Midtown Lunch

Oh what a difference an avenue makes!  When Boi to Go, the fast food Vietnamese offshoot of the restaurant Boi, opened in May of last year, it caused me to walk one avenue farther than I think any Midtown Lunch’er should have to walk (it’s on 2nd Ave btw. 42+43rd.) But for the only banh mi (Vietnamese sandwich) in Midtown, a man will do crazy things.  That is also why I didn’t complain too much about the price tag ($7.50).  Compared to Chinatown or Sunset Park, what Boi to Go serves is a not entirely authentic (what’s with the avocado?), overpriced sandwich. However, you put it next to most Midtown deli sandwiches, it is competitively priced- and freakin’ delicious.  And now, it’s going to be one avenue closer- in proper Midtown Lunch’ing range.

In about month, Boi to Go will open a second offshoot on 3rd Ave. btw. 44+45th called “Boi Sandwich”.  I haven’t heard exactly what the menu will be, or if it will effect what is going on at the original Boi to Go, but if they serve the same sandwiches I’ll be pretty damn excited.  (Even though I could probably use the extra walking…)

Related: Boi to Go (aka How I Learned to Love the $7.50 Banh Mi)

Silo Cafe has opened in the food court that houses Pampano Taqueria and Sohpie’s Cuban (on 3rd Ave. btw. 49+50th.)  On first glance it’s just another generic Midtown Deli, but I got this message from a lunch’er the other day:

I know cheap (or even better free) stuff seems to get good mileage on your site, so I thought you’d be interested in hearing that Silo Cafe finally opened in the Pompano food court (50th and Lex). It is probably not much better than your basic (upscaleish) deli at $7.50/lb, except for the udon, bibimbap and sushi bar in the back. My veggie bibimbap was pretty big and also came with miso soup for just $6.50. Chicken and beef are only a dollar more. I’m relatively new to the midtown scene, but to my untrained tastebuds it was also pretty good and they whipped it up for me in about 3 minutes. To top it off, the cashier handed me a coupon for a free breakfast item when I left. You can beat that can you?

Well, you know I’m a sucker for free stuff (and bibimbap), so I headed over the other day to check it out… 

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Every few months I gravitate back to the Bulgogi Cart on 49th btw. 6+7th hoping that it will graduate from decent to excellent. Over the year and a half it’s been operating, I think we can all agree on certain conclusions.  1) Their kalbi is much better than their bulgogi.  2) Keeping your expectations low is a good thing.  Not amazing Korean food, but decent considering it’s from a cart.  3) They don’t give you nearly enough kimchee! 

I haven’t been in a few months, but a lunch’er emailed this report yesterday:

I don’t know if you have already been informed, but I walked over to the Bulgogi cart (49th and 6th) to get lunch today and noticed that the prices have increased! Most of the standard fare which was previously $6 has been increased to $7. So now a number 1 with double meat is $9! That is a bit steep for cart food in my opinion, but you gotta respect the effects of the economy.

But wait, there’s more…   Read more »

It’s been awhile since I’ve been to Fashion Soup, a really good take out place on 41st btw. 6th & Broadway featuring tasty soups homemade by its Eastern European owner (who also works in the store during the day.) Seeing as it’s Fashion Week, I thought I’d drop by and see what was going on. In addition to being curious about changes, I was also secretly interested in seeing if business changed considering the influx of fashionable peoples under tents, half an avenue away in Bryant Park.

What I found was a big surprise…  Read more »

I hate generic Midtown delis. Anybody who reads this site with any regularity knows this. In fact, that stupid deli at the bottom of your building, with its make your own salad bar, prepackaged sushi, and terrible sandwich counter is the reason I started this blog in the first place. Those choices exist solely because your co-workers are lazy losers; unwilling to walk an extra block or two to eat a worthwhile lunch.

Of course every once in awhile a Midtown deli innovation occurs, pushing the boundaries of gastronomic advancement; begging to be noticed, unwilling to following the standard formula. By the lb. buffets were one of the early innovations. The good ones are tough to resist (despite being a curse to us fatties.) Korean deli owners selling Korean food is a more recent example. The stations set up at Cafe Duke and Ambrosia elevate those delis to worthwhile status. Now, we have reached a new plateau… brought to my attention in this email:

Anyone tipped you off to this yet at the Old Bridge Deli? For about $6.50, you can get a fresh baked (i.e. made, then baked on the spot while you wait)… what is essentially an elongated calzone with a thinner crust with custom ingredients of your choosing (they call it a rolly wrap).

The fresh baked part is killer. So is the fresh chopping the guy does if you order chicken, or any cheese other than mozz. I’m a sucker for a little fresh cutting and baking on my lunch order, especially when it’s a FULL lunch and costs $6-7. Just wait in line, pile on pretty much as many ingredients as you like, and wait while it bakes. He’ll even give you a sour cream or hot sauce on the side if you ask nicely.

I usually roll with a choice of cheddar and/or mozz (sometimes rotate in the jalapeno jack too) the breaded chicken (grilled if I’m going “healthy”), some pepperoni or bacon, rotate the vegetable (onion, mushroom, broccoli, red peppers), then top it off with salsa and either sour cream or guac. Delicious.

Fresh baked? As many ingredients as you like? In a generic Midtown deli? Wait- ignore that last part and this kind of sounds amazing…  Read more »

The blog Hungry Travels points out the horribly amazing logo of the Oriental Noodle Shop on 45th btw. Lex+3rd.

I’m waiting for the P.C. police to come storming in and shut the place down. That’d be a shame, because if you ignore the mildly offensive logo and name, you can get tasty noodle dishes and noodle soups here at reasonable prices, especially for midtown (lunch will run about $7-$10). I especially like the thick, almost chewy texture of their pan fried noodles.

After last weeks (still going in the comments) debate about the Trini Paki Boys Cart (on 43rd & 6th) I shudder to think of what people are going to say about this.

For years the chicken and rice cart on 43rd just East of 6th Avenue has towed the line of relative annoynymity and street meat fame. Often referred to as the “Trini Pak Boys” the cart has always served up a popular Indian/Pakistani tasting version of chicken over rice, but their sign has always been pretty crap-tastic. Hand scrawled, with no real indication of what they wanted to be called, the original sign has finally been replaced. The cart is now officially known as the Trini Paki Boys Halal Food, and the full menu is layed out in an easy to read format.

In our Street Meat Palooza post, the cart scored surprisingly low- but we were criticized for getting the yellow rice instead of the white basmati rice. I’ll make sure they get their fair shake in Street Meat Palooza 2!

Well that answers that question.  Pick A Pita, a tiny but righteous falafel and shawarma spot on 38th btw. 7+8th, will be opening a second outpost in the now closed House of Pita space on 8th Ave. btw. 39+40th.  The tiny closet they currently operate will remain open, meaning you will now have two Pick-a-Pita options right around the corner from each other.  HOP fans could do a lot worse; I have a special place in my heart for Pick-a-Pita since it was where I discovered the beauty of french fries in a shawarma sandwich.  They say the new location will be open on October 1st.

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.