Craving steak on Friday I realized that you can’t just jump into a lunch at Tad’s Steaks.  Even on a dare.  Eating at Tad’s requires some training.  Like an Olympic Marathon runner, you can’t just start off by running 26 miles.  You’ve got to slowly build up to the big race.  So, I put my lunch at Tad’s on hold, and decided to slowly work my way into it.  (Yes, I am a wuss- but can you blame me?  It’s Tad’s we’re talking about here.) First stop on the training circuit?  The Steak Truck, to try out their steak and cheese sub, that I first noticed in July.  

When the Steak Truck first appeared last year, it was pretty exciting. A massive truck, serving up full steaks, burgers and pretty much everything else imaginable.  The steak turned out to be nothing special (surprise surprise), but for a super filling, under $10 lunch, made up of chunks of actual red meat, you can’t really complain.  The burger was also very large, and cheap- but I found it dry and made from pretty terrible meat.  It’s on the opposite side of town, but if you want a burger from a cart, Carnegie John’s is still the king (although the steak truck burger does come with fries, a huge plus.)

With Magdy’s, the premier steak and cheese cart in Midtown, only a block away, I was hoping the Steak Truck would distinguish themselves by offering more meat, or better meat, or more meat.  Did I mention I was hoping for more meat?  The bread to meat ratio was pretty bad, but they did a few things that make the sandwich a tad bit interesting.  First, I’m not positive but I feel like the steak was of a slightly better quality than Magdy’s.  This could be all in my head, but I’m going to put it out there.  Magdy’s is made from the bologna of steak, and while it’s tasty and super cheap, it’s not really like eating steak.  The Steak Truck’s meat is a little better.  It’s also only $5 (despite that sign that popped up saying $6 for a short time.)

The closest thing you are going to get to a philly cheese steak in Midtown is Carl’s (on 3rd Ave. btw. 34+35th), but unlike Magdy’s who put slices of American cheese on their subs, the Steak Truck does offer American cheese in squeezable form- a fact that I’m sure will excite many of you.  Finally, the most distinguishing aspect of the sandwich is the flavor.  Much like the burger at Carnegie John’s is improved by grilling it on the same flat top as his chicken and lamb, the steak on the Steak Truck gets most of its flavor from the grille.  The Steak Truck sells chicken and lamb over rice, and you can taste those spices in the sandwich.  So, if you like your steak and cheese tasting like it came off of a halal truck, and don’t mind too much bread, the Steak Truck’s version is going to be right up your alley.

As mediocre as it was, it was a perfect pit stop for my Tad’s finish line.

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

• The steak seems a little more like steak, and a little less like bologna than Magdy’s
• I like my steak and cheese tasting like it came off a halal truck
• I need my cheese in liquid form
• The sandwich is big, especially for $5

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

• It’s not as good as Carl’s (or Magdy’s for that matter, which is only one block away)
• Way too much bread for the amount of meat you get
• I don’t like my cheesesteaks tasting like Middle Eastern spices

 

The Steak Truck, Park Avenue & 47th Street

It’s been awhile since the monstrosity known as “The Steak Truck” (on Park & 47th) has been mentioned here on the site.  I was not impressed with their burgers, but the steak is not terrible (especially considering it’s under $10 and comes with sides and a drink.)  They seem to have added a few other things, like a fried chicken cutlet sandwich that looked intriguing- but the thing that caught my eye was the sign in the front window.  Foot long philly-cheese-steak-hero $4.99?  Hello!  Could it be that Magdy’s Steak and Cheese cart one block over, may have some competition?

Anybody try this thing yet?  Feel free to let us know what you thought in the comments…

First up is Yushi, the upscale Japanese healthy bento place on 47th btw. Park+Lex:

Zach- I wanted to give you a rundown of today’s Yushi encounter… I know, it’s super expensive and kinda on the healthy yet measly side. But I met my boyfriend there for lunch… he got a seared salmon salad and I got a seared tuna nicoise salad. The salads were just under $10 each but with drinks I ended up plunking down $25.67 (number burned on my brain and in my credit). Grumbling at the fact that my $9.95 tuna salad only had four TINY slabs of tuna in it, I sat down, prepared to savor every last morsel of that shit.

