Midtown Lunch

I promised I wouldn’t cry post about all the price increases, because there were just too many, and it is starting to sound like a broken record at this point… but some things are much bigger than a Price Hike List (which I put up on the left hand Navbar on Wednesday).  For example- the $1 slice of pizza, which is hands down, the cheapest Midtown Lunch there is.  Well, I’m sad to report that Z Deli on 8th Ave. btw. 48+40th has upped the cost of their slice from .99 to $1.49 (a 50% increase!!!), leaving 99 Cent Fresh Pizza (one location on 43th btw. Lex+3rd, and one out of bounds location behind Port Authority)  and the Prince Deli (on 3rd Ave. btw. 43+44th) as the only two remaining purveyors of the $1 slice of pie in Midtown.

The Z Deli slice was barely worth $1, I can’t even fathom anybody paying $1.50- but more importantly, what will 99 Cent Fresh Pizza do if the cost of flour, and cheese continues to rise.  Shut down, or change their name?  Either would be incredibly upsetting…

Today, around lunchtime, Africa Action sponsored a Darfur Rally to force the US to act against the genocide happening in Darfur, when we take over the Presidency of the UN Security Council on June 1st.  In order to keep the sidewalk clear in front of the building that houses the soon to be President’s office (on 45th btw. Lex+3rd), the police forced the protest across the street, in front of Hop Won!  Seems like a bunch of BS to me.  The office building that houses people who should rightfully be inconvenienced by this noble cause can’t be bothered, but feel free to block me from getting to the best sauteed udon in the city!  What crap…

On Thursday from 11am to 3pm, Yorganic, a new frozen yogurt place in the same basement food court as Pampano Taqueria, and the new Sophie’s Cuban (which had their own free food day a month ago), will be giving out free servings of their frozen yogurt. 

As you know, we’ve been burned by offers of “free yogurt” before, so I confirmed with the owner- it’s a 5oz serving of yogurt with one topping.  (I don’t know if that’s alot, but i’m pretty sure it’s more than a thimble full.)  As you can see from the flier above, they’ll have another free yogurt day on May 27th from 11am to 3pm, exclusively for the tenants of the building- but it’s unclear exactly how they are going to differentiate from the average freeloaders (check building IDs perhaps?)  Might be worth a shot on the 27th if you work in the building next door- but if you don’t want to chance it, tomorrow is the day.

Thanks to Gracenotes NYC for the orginal heads up…

UPDATE: Plus I totally forgot to mention that our Downtown Lunch Correspondent Daniel Krieger took some sweet ass yogurt photos, and forwarded them along (did we mention he does weddings too?).  Check out the yogurt w/ topping porn, after the jump   Read more »

My love of the kati roll (or kathi roll, as I believe it may be officially spelled) is pretty well documented. The original Kati Roll on 46th btw. 6+7th is probably the most viewed Midtown Lunch post of all time, and I have always felt it embodied what this site was all about. Cheap (although prices have gone up recently), unique, and most importantly, delicious. When they moved to 39th btw. 5+6th, it opened up a void in the area which was quickly filled by the cart on 46th & 6th, who began selling chapati rolls, a similar creation with a few unique twists. Their “kati rolls” were on a slightly thinner chapati bread, and they offered both sweet and spicy toppings, give their offerings a broader range of flavors. (Everything at the original Kati Roll is just spicy.)

Indus Express took the kati roll and tweaked it again when they opened up on 48th btw. 5+6th, serving up a more burrito’ish, larger creation filled with sauteed veggies and a fried egg. For those working on the west side, there was no shortage of these Indian wraps. But what about the folks on the east side who don’t have time to make the walk? Well, Grill 44 has stepped in to fill the East side void. Originally a Mediterranean take out place, specializing in falafel and shawarma, Grill 44 (on 44th btw. Lex+3rd) has now added Indian food to their menu- and one of the options now available is- you guessed it- Kathi Rolls. Read more »

Lunch’er Shauna (who we have to thank for yesterday’s McD’s photo), also sent along this photo of the “Crepe Cafe” cart parked on 50th btw. 6+7th yesterday. Not to be confused with the Crepe Cart on 53rd btw. 5+6th, I know I’ve seen this cart somewhere- but it definitely wasn’t on 50th btw. 6+7th. Anybody eaten from it yet? The one on 53rd btw. 5+6th is ok, but nothing to write home about- and I’m sure no cart could be better than the crepe lady in the Cyber Cafe on 49th btw. 7+8th, but I’d still be curious. If you’ve tried it, feel free to post in the comments… and if you have news, recommendations or a photo to share, send it to zach@midtownlunch.com

