, it’s a great deal for 8 bucks.

Grilled Chicken.  This item isn’t on the printed menu on any day, so I’m assuming they have it often.  Perfect if you’re looking for something plain and easy, it’s just a lightly spiced piece of grilled chicken (also served with rice, lentils and salad).  $7

The motherload!  Carne Apanada (breaded steak).  The Ecuadorian version of Chicken Fried Steak.  Pretty delicious.  It’s listed as a Tuesday special, but they had it on Wednesday (left over from the day before?  Maybe.  But who cares, it was delicious!).

Also listed on the menu for Wednesday was a really awesome looking Spinach soup, Fried Fish, a shrimp ceviche (which looked really nice), and Stewed Oxtails (always a crowd pleaser!  Each special is between $7 & $8 (soups are $5) and comes with rice, lentils salad, and a house made drink of the day.  On Wednesday it was “Quaker”, a typical drink from the coast of Ecuador made from Quaker Oatmeal (and some kind of fruit).  It tasted light and fruity, with a hint of cinnamon.  Could have been colder, but it was really nice (and the price was right!).  I was told some days they also have Horchata (one of my favorite Latin American drinks made from rice).   

Since the specials change every day, it’s impossible to know exactly what they are going to have, but there are some dishes on other days that look pretty damn good.  Like Stewed Lamb & Oxtail Soup on Mondays, Chaulafan (a rice & meat dish) or Stewed Potatoes w/ Pork Skin on Tuesdays, and Crackling Chicken on Thursdays.  Fridays seem to be the big day with over 15 things on the menu, including Catfish soup, all sorts of seafood dishes, tripe dishes, soups and stews.  Needless to say, I will be back!

THE + (what somebody who likes this place will say)

• Authentic & cheap Ecuadorian food
• It’s homemade.  You feel like you are eating food made by somebody’s Mom or Grandma
• I like stews, soups and grilled meat.
• I love offal!  (They have oxtails, stewed tongue, various tripe dishes, and cow feet soup)
• They have a great Aji (Ecuadorian Hot Sauce) to smother everything with

THE -

• This ain’t Cuban food, so if you are looking for rice, beans and plantains, (or a replacement for Margon) you are going to be disappointed.  It’s Ecuadorian food.
• I’m a vegetarian.  (Not much for you at a place like this…)
• Some dishes are bland
• I don’t like lentils!
• I couldn’t find the damn place (make sure you bring the address!)

El Rincon del Sabor, 74 w. 47th St. (btw. 5+6th), 212-840-0101

Dervish is a Turkish restaurant on 47th between 6th & 7th with lunch and dinner specials that make it an obvious choice for tourists looking for something to eat before going to the Theater.  The lunch special is $14.95, and for that price you get your choice of an appetizer and an entree… a pretty good deal if you’re looking for this type of sit down meal.

For our appetizers I think we selected pretty well.  The Turkish Salad was nice with chunks of tomato, cucumber and onion tossed in a vinaigrette.  The hummus is a pretty standard choice- and was perfect for dipping the bread they bring out before the meal. But the real star was the egg roll looking bureks… stuffed with spinach and cheese these were pretty awesome.  I’ve never had a burek before- so I’m not sure how it compares with a less touristy Turkish restaurant… but these tasted pretty sweet to me.

Pics of my entree, and the +/- after the jump…

I’m a big fan of lamb, so I ordered the lamb with okra which came with a plate of a pilaf style rice.  It was ok, but nothing special.  The lamb was tender, and it had plenty of okra, but it was pretty under spiced.  My boss and co-workers each got chicken dishes (one got the chops- seen below, and one got the kebab), which were predictably plain.  They seemed to like both dishes alright, but they were nothing to write home about.

All in all, if you are looking for a reasonably priced sit down meal, for lunch, with some great variety (you get the appetizer and entree), you could do alot worse than Dervish… but it’s clear the entrees can be hit or miss.  As we were walking out, I noticed alot of people eating what looked like a plate of gyro meat over rice.  Looking at the menu, I’m pretty sure it was the Doner Kebab- and definitely the way to go.  If my boss ever takes me out to lunch there again- I will definitely order that.

THE +

• I’m looking for a nice sit down lunch, in a nice atmosphere
• $14.95 gets you an entree and appetizer (add in the bread, and it’s plenty of food)
• Great place if you want ethnic food, but your co-workers are less adventurous.  There are some pretty mild options for any palate
• The service was decent, and we were back at work within an hour

THE -

• I don’t want to pay more than $10 for lunch
• It’s sit down, so you’ve got to pay tip (making it even more expensive)
• The dishes we ate were pretty bland
• There’s bettter, cheaper Mediterranean options in Midtown
• For this price, I’d rather eat at one of the more expensive Indian Buffets (like Utsav)

Dervish Turkish Restaurant, 146 W. 47th St. (btw. 6th & 7th), 212-997-0070