Anyway, today they had several girls walking around with trays of samples.  Don’t know if this is a regular occurrence, but snaps for freebies. Boo and I finagled two prime beef/shiitake mini meatballs with teriyaki sauce each from one candy striper (delish and more filling than an entire $10 salad), then we were also given shot glasses of their tasty firecracker miso from another girl. All seemed well… until I noticed a third long-haired minx of an employee strolling the aisles with what appeared to be coupons in her hands. She seemed to be silently judging the inhabitants of each table she passed, while tapping the pile of coupons against her fingertips. Iactually WATCHED this girl hand coupons to table after table after table of males, explaining with a smile the complimentary miso they’d receive upon their return, yet she skipped two tables of women in between!! To add insult to injury, the chick glided past our table unfazed, offering little more than a selective sideways glance and a slight sneer. As we put on our jackets to leave, I was determined to give her the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps it wasn’t blatant discrimination or an aversion to her own gender, but maybe she was planning on gifting us with a coupon at the door, or maybe she was legally blind in her left eye.

Either way, the minx was camped out near the door with her stack of discounts, so I beelined straight toward her with an inviting”where’s the candy” look on my face. Don’t you know it, but this girl smiles cattily (perhaps my over keen female sensory picked up on this?) while continuing to click the pile against her fingertips, taunting us, and said smugly, “buh bye now.” And that was it. No coupon?! No thanks for my $25.67 and ten-block trek? I’m still appalled. I knew Yushi was bourgy and too leather-laden for its own good, but this sheer disregard for me as a return customer worthy of a free cup of soup really just chafes me. Thought it pertinent that you know. And if nothing else, perhaps you find this little rant amusing.  Cheers, Profiled Midtown Lunch’er “Shauna”

I don’t find anything amusing about missing out on free stuff, Shauna.  Hope that the public display of your rant will solace you as much as that free coupon would have. 

A 100% true Treats Truck complaint/public service announcement that everyone needs to read, after the jump…

Hi Zach- I wanted to write a little about the customers of the Treat Truck who take forEVER when it’s their turn to order, even though it’s freezing outside. I mean, why don’t they figure out what they want during the wait? The worst is when they dilly dally by asking inane questions about every single item. It’s SO annoying. I like to call them the Treats Truck Tourists, because they are slow and are all caught up in the “experience”… me, I just want my cookie. Take care, Ying.

I have to say Ying, I am familiar with the phenomenon that you have just described.  There are without a doubt a lot of Treats Truck tourists, who spend too much time deciding and ordering.  Everything is delicious.  It shouldn’t take that long…  hopefully your complaints will reach the right ears and we can end this problem once and for all!  (Treats Truck is on 45th & 6th today, btw.)

Have your own grievances to air?  Email them to zach@midtownlunch.com

I’ll complain that charging $10.35 for a burger, fries and soda combo is too expensive, or $11+ for a sandwich is just plain stupid.  But then, over the weekend, I’ll spend twice that amount on an appetizer at one of my favorite restaurants (sweetbreads at Prune?  Hello!).  Value is about expectations and balance.  It is feeling that what you sacrifice in quantity, you gain in quality, and the whole thing works out so that you are charged accordingly.  And while for me, Goodburger and FreeFoods NYC have priced themselves just outside that value threshold, I can’t help but think that a place like ’wichcraft teeters right on the edge.

There is no question alot of the menu will leave you hungry, and feeling ripped off, but with some clever ordering I think you can feel like you had a quality lunch, for an expensive, but acceptable price.  Plus, I love Craft, really like Craftsteak, love Tom Collichio, and even though my first trip to ‘wichcraft, ended with my wife being hungry (and angry we paid so much for such small sandwiches), I vowed to give the place another shot.

Basically what I’m saying is this.  If you are a fat man (like me) and enjoy quantity (like me), ‘wichcraft is overpriced for what it is:  tiny sandwiches that leave you hungry in the belly, and lighter in the wallet.  But if there is that small part of you that occasionally likes to trade a little quantity for quality (mixed in with a dose of celebrity chef), there is a better way to order at ‘wichcraft, to get you out for under $10, and feeling satisfied.

A breakdown of the menu, after the jump…

So right off the bat, let me say- there is no filling sandwich at ‘wichcraft, no matter what you order.  There is no big.  Only small, and really small.  But if you are looking for quantity, there are definitely some heartier choices and they don’t necessarily mean a higher price.

Sandwiches for the Super Skinny (aka Fat Man Beware)…

• Most of the Cold Sandwiches.  If it says that it is on “bread”, it means sliced bread, and sliced bread almost always means small.  You are going to do a little better with “Baguette” or “Ciabatta”, but all of the cold sandwiches on bread are pretty tiny.

