Midtown Lunch

Taste of Summer has returned for the next couple of days, giving us another chance to sample some of the best Rock Center has to offer. Last year, Chris stopped by and got an early taste of Bill’s Bar & Burgers. This year, you can get a taste of the new Rock Center concourse pizza place Harry’s, which is scheduled to open in the beginning of August. All of the Rock Center lunch spots are there: ‘wichcraft, Cucina & Co, AJ Maxwell’s, ML favorite Tri Tip, and even Manchu Wok with a $4.99 special. I would have loved if they were offering a nice little buffet, but logistics probably got in the way.

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I’ll admit, that when I first heard that Sunrise Mart was coming to Midtown, I was excited more for the grocery options than for the lunch items. I’d always loved the selection of hard to find Japanese ingredients at the East Village location and was psyched to have them so close to the office. Jeremiah’s opening report and later Donny’s review of the Oyakodon got my attention, so when I stopped in a couple weeks ago to do a little shopping, I was sure to scope out the rest of the menu.

With all the great Japanese food on the menu, what surprised me was how many interesting sandwiches were available. I decided to take a closer look and sample a few of them. Check them out after the jump.

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Earlier this week, we noted that Oceana would be joining the lobster roll game by setting up a stand behind the restaurant, serving $15 lobster rolls and $2 cookies. Although The Feast got a first look at these gourmet lobster rolls on Monday, here’s our take on the newest entrant to the burgeoning lobster roll scene.

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If you’re in the mood for a lobster roll for lunch, and frankly who wouldn’t be, lunchers around Rock Center have another option to get their lobster roll fix. Starting today, Oceana will be serving lobster rolls from 11:30-3:00pm from a stand that will operate behind the restaurant (weather permitting), in the public seating space between 49th & 48th St, between 6th & 7th ave.

Despite its 1 Michelin Star and 3 New York Times stars, Oceana will be pricing their lobster roll at $15, a buck cheaper than Luke’s Lobster and Red Hook Lobster Pound. They’ll also be selling a homemade ‘Smooshed’ cookie ($2), which combines two different cookie batters – this week it’s a oatmeal raising and chocolate chip cookie. Beverages will also be available for $3. Cash and major credit cards accepted.

Eater’s burger week has gotten me pretty excited (though, admittedly, that doesn’t take much effort when burgers are involved.) The list of participating restaurants is decidedly fancy and pricey for the cheapos we champion here at Midtown Lunch, but when I read that Ma Peche would be joining in on the burger fun, I wasn’t going to let a couple extra bucks stop me.

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Thanks to Mr. Wilson for sending in this tip about Zocalo in Grand Central: “Shut down by the health department yesterday for at least 2 days due to ‘refrigeration issues’. Will be hosting a customer appreciation night this coming monday. A sign posted yesterday invited everyone to ‘come by monday for a margarita on the house’.” Nice! Now that’s how you handle a Department of Health closure properly.

If yesterday’s post about the Serious Eats review of Food Gallery 32 got you thinking about stopping in for dinner or an after work snack tonight, you might want to hold off. This afternoon, around 3pm, a sprinkler burst over O-De-Ppang! in booth 3 of the Koreatown food court. The FDNY was on sight in minutes to get things worked out. Don’t panic though, word is they should be up and running again in the next couple of hours.

Every day, the Chef’s Table at Cucina & Co. in the Rock Center Concourse offers a different lunch for $9.50 from 11:30 to 12:30. The lunches change each week (Brownie enjoyed their pork tenderloin medallions with pasta), but Fridays are always the same. Chef Juan anchors each week with his cheeseburger sliders, and they’re popular enough to have gotten the attention of Concourse neighbor Tri Tip. We’ve never had the sliders though, so I decided to head out for an early lunch last Friday (the Chef’s Table is known to run out of food). See what I found after the jump.
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Since this site is about finding lunch during the week we’ve completely tuned out all the crazy stuff restaurants are doing this Sunday… and yet this managed to catch our attention!  “On February 3 the food shops and restaurants in Grand Central are throwing the very first Grand Central Terminal Super Bowl Bash. 11 of Grand Central’s food retailers, including Magnolia Bakery, Manhattan Chili Company, Michael Jordan’s The Steakhouse, Café Spice and Mendy’s, will gather in Vanderbilt Hall to give out samples and sell items that make ideal treats for Super Bowl Sunday.”  Uh… did somebody say samples!  The event takes place from 11:30 to 6:30pm.  Freeloaders, prepare to engage.

Yesterday the Rock Center concourse branch of Jacques Torres opened. When I heard that JT himself would be on hand for the official opening, and that there was free hot chocolate involved I had to go check it out. I dropped by just before noon and the store wasn’t crowded. Chef Torres himself was greeting people at the door. The shop itself is brightly lit and all done up for Valentine’s Day. There are 3 small tables for eating/drinking in and four additional stools at the bar. Read more »