Midtown Lunch

Always up for challenging my stomach, I decided to hit up Milant yesterday (on 39th btw. Lex+3rd) despite the fact that they’ve been closed for most of the past month or two. Since they were shuttered by the DOH, there has been concern about the freshness and cleanliness of what was once considered Midtown’s finest sandwich place.  All the food in the display case looked fine, although there is a creepy-ness that will probably only go away after multiple visits without incident (i.e. sickness). I went with my standby #13.  Chicken cutlet, fresh mozarella, sundried tomatoes, and pesto. 

Check it out, plus more- after the jump…  Read more »

Thanks to Danny from Food in Mouth for passing along this info and photo.  The Red Mango on 32nd btw. B’way+5th (in Koreatown) is celebrating their grand opening by giving away free yogurt until 10 p.m. tonight.  Free small with one topping (I recommend cap’n crunch.)  I would say the line may die down after lunch, but 32nd St. is ground zero for New York’s yogurt craze (New York’s first Pinkberry is half a block away) so it’s probably going to look like this for the rest of the day.

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.   Read more »

Ferris Bueller Likes Me 

OMG!  Did you know that when celebrities listen to you, it validates your opinion? I wonder if Sarah Jessica Parker & Matthew Broderick read Midtown Lunch? (They don’t, but they should.)  Two weeks ago the NY Observer spotted the couple outside of what they thought might have been Szechuan Gourmet, a popular Midtown Lunch spot given two stars by Frank Bruni in the New York Times.  Yesterday it was confirmed by US Weekly (yes, I read my wife’s copy of US Weekly):

During dinner with friends at Szechuan Gourmet, a low-key Chinese restaurant, the Sex and the City star [Parker] and her hubby [Broderick] noshed on braised beef, fish fillets, sliced pork belly and crispy fried lamb. “They were very nice,” owner Cheng Zhong Huang tells US. “It was their first time here, and they were having a good time.”

What are you talking about low key?  Clearly US Weekly has never been there at 1pm on a Wednesday.  Surprisingly this isn’t the first time Sarah Jessica Parker and Midtown Lunch have collided.  She told Grub St. last year that she loves street meat, and her favorite cart is on 55th & 6th Avenue. (Btw, nice ordering.)

I walked by Curry Dream Indian Buffet on 39th btw. 5+6th the other day, and noticed something interesting:  it was kind of packed.  I guess this wouldn’t be such a huge surprise, unless you knew a little bit about Curry Dream. I first wrote about this place in March of 2007, back when it was still one of the only under $10 Indian buffets in Midtown (they’ve since raised their prices.)  It was ok for the price, but nothing I would have traveled far out of my way for.  One commenter wrote that the restaurant might be a little dirty (roaches were mentioned, but this is all heresay).  Despite the comments, the restaurant still quoted Midtown Lunch (sort of) in their newspaper ad.  Very exciting stuff.

Needless to say, I haven’t been back since- and most of the time the place seemed fairly empty… that is until last week.  I walked by during lunch and it was pretty hopping, despite the fact that they raised the price of the buffet at the beginning of the year.  This could mean a few things: A) I’m on crack.  The place was always crowded, I just didn’t notice.  B) It has gotten a lot better since I first visited a year and a half ago.  Or C) people love paying more for things.  Could it be that a higher price buffet gives people a greater sense of security that their food is clean?  What do you think?  Has anybody been lately?

On Friday I had lunch plans with my brother, who is hands down the soup aficionado of our family.  I don’t mind soup; he can’t get enough of the stuff.  To decide where we would go for lunch, I sent him a link to Lunch’er Grace’s Ultimate Midtown Soup List, and after careful perusal, he chose Sapporo– so we could try their tantan-men, a Japanese sesame paste broth with pork and scallions.

I hadn’t been to Sapporo (on 49th btw. 6+7th) in awhile so I was happy to oblige. Out of the three Midtown Lunch’ish, sit down ramen places in Midtown (Sapporo, Menchanko Tei and Men Kui Tei) I’d probably rate Sapporo my least favorite, but after this visit, I am starting to really enjoy the charm to the place.  It has a casualness and vibrancy that is missing from the stodgier other two.  And while their ingredients (especially the pork) aren’t as high quality, they do make a mean bowl of soup.

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I am a big fan of the 2:15 lunch special at Sun Yip (formerly Ho Yip).  I can’t usually wait that long for lunch, but on the days I can- it’s a nice treat.  Basically after 2:15 they discount their steam table to $4.29/lb. (it used to be $3.75, but what are you gonna do).  This is a pretty big deal, considering that most by the pound buffets are at least $6 a pound, and most of the good ones are even more.  Usually I go right at 2:15, when the buffet is still full (they usually do one major refill just after 2pm) but the other day, I happened to be walking by at 3pm and saw a pretty pathetic sight. 

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Inspired by Profiled Lunch’er “Lou” and his love of morir sonando (the Dominican orange creamsicle drink) I headed over to Margon (on 46th btw. 6+7th) yesterday to sample their menu of tropical shakes.  I’m not a huge fan of orange, so I perused their list for inspiration which included passion fruit, banana, papaya, tamarind, wheat (whatever the hell that is), and guanabana, which was recommended by Profiled Midtown Lunch’er “Matt”.  But the one that stuck out for me was “mamey” a melon described on the menu as tasting like “pumpkin, chocolate, and almond, or a mixture of sweet potato, avocado, and honey.” How could I not?

Thick and creamy, it tasted exactly as described.  They make them to order in a blender next to the sandwich counter in the front, so I’m guessing it may take awhile during lunchtime crush.  If you don’t want to deal with the madness, do what I did: make it your late afternoon snack.  At $3.75 it’s not cheap, but it’s pretty refreshing, borderlines as a dessert, and is certainly preferable to the new (crap) smoothies at Starbucks.

For those who were hoping Bagelfeller (on 48th btw. 5+6th) would morph into a decent Midtown Lunch, I’ve got some bad news.  They changed the name (it’s called Sam’s House Cafe now), and they’ve added a weird greenish counter, but the food seems to be mostly the same.  The salad bar, the weird tex-mex food, the sushi… it’s all there.  So much for hopes…