• The Grilled Cheese Sandwiches.  The Fontina is by far the worst at $9.50.  There is no question that black trumpet mushrooms with white truffle fondue is a delicious combo, but if you are looking for filling, you’ll want to stay away from expensive ingredients like this.  They cost more, but don’t fill you up as much.  The other two grilled cheese sandwiches are tiny as well, but at least they clock in at $5.50 and $6.50 respectively, leaving you a little room to fit some more eats under the $10 cap (a soup or side dish perhaps?).

And now for us fatties… once again realize that none of these sandwiches are going to leave you stuffed- but they are heartier choices than the ones listed up above, and will leave you feeling slightly less ripped off.

• Roasted turkey ($9.50) - Meat is going to be a huge help in getting more full, and they give you a decent number of layers, in addition to a couple strips of bacon, and some avocado- another big plus.   And while the ciabatta roll is not huge, it’s heftier than then the sliced bread.
• Chicken Breast ($9.75) and the Meatloaf and Cheddar ($9.50) - I didn’t get to try these two sandwiches, but I’m assuming the same concept applies as in the roasted turkey sandwich.  Meat = More Filling

• Slow Roasted Pork ($8.50) - You know how I get about pork.  Photo says it all… although the pork sandwich at Sophie’s/Tina’s is a much better value (that thing is ginormous), you may feel better about yourself after the ‘wichcraft one.

For a decent middle ground, go for the hot marinated eggplant sandwich ($8).  Without meat it’s a little less filling, but it’s on ciabatta, so it’s bigger than the cold sandwich options.

In the end, the most filling option may be the soup and sandwich.  $8.50 will get you half a cold sandwich, plus a soup which can be pretty filling (it also comes with two little bread stick cracker things).  But I think the real winner may be to order the $5.50 whole grilled gruyere sandwich, with the $4 cup of soup.  $9.50 + tax, and the most food for your money.

Or you can just do what most people that eat at ‘wichcraft do.  Get a job that pays six figures so you don’t mind ordering two sandwiches, and spending $20 on lunch!

‘wichcraft, multiple locations in Midtown

• Bryant Park Kiosks (40th-42nd St. on the 6th Ave. Side)
• Rockefeller Center Concourse (on the West side of the concourse, near the bathrooms on the way to the Post Office)
• 555 5th Ave. (on 46th St. btw. 5th & Madison)
• 245 Park Ave. (near 47th St.)
• 34th & Broadway (*Coming Soon*)

Oh my lord.  This could be a keeper.  The Lunch Menu, after the jump…

I was already on my way to lunch somewhere else, so I didn’t try anything (yet), but here are some of the menu highlights:

• Triple Burger (1 lb. of meat) w/ Fries – $8.50
• Pastrami or Corned Beef Sandwich w/ Fries – $5.95
• Beef & Chicken Kebabs- Plain, w/ Fries, on Rice, or as a Hero
• Onion Rings
• “Specialty Dishes When Avaialble” (No Prices Listed): Chicken Tikka Masala, Paella, Chicken Strips, Falafel, Chicken Wings, Curry Chicken, Shrimp Stew & of course… STEAK

The three specials available yesterday- Shell Steak, Popcorn Chicken & a Bacon Cheeseburger.  The only disappointment:  www.steaktruck.com (printed on top of the truck) doesn’t work yet. 

It’s just overwhelming.

Anybody tried anything off this truck yet?  Feel free to post a comment below.  

And thanks to Nick G. for the Steak Truck tip. If you have a tip, news or recommendation, email it to zach@midtownlunch.com

What can I say?  Fat guys don’t eat healthy food.  If we did, we wouldn’t be fat anymore, and then we couldn’t make jokes about how fat we are for the amusement of people who read our websites.  Plus, you’re not going to trust a skinny guy to tell you where good food is.  I guess I wouldn’t mind eating healthy, if it tasted good- and they gave you more of it.  Healthy food is always less filling.  Maybe if they had healthy food, in an all you can eat buffet form, I’d be down with it.

What did you just say?  Buffet form would automatically make it unhealthy?  Oh.  Well, that sucks.

It’s just unhealthy food tastes so much better.  Well, Yushi is trying to change that.  It’s a new “Bento Bar” that opened up on 47th btw. Park & Lex, serving healthy bento boxes.  You know I love a good bento, so last week I headed over to check it out.