Photo by Kayoko from Umamimart

The plywood has come down at Crisp, the- not as generic as I expected it to be– sandwich/salad place, on 3rd Ave. & 43rd, and they are open for business.  Far from being another Chop’t or Just Salads, the all vegetarian menu (which can be seen on their now live website) consists of salads (of course), pita pocket sandwiches, hummus bowls, and a nice selection of homemade teas.  It’s typical Midtown prices, with everything on the menu ranging from $6 to $10.75, but a few things on their website stand out enough for me to want to check it out:

• Their pita breads are baked from scratch every few hours on premises
• Their fresh made teas sound really good (with flavors like lychee, ginger/peach, & apple mango)
• Some of the ingredients they use in the sandwiches I could be down with… like mango curry, eggplant, goat cheese, and pomegranate dressing
• I won’t eat salads, but a hummus bowl with mango curry or roasted eggplant sounds pretty damn good
• Everything they serve is organic, when possible, and always delivered fresh daily.  Plus they change their oil every 24 hours, and they only use eco-friendly, recycled materials

Is there potential for anger and disappointment?  Of course, but I can’t help but get excited when new places open in Midtown, and this one looks alot more promising than we initially gave it credit for.  Full +/- coming soon… and for you early adopters who can’t wait to check it out, please post your thoughts in the comments.

Crisp, 684 3rd Ave. (btw. 43+44th), 212-661-0000

Official Website: http://www.eatatcrisp.com/

This sign popped up last month while Law & Order was filming inside Goodburger

A few weeks ago Serious Eats couldn’t help but post a clip from an episode of Law & Order: SVU where Robin Williams plays a deranged “locavore” (seriously) who used his “condition” as an alibi for why he couldn’t have committed a crime inside a fast food restaurant.  Even funnier was the fact that Zen Burger (on Lex btw. 45+46th) makes an appearance as “Happy Burger”, the generic fast food restaurant where the crime was committed.  Playing a crappy “ecoli” and “salmonella” filled fast food chain was quite the stretch for the all vegetarian Zen Burger, but the giveaway is the the orange and green stripes that line the walls.

Check out Zen Burger in its acting debut, after the jump… Read more »

In the comments today about Indus Express, the fairly new Indian “Deli” on 48th btw. 5+6th:

Zach – you missed the really ass-kicking deal at Indus Express. At the front of their store they have a sign for “All you can eat buffet.” Last night my friend and I inquired, and to our great joy, the buffet consists of ALL of their meat and veggie curries, PLUS naan, for $8.99 (it’s not a self serve buffet, but who freaking cares). The guy who seemed to run the place said that deal was available anytime, any day. Service was great, food was excellent, and the price really is phenomenal for what you’re getting. And I didn’t even make it to the chaat or the naan-rolls yet…

I managed to contain my excitement enough to call up Indus Express and confirm that they do have an $8.99 buffet special, but it is only M-F after 4pm, and all day on the weekends.  Eat in only (obviously) and you’re allowed to take as much as you want from the steam table (including pakoras and samosas).  I’m bummed that it’s not for lunch, but still a great deal if you need a big (but cheap) dinner after work, or you’re stuck in the office on the weekends.

Indus Express, 48 W. 48th St. (btw. 5+6th), 212-221-7952

Related Posts:

• Snapshots: For those about to chaat…
• First Look: City Market Cafe Becomes Indus Express Serves Giant Kati Rolls

At the end of March, there was a little bit of craziness when the owners of Abitino’s Pizza opened City Burger on 39th & Broadway, serving patties made with meat from Pat La Freida’s, the much praised butcher who supplies the Shake Shack with their beef. It also helped that the place popped up in a particularly burger starved part of the Midtown Lunch’ing landscape. Crowds were large, wait times were long, and the result, was a not so happy Midtown Lunch’ing public (although Lauren over at AHT called it a “decent burger for the neighborhood“). As with any new place, judging them on day 2 is a huge disservice (especially when they’re slammed), but after 5 weeks it doesn’t look like much has improved. This was posted yesterday in the comments:

I tried the newly openend City Burger on 1410 Broadway at 39th street. I ordered a cheesburger with the works – cooked medium and an order of Onion rings. Total cost was $10.95. Cheeseburger was overcooked and dry. Onion rings were cold and burnt. This place is awful for food. I will never go there again. Also – the wait for ordering is about 15 -20 minutes for an overcooked, burnt and cold food. I would not recommend this food establishment to anyone.

You may notice some other comments referring to City Burger as “the best burger”, but suspiciously they all came from the same computer, despite different names. (We don’t take kindly to shilling here…) How long do you give a place to get their act together before writing it off? I *really* wanted to have a place where I could get some buffalo wings with a hamburger!  If you had a good experience at City Burger, and your IP address doesn’t match “Mario’s” or “Ashley’s”, post about it in the comments below.