Unlike the thick cubes of tongue stewed in red sauce you get in the Mission’s La Corneta, the El Rey del Sabor version is chopped finely and grilled on their flat top. A completely different taco experience, but totally enjoyable. The tongue is easily El Rey del Sabor’s most tender option, but it also had some of the little crispy bits you miss out on when getting stewed tongue. Topped with onions, cilantro and their fairly spicy salsa verde, it was muy delicioso and I’d recommend it to anybody- even those who don’t think they’d like tongue. The one downside is they don’t always have the tongue… you just have to get lucky.

As a side note, I had a good friend of mine with me who is a vegetarian (yes, I have friends who don’t dig the swine) and he decided to try their pumpkin flower quesadilla (known in Spanish as flor de calabaza.) It’s a pretty standard Mexican dish, and happens to be the only vegetarian option at the El Rey del Sabor cart (aside from just getting plain cheese empanadas or quesadillas.) Stupidly I didn’t try any of it, but he was completely blown away. So if any of you are vegetarian, and have steered clear of El Rey del Sabor in the past, here’s something you might totally enjoy!

El Rey del Sabor (3 Locations)

• NW Corner of 49th & 3rd
• SW Corner of 60th and 3rd
• NE Corner of 43rd & 6th

I don’t usually eat lunch in Midtown on the weekends (why would you!?!), but occasionally it will happen.  Like on Saturday when I found myself in Koreatown buying ingredients to make homemade kimchi.  I stopped in to pick up a little lunch at Woorijip (on 32nd btw. B’way+5th) and noticed something I had never seen before: korean blood sausage (or soondae.)  Nice.  It was in the refrigerated section in the back, so it wasn’t as good as it would have been had it been warm (I don’t like microwaving things) but the flavor was still good.  Made with cellophane noodles, the blood flavor was actually pretty mild (overwhelmed a bit by the intense garlic flavor.)  I’m guessing there are much better versions of this to be had on 32nd street, but all in all it was a fun treat, and not nearly as offal tasting as you would expect.

Related:
Woorijip Gets a Makeover, Still the Best Cheap Korean on 32nd

What does 3 years of hardcore Midtown Lunch’ing do to a psyche?  For one thing it alleviates all food fears. I will pretty much eat anything at this point.  (Except for a sandwich from Walgreens… but that has nothing to do with fear.)  I feel kind of proud thinking back on some of the ways I’ve sacrificed my body in the name of of this site. Eating at Tad’s Steaks after being dared by a reader gave me a sense of personal accomplishment, although no dare was necessary to get me to try that street ceviche from the Ecuadorian lady on 46th Street (although some called me insane for that one.)  I admited to being incredibly frightened of the Kashmir Buffet.  but surprisingly less scared of the jury duty tripe lunch from that Chinatown cart (in fact it was a revelation.)  But all those seem like child’s play compared to this…  a liver sandwich- from a Midtown Halal cart.

Remember that cart with the liver sandwich I posted about back in February (on 55th & Madison)? Well, I finally tried it on Tuesday… and amazingly, survived to tell the story.

The liver from the Charcoal Grill Cart starts off as a whole steak (it’s beef liver), and gets cooked on their grill.  It had been marinating in something, although I’m not sure what. Thankfully they cook it to order (liver is not something you want to cook, and then reheat when it gets ordered), and there is no mistaking the smell as it sizzles away. It takes about 5 minutes, so be prepared for a little bit of a wait.  Once the steak is cooked, they slice it into chunks and pop it into an Italian sub roll.  They offered lettuce and tomatoes, but I asked for grilled onions, white sauce and hot sauce (had to be done.)

I enjoyed myself… but you’ve got to really love liver to be down with this sandwich.  It’s funky (obviously), and even the white sauce and hot sauce don’t fully cover up the taste (although, if you’re a true fan- why would you want to cover up the taste, right?)  I guess I might prefer the fried chicken livers from Piece of Chicken, dipped in maple syrup (everything tastes better breaded and dunked in syrup) but if you love liver and love Halal food- this is an excellent melding of the two.  And it’s a pretty big sandwich, with a lot of meat, for $5. If you can finish the whole thing, you are a true people’s champion.

Charcoal Grill, NW Corner of 55th &  Madison

To be completely honest though, I had ulterior motives.  Chocolate corn bread muffins sounded pretty good, but what I really wanted to try was the fried chicken and waffle and fried chicken livers, two items on the Piece of Chicken menu which always seemed to be sold out every single time I stopped by for like two weeks straight last year.  Well, it’s been awhile- but I returned to Piece of Chicken a few days ago, and both items were available.

Before I moved to NYC, I spent a few years in L.A. and quickly discovered the joys of putting a piece of fried chicken on top of a waffle (at Roscoe’s Chicken & Waffles of course.)  I know there are some who “don’t understand” the concept… but truthfully, I “don’t understand” people who “don’t understand” why fried chicken on a waffle is amazing.  (You may say the secret ingredient is the syrup.)  I’ve been to Amy Ruth’s up in Harlem, and for awhile the now closed Ressie May’s Soul to Go served up fried chicken and waffles in Midtown (R.I.P.)  But now, our only option for Midtown Lunch’ing is Piece of Chicken.

