Midtown Lunch

As I type this the finishing touches are being put on Rock Center’s brand new Jacques Torres!!! I made a quick stop by at lunch today and the place is looking great. Peeking in from the window I could see an espresso bar and a few tables for eating in.  And I’m pretty sure I spied Mr. Chocolate himself, doing some hands on lifting and set up. They are officially opening tomorrow and JT will be there from 10 until noon. So excited to see the Godiva space taken over by superior chocolate.  Dessert win for Rock Center! 

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Judging by all the heated exchanges in the comments section of last week’s visit to Food Gallery 32, it should come as no surprise that the rest of the food folks around the internet are chattering about Koreatown’s food court as well. On Monday, Eater posted a Good News/Bad News roundup of the reviews so far. Predictably, no one is particularly fond of the ordering system. More importantly, they had some comments on the food. Kitchenette of In a Nutshell somehow wasn’t so into Bian Dang’s pork chop; Dave from Eating in Translation backs me up on not liking the jja jang myon at Jin Jja Roo and wishes the jjam ppong was spicier. Fork in the Road reminds us that we’re talking about a simple food court, so our expectations ought to be a little lower while trying out Hamnok’s seafood pancake (a little doughy and mostly octopus, but well flavored) and bi bim bap (would be better from a stone bowl) along with a hot bowl of haemul kal-guksu from Big Bowl (slightly overcooked noodles, but a good broth).

With only a couple weeks under their belts, I’d again suggest we allow them some time to settle in. If the difference between week one and week two alone is anything to go by, I think they’ll be in good shape by the end of the winter.

Here’s two things we just found about Crepe Monster, the new shop on the top floor of Food Gallery 32: 1) It’s owned and operated the people behind Bian Dang (aka NYC Cravings) is one of the owners of the place and 2) they are soft opening today at 1pm and serving free crepes all day long (or until you mooching hordes eat them out of house and home). It’s just a soft opening, and they’re hoping to get some feedback from ML freeloaders fans.  During the soft opening they’ll just be serving up sweet crepes, but eventually they do plan on serving Asian inspired savory ones (bulgogi crepe anybody?) Freeloaders… engage!

Related:
Food Gallery 32: You’ve Seen the Inside, Now Let’s Eat!
First Look at the Now Open Food Gallery 32 (aka The Korean FoodParc?)

At long last, Food Gallery 32, the Koreatown food court is open for business. As with most openings of this scale, there’s a lot still being worked out and finishing touches being made, but all things considered, the slow, snow-laden week is probably a good time for them to get started.

I stopped in on Tuesday to finally get a good look at the place, check it out after the jump.

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The new Sunrise Mart location (41st btw. Madison+5th) is open, and not only is it a Japanese grocery store, it’s also a fully functioning restaurant. Sunrise is a worthy addition to the Japanese Trinity of Cafe Zaiya, Yagura and Mai Cuisine (I guess now it’s a tetrad or a quadrumvirate). Sunrise’s unique combination of a full store and a full restaurant make it one of a kind (in Midtown). Get a look at what they have to offer after the jump.
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Early today we reported that Food Gallery 32 in Koreatown would be opening in the next few weeks, an event that I have been closely following since back in April. It excited me so much I took some  time from my vacation (greetings from The Philippines, btw) to badger the nice lady at Food Gallery 32 for more information.  It worked! She tells me that they do indeed plan to open before the end of the month and sent along  a quick list of the vendors and some details about what they’ll be selling.

Check it out after the jump!

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Did you happen to catch last week’s 30 Rock episode, which featured Tracy Jordan trying to convince Jack Donaghy to invest in a new Times Square theme restaurant featuring “unlicensed versions of Japanese monsters battling it out in the dining room”.  Eater posted a clip, and asked if anybody knows where it was filmed. From the looks of it, we’d guess somewhere in the non-restaurant depths of Rock Center.  (It actually looks more like the lobby of 30 Rock than a restaurant.)  This isn’t the first time 30 Rock has delved into ML territory… in Season 1, Kenneth’s church was hidden behind a secret door in the back of Margon (but that wasn’t tough to recognize.) Anybody know the place in last week’s episode?

Luncher “Donny” comes through once again with a signage shot for the long-awaited Koreatown Food Court. The name, Food Gallery 32 is descriptive if not so interesting, but what I really want to know is when they’re going to open?

Last week I checked in with them to find out how soon they expect to be open. It looks like it most likely won’t be before the end of the year. Right now they are estimating something like another five weeks. They promised to send us a rundown of the vendors that will be selling there, but so far we only know about the upcoming brick and mortar branch of the Cravings Truck, and (now) Red Mango.

Seen anything new popping up? Send us tips at editor@midtownlunch.com or @midtownlunch on Twitter.

Thanks to Luncher “Donny” for this great tip and photo. The Japanese East Village supermarket Sunrise Mart will be opening up a new location in the old Book Off space on 41st btw. Mad+5th- just west of Mai Cuisine and Cafe Zaiya. In other words the famous “Japanese Trinity” on 41st is about to become a foursome. I’ve wandered the aisles of the East Village location many times picking up cool and interesting ingredients to cook with, but I hear there are also some lunch-able snacks there as well. Any Sunrise Mart fans out there? What are we in for?

It looks like Izakaya Moku has joined Arang in giving up on the lunch crowd. I passed by yesterday afternoon and noticed the curtains closed on the upstairs Japanese restaurant. I went in to check it out and found no one inside. The door was open, so I peeked in and it was a ghost town. Following up on the website, they now list their hours as opening at 5pm daily. I can’t say I’d been back since checking it out in the spring, but I still mourn the loss of any lunch service in the area… except maybe the Pizzacones.