Midtown Lunch

Surprisingly the new location of Pick-A-Pita (on 8th Ave. btw. 39+40th) did in fact open on Tuesday- before shutting down on Wednesday night, and all of Thursday to observe Yom Kippur. They’ll be back open for business today… and just in time too.  On Wednesday amNY named them one of the falafel places in New York City worth waiting in line for. As for the original Pick A Pita location, which is now closed, they owners still have the lease for another 6 months and haven’t decided what to do with the space yet. We shall see… but if you work in the area, and never knew about the semi-hidden Pick a Pita location on 38th, you should check out this new location. Especially if you like french fries stuffed in your shawarma sandwich.

Dean & Deluca seems to be opening more of more of these new lunchtime take out spots. At the end of last year they opened the branch on 48th btw. 5+6th (right around the corner from another Dean & Deluca location) and now another has opened on 55th 56th btw. 6+7th. But this one is kind of different… they’re serving burgers! Kind of exciting, and they looked pretty good being grilled behind the counter. Unfortunately, they are all over $10 so I think I’ll just stick with the Burger Joint or Five Guys. But there is a menu of under $10 sandwiches and hot panini that look kind of appealing- and completely different than anything they have the other Midtown locations.

For those D&D fans who work in the southern part of Midtown, there is a big Dean & Deluca that will be opening on the ground floor of the New York Times Building (on 8th Ave. and 41st Street) but no word on when that will be happening.

Eater is reporting that another Pret is opening on 3rd Ave. btw. 44+45th, right next to where the new Boi Sandwich is going to be opening.  This should mean another one of those free sandwich giveaways. If you work near there, keep us up to date on the progress! (They usually hand out fliers the day before the grand opening…)

Photo by nycblondieandbrownie

As you knew from our post on Tuesday, Wednesday was a big day on 45th btw. 6+7th. The newly launched Rickshaw Dumpling Truck and the Treats Truck were parked next to each other in what Eater dubbed “Food Truck Row.”  There was even a halal cart and ice cream truck thrown in for good measure.  But don’t get too excited for a repeat.  While The Treats Truck is planning on being back in the spot today from 12:30 to 2:30 (they alternate with the Waffles and Dinges Truck), the Rickshaw Dumpling Truck is parking Downtown (on Pearl St. right next to the plaza for all of our Downtown Lunch readers.)

No word on whether they will try parking together again next Wednesday, but it isn’t completely smooth sailing.  The same ice cream truck guy that hassled Kim in the Treats Truck when she first started parking on the block, is now hassling Kenny in the Dumpling Truck.  Hopefully with the weather getting cold, the ice cream trucks will be leaving soon anyway…

Added to Midtown Lunch Flickr Pool by nycblondieandbrownie 

Fans of mediocre cupcakes, your day of joy has finally arrived.  Magnolia Bakery is set to open their 3rd location in Midtown next week on 49th and 6th, in the space formerly occupied by Citarella. Brownie from Blondie and Brownie crashed their opening party last night, and sent along a ton of photos.  Just what we need… more lines of gawking tourists clogging up the sidewalks during lunch. Thanks, but no thanks.

More cupcake news after the jump…   Read more »

It’s been over a week since Ying Du on 38th btw. 7+8th was shuttered by the DOH, and no “live animal present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas” or “evidence of rats” is going to keep me away from my favorite take out Chinese place in the Garment District. Ok, so maybe I would have felt different if I had looked at the restaurant inspection before I went… but it doesn’t matter! Clearly they’ve fixed the problems if they’re back open, right? And my $5.50 order of head on salt and pepper shrimp and roast pork over sauteed noodles was most excellent.

The original Pick-a-Pita (on 38th btw. 7+8th), home of the french fry stuffed schwarma/falafel sandwich, has closed for the holidays (Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur) and will not re-open.  Instead the business will shift to their new location on 8th Ave. btw. 39+40th (the former home of House of Pita.)  Originally they said they were going to keep both locations open, but that didn’t make any sense. The sign says they will be opening on October 7th, but the guy inside said it would open after the holidays. Considering that Yom Kippur starts at sundown on October 8th, it would make more sense if they opened on the 10th. I guess we’ll see.

The holidays may also explain why some of your favorite Kosher lunch spots were closed at the beginning of the week.  Most are back open, but expect Kosher Deluxe, Olympic Pita, Moshe’s Falafel and others to be closed on October 9th (and maybe even the 8th) for Yom Kippur.

*********THE PRINCE DELI IS NOW CLOSED*********

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.  Read more »

Danny from Food in Mouth sends along this info about the new ‘wichcraft location in Greeley Square: “32nd St. wichcraft is open now. They got employees in there and everything seems set up. They got a “cash only” sign up front.” Sure the sandwiches are small, and expensive- but if you order correctly, there is a way for to get out of wichcraft satisfied for under $10.

Related: Fat Man’s Gude to Eating At ‘wichcraft for Under $10

Back in June we mentioned how long the line for the Treats Truck had become on Wednesdays– the one day a week it’s parked on 45th btw. 6+7th. The owner Kim herself has told me it’s her most popular spot, which may lead one to wonder- “Why don’t you park there more often?”  The people want it.  It would be good for business.  What’s stopping her?  Two words.  Mister.  Softee.  Last spring, when the weather started to warm up, and the Mister Softee truck returned to its regular spot on 45th & 6th, a “conversation” ensued.  Kim was told she couldn’t park on that block, but a “deal” was struck between the two vendors allowing the Treats Truck to park on 45th and 6th one day a week.

And that’s the way things were… until the Wafels and Dinges Truck arrived.   Read more »