Midtown Lunch

A new cart popped up this morning on 52nd & 6th, and Lunch’er Yasmin sent in this report: “I was getting my daily fruit smoothie this morning when I noticed a new cart had been set up directly next to the smoothie truck on NW corner of 52nd and 6th. This DEFINITELY wont appeal to you, but might appeal to your vegetarian readers, or those on diets. Here are some crappy phone pictures…”

I was in the area when Yasmin emailed the photos, so I decided to swing by this new cart and found a “scene” that at this point should surprise nobody.

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Photo by 52 Projects

It’s been awhile since I’ve eaten at Yips, and I have to say I’m a little concerned about the fast food Chinese mainstay on 52nd btw. 5+6th. The last time I walked by I noticed they had condensed their operation from 2 steam tables and 3 lines, to 1 steam table and 1 line. It can’t help that better options, like Hing Won on 48th btw. 5+6th) are so close by. But Jeff from 52 Projects stopped by last week and vouches for his favorite fast food Chinese place. “Their excellent BBQ Chicken on top of Lo Mein [is] cheap, fast, plentiful-times-two, and absolutely delicious.” Well, there you have it. No need to worry…

It takes alot for me to eat at a Midtown Deli.  There are so many of them, and they offer so little.  They breed laziness in every Midtown worker- and if they weren’t right outside your office, you would never eat there.  Just admit it.  But, every once in awhile, one of these delis offers something extraordinary… something that sets it apart.  Variety Cafe, with their fat guy salad bar (I stopped eating there after it was closed by the health dept.), Cafe Duke and their Korean food station, or the one location of Europa Cafe with a make your own burrito bar.

Well, last week, I hit the motherload.  Not only did I find a deli with something beyond the norm- they may have invented a new and unbelievably delicious food!  The burrito, stuffed with fried plantains.  That’s right.  And the place to get it is the Bread Market Cafe (on 52nd btw. 5+6th).  A generic make your own burrito bar, distinguished by one add-on ingredient.  The sweet, fried plantain.  It makes sense if you think about it… at Margon, you eat a meat, rice, beans, and fried plantains.  Why not wrap the whole thing up in burrito form???  It’s genius.

See the pics, and the +/- after the jump….

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If you think eating lunch in Midtown is bad, imagine moving here from the greatest food city in the U.S.A. Whether it’s a Mufuletta from the Central Grocery, Fried Chicken from Dunbars (sadly they haven’t re-opened yet), or a dozen raw oysters and a pound of boiled crawfish (from anywhere!)- imagine how much sadder you’d be if you used to eat lunch every day in New Orleans. In honor of the Saints’ triumphant return to the Superdome last night, we present to you this week’s profile… Midtown Lunch’er: Nick

Name: Nick

Age: The same age as my twin sister

Occupation: Radio Imaging Producer

Where in Midtown do you Work?: Sirius Satellite Radio on 49th & 6th

Favorite Kind of Food: I was born and raised in New Orleans, so- boiled crawfish, red beans & rice, PoBoys (fried oyster, roast beef, fried shrimp, etc…). You know… New Orleans food!
Least Favorite Kind of Food: Not a fan of Indian food. Some of the dishes smell like stinky armpits so I’m immediately reminded of uncomfortable situations while riding the subway into work.

Favorite Place to Eat Lunch in Midtown: I usually end up at Lenny’s a couple of times a week. Fresh ingredients, made to order pretty fast, and a wide selection. Plus I have a crush on one of the cashiers.

The “go-to” lunch place you and your co-workers eat at too often: See above. I often run into my boss and others at Lenny’s without notice. We all have to run back to work to produce the “Best Radio on Radio” so it seems to be the place to get to easily and get a fresh sandwich that I can eat at my desk or in the studio.

Place you discovered on MidtownLunch.com: The Daisy May’s BBQ Cart (yummy!), the Burger Joint @ Le Parker Meridien (delicious!), and I’m sure as soon as it opens- The Hawaiian Tropic Zone on 49th & 7th. I’m sure it will be a ridiculously over-priced tourist trap, but hey- you’re paying for the scenery.