What they’ve got, healthy bento porn and the +/- after the jump…After looking at the menu, Yushi almost got disqualified from Midtown Lunch status based on price alone.  4 of their sushi bentos are over $10.95, and 2 of their 5 non sushi bentos were $9.95, putting them just on the cusp (over if you consider tax).  But, they had two soups, and 3 bentos under $8, and 3 bentos that were $9, so it could work.  And I can’t turn down the opportunity to try new Asian food, so here it is.

With prices like this I knew there was a good chance that Yushi was going to be one of those over-priced, over styled, Midtown’ish kind of places, where you don’t get nearly enough food, but pay through the nose for it.  And I wasn’t disappointed.  Clearly it is style over substance, and they want you to feel like you are paying for quality, rather than quantity… so if that’s not your thing, you will probably want to avoid Yushi.

Ignoring the prices, and the small’ish portions, everything did look delicious.  If you’re into sushi, the sushi and sashimi bentos were beautifully presented, and all come with greens or the Yushi noodle salad- but the best looking bentos were the no sushi boxes that featured perfectly seared tuna, salmon or beef tenderloin, all beautifully raw in the middle.  I ended up going with the Prime Tataki and Soba, a beef carpaccio like dish served with greens, edamame and the Yushi Noodle salad.

That’s where things started to go a little wrong.  I took a few bites, and it tasted like nothing.  There was absolutely no flavor.  The beef was cooked perfectly (seared a tiny bit on the outside, and totally raw on the inside), but it wasn’t really seasoned, and the soba noodle salad was abolutely flavorless.  It was then I realized they forgot to give me the shallot and pepper dressing.  Once I poured that over everything, the dish tasted a lot better.

In fact they had a lot of dressings which seemed to be where all of the dishes get their flavor.  They’ve got a great jalepeno one, a pickled ginger one, thai chili, coriander and a sesame ponzu dressing. Make sure you don’t get cheated out of yours.  At $9.95 I’m torn to say I loved my lunch.  But, it didn’t taste bad, and it’s easily the cheapest beef carpaccio you are going to get for lunch in Midtown.

My wife, who was shocked by how expensive everything was, could not bring herself to buy one of the overpriced & underfilled bentos.  She opted for the Homemade Dumpling Udon, which at $7 was one of the relative bargains of Yushi.  It ended up being very tasty, with a miso style broth packed with udon noodles and these big vegetable dumplings- the whole thing peppered with pumpkin seeds.  Sure, the noodles were a little on the mushy side, and the dumplings were overcooked, but the broth was tasty, and it was one of the few things on the menu where you felt as if you were getting your money’s worth.

Despite everything tasting good, we were pretty down on the place overall, because in the end my wife and I are more about value than style.  If someone is doing something unique, like Oms/b, I don’t mind paying for it, but for bento boxes- there are too many great places in Midtown, that are way cheaper and you get more food.  In fairness to Yushi though, the ingredients are top notch, the presentation is beautiful and they clearly are trying to make quick and healthy food that is beautiful.  I didn’t notice it while we were there, but all the bentos have the calories listed, and they are healthy, and less fattening than anything I normally eat for lunch.

Yushi is a classic example of a place that some people are going to love and some people are going to hate- and it has nothing to do with the food.  It is the perfect place for a +/- because your enjoyment of Yushi will depend entirely on what you are looking for in a Midtown Lunch.  If you are looking for healthy, but made with quality ingredients in a stylish way, you will love Yushi.  It also helps if money is not an issue.  If you are looking for a cheap, authentic Japanese lunch where you are getting the most for your money, then Yushi is not the place for you.  You are better off sticking to one of the places on 41st St.

For me, I will probably not be back to Yushi.  Unless I win the lottery, and simultaneously decide I don’t want to be fat anymore.

THE + (What somebody who likes this place will say about it)

• Beautiful, hand crafted Japanese style food
• The quality of the meat and fish is so much higher than that of any take out Japanese place in Midtown
• I love raw beef, and this is the only place to get it for under $10, and take out from  a place that I would trust eating raw beef from
• All the seared bentos are perfeclty cooked
• I want to lose weight, and everything has very little calories
• I like my sushi rolls served in sleek plastic tubes that look like they are going to be shot through one of those drive through bank teller machines
• I am all about portion control, and don’t need to eat like a fat pig at lunchtime

THE – (What somebody who doesn’t like this place will say about it)

• Too expensive, and not enough food
• There are much better places to get Japanese Noodle soups
• There are much better places to get Japanese Bento Boxes
• I prefer authentic Japanese bento boxes.  These are hip, overpriced Midtown bento boxes
• I don’t care about portion control, and want to eat like a fat pig at lunchtime.

