Midtown Lunch

As promised, the new Korean cart on 50th btw. 6+7th began serving bulgogi topped hot dogs and Korean short rib tacos this week. I stopped by yesterday, not only to check out the two new items but also to ask if they had been getting the same “treatment” that chased the Happy Well Being House Cart from the same spot a few weeks ago. The Korean guy who runs the cart said that they ran into a bit of trouble earlier but that “everything is ok now.”  I don’t know whether to feel happy for them, or sorry for the Happy Well Being House Cart for not sticking it out in the spot longer.

So for now, it looks like these guys are going to be around.  The question is, how is their new bulgogi dog and short rib tacos!?! (The answer, plus photos of the craziness, is after the jump.)

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I’m always hesitant to check out carts when they first open.  So few know exactly what they are going to do from day one, and their list of offerings ends up morphing multiple times before they settle on a set menu.  (Anybody remember those white bread bulgogi sandwiches?)  So when the Happy Well Being House Cart popped up on 50th btw. 6+7th a few weeks ago, I decided to stand back and wait.  Their unconventional fried fish or grilled chicken with rice or potatoes menu seemed destined to be a flash in the pan.  When they added bulgogi a few weeks later, things started to seem a little more promising.  Once I found out they were related to the Downtown bulgogi cart that has been operating for awhile, I felt these guys were probably here to say.

And now that I’ve tried the food… I *know* they are.

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To me there is nothing more exciting than the arrival of a brand new cart… especially when it’s as weird as this one! Meet the “Happy Well Being House” cart, which popped up on 50th street btw. 6+7th for the first time yesterday. Started by a Korean lady, and another girl (who I’m guessing is her daughter), the cart is serving up fried fish and grilled chicken, over rice or home fries for $6. They used to own an “American food” restaurant in Long Island. I don’t know what is “well being” about fried fish and hash browns but this cart is in the early lead for strangest cart of 2009.

I was already on my way to a different lunch destination, but thankfully they offered me a taste!

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Life is all about expectations. Go into a meal expecting greatness, and 9 times out of 10 you’ll probably leave disappointed.  Go into a meal expecting to die, and you’ve got a good chance of walking out feeling like a winner. In those special cases, leaving without feeling sick is a pleasant accomplishment in and of itself. And that is how I felt walking into Tad’s Steaks on Thursday. I was scared. Real scared.

I would call Tad’s a fast food steak place, but that doesn’t really do it justice. It is a Midtown institution- if by institution you mean place everyone knows about.  If a restaurant has to be eaten in to qualify, than maybe institution isn’t the proper term.  In fact, while most people have a very strong (negative) opinion about Tad’s, few people have actually eaten there. See, there are three kinds of people who lunch in Midtown:

1. Those who have braved a meal at Tad’s, and come away sick or disgusted (a few people I know.)
2. Those who have braved a meal at Tad’s, and thought it was good enough to return (uh, only one person I know, and he accompanied me on this trip.) 
3. And everyone else.  The haters who have never been, but will not hesitate to tell you how terrible Tad’s must be.

I’ve always been a card carrying member of that last group. I didn’t need to eat at Tad’s to know it was terrible. Whether it’s the already poured glasses of wine, stacked on the counter, covered in saran wrap; or the interior that hasn’t been changed (or probably cleaned) since 1974, Tad’s is not very welcoming.  Even the $7 steak lunch special, which should be selling point enough (for its cheapness), ends up doing the opposite. Why is this so cheap? How can they make a steak so cheap?  You know what?  Scratch that. I don’t want to know.

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Bento Guy on 50th btw. 6+7th (on a better day) Photo provided by Lunch’er Shauna

In the ML Inbox: “Just to let you know, I saw the 50th st bento guy sitting in back of a police suv and the cops were wheeling around his cart. I wanted to take a snap for your blog, but i didn’t want to risk gettting tazed.” Please tell me somebody got a photo of this.  Email it to zach@midtownlunch.com  Also, somebody may want to go warn the Ecuadorian lady on 46th St.

I try my best not to be too negative on this site, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be able to vent. Every once in awhile I’ll share some of the more angry useful emails I get in a post called “Airing of Grievances”. (If the Eater Complaints Dept. would like royalties, I’ll be happy to pay up…) As a former Los Angelino I can relate to this one (although I don’t know if authentic is the word I’d use for Baja Fresh and Wahoo’s.)

Tried the new Qdoba today. More like Qdon’tbother. Blech! More Mexican food for people who’ve never been west of New Jersey. It’s like a Subway with tortillas and beans instead of lettuce and bread with big knives baked into it. I went for the “hot “ salsa and couldn’t even taste it. Also opted for the “3 Cheese Queso” burrito. I thought it would be three actual cheeses like a real Mexican place might provide… It was pump cheese. Pump cheese! Pump cheese belongs on your 2am, 7-11 nachos not on a friggin burrito!

Upside? The massive, albeit bland, burrito was only 5 bucks and it came with a sweet “I heart Qdoba” t-shirt and a fancy customer loyalty card. I don’t heart Qdoba but I do heart a big-ass, $5 dollar lunch on 50th St. (btw. 6+7th)

But wait, there’s more (not alot, but some things need to go after the jump to protect the children)  Read more »

You know what I say… the only good Chipotle is free Chipotle, and two more Chipotles opening soon in Midtown should mean two opportunities for free burritos.  The first one is on 45th Street btw. 5+6th and is tentatively scheduled to open on Monday July 14th.  Usually free burrito day is the day before the grand opening, but that would be a Sunday and very disappointing.  I’ll confirm as we get closer to the date… but let’s hope July 14th will bring gratis burritos.  Maybe that will make up for their grossly misleading calorie postings.  Signs for the second location have gone up on 50th and Park, but no date has been set for an opening.

In other chain burrito news, if you work on the west side and were jealous of the east side Qdoba alternative- the west side will soon be getting its very own Qdoba on 50th btw. 6+7th.  Huzzah! 

Have you seen a new place set to open up in Midtown?  Email the news, with or without a photo to zach@midtownlunch.com

With all the talk over Patsy’s (Patty’s?) Taco Truck making a two day appearance in Midtown, it’s not surprising that the two mainstay Midtown taco trucks have been mentioned a bit in the past week. There is the sombrero topped taco truck on 50th btw. 6+7th, and the previously sombrero-less Tacos/Burritos cart on 54th and Madison. I say “previously” because it appears as if this cart has come down with a case of sombrero envy… Read more »