If you could work anywhere (just because of the lunch) where would it be and why? Um… I think it’s pretty obvious. The radio station I used to work at in New Orleans was blocks away from anything I could ever want- including real Red Beans & Rice. Notice the placement of the red beans, before the rice… the beans are the star people! Don’t understand why restaurants outside of N.O. can’t get that right.

Anything else you’d like to add? Make levees not war! And I’d love to know where to get authentic New Orleans lunch in Midtown, or New Orleans food anytime, anywhere in NYC- that isn’t an overpriced novelty restaurant.

Our half-hearted recommendation to Nick, a New Orleans Food P.S.A., and how to become the next Profiled Midtown Lunch’er- after the jump…

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Fresh off my disappointment of no Hallo Berlin Cart on Wednesday, I was forced to find lunch in an area I haven’t eaten in before.  Walking back to work, I went down 52nd Street between 5th and 6th where I found a bunch of lunch options. But because of my “condition”, one stood out as the clear choice.  Yips.

I am addicted to cheap chinese food… and Yips is the kind of place I have trouble walking by.  The food is right there, in all it’s steam plate glory… calling to you… “Please point to me”.  With all the choices right there, waiting to be picked in any number of combinations, it’s hard for me not to eat at these kinds of cheap chinese food places… so right off the bat, I can say- if you are not into this kind of eating, Yips is not going to be the place to change your mind.

Most places like this suffer from the same problems.  Is the food authentic?  Usually not.  Is it as fresh as it could be?  Usually not?  Is it restaurant quality?  Usually not… and Yips is no different.  But it’s got a lot of choices, and many of them you don’t normally see at places like this.  Garlic (Salt & Pepper) Shrimp, Honey Roast Pork, Curry Fish Balls, Spicy Thai Chicken, Some sort of fried cutlet, and numerous soups joined the usual suspects.  And they had a Tue&Thurs. specials board, so it appears as if they change some of their items around every few days.

When you walk in, there are three or four different places you can get in line to pick your food.  On first glimpse, they look mostly the same, but some of them have different things.  Usually I like to ignore the menu, and just order with my eyes… but here that’s a little tough because there are a few different places to order.  My suggestion would be to look up at the bulletin boards hanging behind each station, and choose which line to get in based on that.  There are a ton of choices, and the board (while it doesn’t seem complete) will help you to at least narrow it down.

What I ordered, and the +/- after the jump… Read more »

Fresh off my disappointment of no Hallo Berlin Cart on Wednesday, I was forced to find lunch in an area I haven’t eaten in before.  Walking back to work, I went down 52nd Street between 5th and 6th where I found a bunch of lunch options. But because of my “condition”, one stood out as the clear choice.  Yips.

I am addicted to cheap chinese food… and Yips is the kind of place I have trouble walking by.  The food is right there, in all it’s steam plate glory… calling to you… “Please point to me”.  With all the choices right there, waiting to be picked in any number of combinations, it’s hard for me not to eat at these kinds of cheap chinese food places… so right off the bat, I can say- if you are not into this kind of eating, Yips is not going to be the place to change your mind.

Most places like this suffer from the same problems.  Is the food authentic?  Usually not.  Is it as fresh as it could be?  Usually not?  Is it restaurant quality?  Usually not… and Yips is no different.  But it’s got a lot of choices, and many of them you don’t normally see at places like this.  Garlic (Salt & Pepper) Shrimp, Honey Roast Pork, Curry Fish Balls, Spicy Thai Chicken, Some sort of fried cutlet, and numerous soups joined the usual suspects.  And they had a Tue&Thurs. specials board, so it appears as if they change some of their items around every few days.

When you walk in, there are three or four different places you can get in line to pick your food.  On first glimpse, they look mostly the same, but some of them have different things.  Usually I like to ignore the menu, and just order with my eyes… but here that’s a little tough because there are a few different places to order.  My suggestion would be to look up at the bulletin boards hanging behind each station, and choose which line to get in based on that.  There are a ton of choices, and the board (while it doesn’t seem complete) will help you to at least narrow it down.

What I ordered, and the +/- after the jump… Read more »