Midtown Lunch

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.

Our favorite Taiwanese fried chicken and pork chop truck dodged a huge bullet on Thursday.  According to their Facebook page, the brakes (and we’re hearing steering as well) went out on their truck while they were driving and it took some crazy fast emergency brake action by their very own Diana to save the day (“within a foot from hitting an elementary school”.)  We’re just glad to hear everybody is ok, and it’s business as usual today.  They should be on 50th btw. 6+7th, but you’ll want to check the ML Twitter Tracker just to be sure.

Walking by the old Wilshire State Bank (on 32nd btw. 5+B’way) the other day, I found myself surrounded by a cloud of plaster and debris. The doors were open to the site of the upcoming Koreatown food court, so I peeked in for a moment to get a photo of the space. It looks like there’s a lot more work to be done demolishing the interior, but you can sort of see how the space is going to come together on the first floor, at least. It looks like most of vendors will be on the left, underneath the mezzanine. The stairs in the back look a little rickety, so there’s a chance they might do some crazy Kyochon-style stairway to get to the upper floors. I don’t know the first thing about construction or design, so I can’t really speculate beyond that.

The big news, though, is the rumors about who might be moving in.

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I don’t need to remind anybody about the disgusting weather we had last Thursday and Friday, but nothing was going to keep me from trying NYC Cravings pork shumai especially after seeing this foggy picture. Cheap, good shumai is high on my “What We Need in Midtown” list, and Cravings delivered!

Dumpling innards are after the jump…

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It’s pretty sloppy out, but not sloppy enough to keep the NYC Cravings Truck from debuting their new menu item today… pork shumai!  Apparently they are meatier than the Cravings’ dumplings- which were pulled from the Midtown menu months ago.  They’re parked on 53rd btw. Lex+Park today, 4 dumplings cost $3.  In other street vendor news (all available on our Twitter Tracker) Jamaican Dutchy is on 51st and 7th and Jiannetto’s is on 47th.  Papa Perrone tried to make it ih with their peppers and onions, but it sounds like they failed.  Also on the fail list: Wafels & Dinges, Street Sweets, the Treats Truck, and Schnitzel and Things are all taking the day off.

Knowing full well that a mobile vendor can’t survive on selling fried chicken alone, the NYC Cravings Truck has had a long history of menu expansion.  First pork chops, tea eggs, and tianbula, then it was zongzi, and chicken wings (which are currently on hiatus.)  For the latest expansion they were forced to go cold, due to limited space and cooking appliances.  “We are now serving 3 types of cold appetizers: seaweed salad, Buddha’s delight (a vegetarian option made up of bamboo shoots, fried tofu, wood ear, dried bean curd sticks, yellow flower vegetables and wheat gluten), and anchovies with peanuts and chili peppers. All are sold for $4.”  To find out where they are parked today, check their twitter account or the ML Twitter Tracker.

Mindful of the fact that nobody likes standing out in the freezing cold waiting for their lunch, the NYC Cravings Truck has told customers that if you want tianbula you can come up to the window and let them know before you get on line. Unlike the chicken and pork chops, which are made in a steady stream, the fishcakes are made to order. So letting them know before you get on line means a shorter wait when you get to the front. Thanks Cravings! The truck will be in Midtown today on 53rd btw. Park+Lex.

Related:
NYC Cravings Truck is Not Just Taiwanese Fried Chicken Anymore