Yushi, 245 Park Ave. (But it’s actually on 47th St. closer to Lexington), 212-687-1900

To see full size photos, check out the Midtown Lunch Flickr Photo Page.

Well, despite people’s willingness to wait hours in line every June in Madison Sq. Park, there are *some* decent BBQ places in NYC.  Which one is the “best” is always up for debate- you know, when people aren’t arguing about where to get the “best” burger in town.  (Actually the irony of the BBQ fest being in Madison Sq. Park was not lost on me.  It is also home to the longest burger line in New York City.)

Lucky for us in Midtown there is no real dispute as to where the best BBQ is.  Seeing that Dinosaur, R.U.B., and Blue Smoke are all outside of Midtown- it leaves only one true choice for the best BBQ (for the purposes of this blog of course).  Daisy May’s BBQ.  (Beware those of you who feel the need to speak up for Virgil’s on 44th… unless you want to be accused of being a tourist who knows nothing of good BBQ). 

The actual Daisy May’s restaurant is on 11th Ave. & 46th St., but they have graced Midtown with the presence of THREE carts serving BBQ sandwiches and chili during lunchtime.  I thought everyone knew about Daisy May’s…  but once again, I brought my sandwich back to my desk, and the guy next to me asked where I got it.  I had to answer “The BBQ cart.  You know… the one that is right outside the entrance of our building”.  Of course, this is the same guy who asked if my sandwich from Cosi was a falafel…  (If you work next to someone like this- and I know you do, please forward them a link to this blog.  They need our help the most…)

Pictures, where you can find the three different carts,  and the +/- after the jump…

First off, if you’ve been to the actual Daisy May’s, you must lower your expectations.  Because it’s a cart, there is a limited menu.  Aside from there being very few side dishes, there are sadly no ribs.  Your choices are the Carolina Pulled Pork Sandwich ($8), Texas Chopped Beef Brisket ($8), BBQ Chicken Sandwich ($7), or the Big Bowl o’ Red Texas Style Chili ($6).  The Pulled Pork sandwich comes with a side of coleslaw (that clearly should be put into the sandwich if you know anything about anything), but the other two sandwiches don’t come with any side dishes.  Cajun dirty rice and beans are available for an extra $1.  There’s also sweet tea for $3.

If you don’t like your BBQ saucy, then you probably won’t be into the sandwiches at Daisy May’s.  The meat is already mixed with the sauce.  It’s sweet, and there’s a lot of it.  So if you don’t like your BBQ sweet, or saucy, this probably isn’t your place.  If you don’t mind that, then you just found a new best friend.  They also insure that you’ve got the best sandwich possible when you get back to your office by putting the meat in it’s own plastic container (separate from the bread).  I guess it helps people who are cutting down on carbs as well (???), but I won’t acknowledge that +, because those people are crazy, and don’t deserve to be eating BBQ anyway.

I’ve had the Pulled Pork and the Brisket sandwich and both are delicious (and messy) as long as you don’t mind your BBQ sweet and saucy.  While I haven’t had it, I’ve read that there is “no better chili to be had” in Manhattan then the one at Daisy May’s. So if you’ve got the craving for BBQ, and you work in Midtown- Daisy May’s is clearly for you… (although now that I think about it, it’s not as good as that Whole Hog Sandwich I had at the Big Apple BBQ Fest last June- you should really check it out next year.  It’s definitely worth waiting in those lines…)

THE + (What people who like this place will say)

• If you want real BBQ, there’s no other choice in Midtown (especially if you want a quick lunch)
• Quick and easy to take back to your office.  Everything comes separate, so you can assemble the sandwich when you’re ready to eat it (keeping the bread intact!)

THE – (What people who don’t like this place will say)

• It’s a little expensive.  (But when you consider what $8 buys you at most midtown lunch places- it’s not too bad)
• There’s no ribs!
• There’s no side dishes!
• Only the pulled pork comes with cole slaw
• Too sweet.  Too much sauce.
• It doesn’t hold a candle to (insert name here), this place I ate at in (insert Memphis, Texas, Arkansas or any other red state, here) 

Daisy May’s BBQ Cart, 3 Locations

1. 50th St. btw. 6+7th
2. 55th St. btw. 6+7th
3. 47th St. & Park Ave.