I was actually really surprised at how big a waffle you get for $3.  It’s really thin, and not crunchy at all (which I kind of liked.)  Not sure if it’s because it got steamed in the container, but I only walked a few blocks before sitting down to eat it- something that is unavoidable, because Piece of Chicken is take out only.  You get your choice of chicken (I chose thigh), and it may not be much to look at- but damn was that piece of chicken good.  It was so good, I’m curious if they’ve changed their recipe.  The seasoning was stand out good, and I don’t remember thinking that the first time I visited.  Of course, tearing a piece off, wrapping it in waffle and dunking it in syrup took the whole thing to another level.  (Yes, they do provide syrup… and little packets of hot sauce.)  So good… I could eat this for breakfast or lunch every singe day.  And for $3, it really can’t be beat.

Rounding out my lunch, I finally got to try the fried chicken livers- which are now $1.50 (up from $1.)  In fact they raised the prices of a few things (a breast is now $2 instead of $1, and 2 wings are $1.50 instead of $1), but considering how much liver you get, it’s still a bargain. Fried to a crisp, the chicken livers from Piece of Chicken are funnnnnky (and I mean that in that best way possible.)  This ain’t no foie gras or some “gateway liver” pate. These are chunks of chicken liver, deep fried, and served in a stryrofoam container in all their plain glory.  Plain, they were just ok, and a tad bit soggy- either from not being freshly fried or the 3 minute walk in the styrofoam container.

Of course once they were soaked in hot sauce, none of that mattered.  (And I will admit to dunking a few of them in syrup… also recommended.)  If you love liver, you’ll probably be into this.  But if you are even on the fence regarding the joys of offal, I’d stay away.  In other words, if I had to take Andrew Zimmern from Bizarre Foods to eat one thing in Midtown- this might be the dish.

All in all it was a pretty awesome lunch- aided by the fact that I was totally full for just $4.50.  And even with all the great fried chicken options in Midtown West, it was well worth traveling that extra avenue out of bounds. Oh, and as for the chocolate corn bread muffins?  They made those “by accident”, so it was just a one time thing.  Kyle, consider yourself lucky if you got to try them… because I don’t think they’re coming back.

Piece of Chicken, 362 W. 45th St. (just East of 9th Ave.), 212-582-5973

Photo Courtesy of NY Daily News

While I was in London a few weeks ago, I got to eat at the Mecca of Offal, Fergus Henderson’s St. John’s Restaurant.  Pork fat, pig’s head, bone marrow, and ox heart were the highlights, and you can read all about my meal, complete with photos at Serious Eats.  With Fergus in NYC this week, promoting his new book “Beyond Nose to Tail“, and that truly decadent meal still fresh in my mind, I thought this might be the perfect opportunity for a list of the Best in Midtown Lunch entrails, organs and animal bits that don’t often get used.

Best Oxtails, tripe, sweetbreads and more- after the jump…

Here is my list of the best in Midtown Lunch Offal:

• Oxtails @ Margon.  (46th btw. 6+7th).  It’s not organs, but it’s not exactly leg of lamb either.  If you love equal parts meat and marrow, oxtails is your dish- and while there are good versions at most of the Latin food places in Midtown (one is picture above), Margon is the best.
• Thinly Sliced Beef Tendon @ Szechuan Gourmet(39th btw. 5+6th).  When it comes to entrails and organs, few do it better than the Chinese, and in Midtown nobody does it like Szechuan Gourmet. The menu is packed with goodies, from ox tongue, tripe, and intestines, to fish heads and pork belly.  But the undisputed king is the spicy beef tendon.

• Cabeza Taco @ Tehuitzingo (10th Ave. btw. 47+48th)  Sure, you can get regular beef, chicken and, carnitas,  but make sure to sample the beef head taco as well (pictured above on the far right).  Not into beef meat that’s been stewed out of a cow’s head?   Try the oreja (pig’s ear), suadero (beef belly), or tripe tacos instead.
• Kare Kare @ Bayan Cafe(45th St. nr 3rd Ave.)  Filipinos make some awesome offal stews, and Kare Kare is the gold standard.  Bayan Cafe’s version has oxtail and tripe, stewed with vegetables in a Filipino peanut sauce.
• Chopped Liver Sandwich @ Sarge’s(3rd Ave. btw. 36+37th)  Chopped liver is like a gateway offal, but I’m going to include it anyway- because it’s still liver!  Chopped liver was probably the first bit of organs I ever learned to love.  It happened at Sammy’s Roumanian- but that’s not in Midtown,  so we’ve got to settle for Sarge’s Chopped Liver Sandwich.  Not a bad replacement!

I also feel the need to mention these dishes.  They don’t fall into the Midtown Lunch category (too expensive, and most are only available for dinner), but they’re all in Midtown- and totally worth mentioning…

• Fritto Misto alla Lucchese @ Insieme (7th Ave. @ 51st)  There is no better easier way to enjoy organs than fried, and these are done perfectly.  The “Sampler Platter” of offal, you get sweetbreads, liver and veal tongue.
• The “Limited Menu” @ Yakitori Totto (55th btw. B’way & 8th).  For weird chicken parts that have been skewered and grilled, Yakitori Totto is the place to be.  Unfortunately for us Midtown Lunch’ers, yakitori is an after work thing, and the soft bone, heart, and gizzard on a stick are all not available until after 5:30 pm (when the restaurant opens).

• Sweetbread Tacos @ Toloache (50th btw. B’way+8th)  I’ll be the first to argue that you shouldn’t need to pay a lot of money for great, authentic Mexican food- but when it’s this fun, inventive and delicious, it’s hard to complain.  The little chunks of veal glands are carmelized and topped with corn and pasilla salsa.
• Sauteed Chicken Gizzards w/ Garlic Sprout @ Sake Bar Hagi (49th btw. 6+7th).  This Izakaya would be my favorite Midtown Lunch spot, if it was only open for lunch.  Like Yakitori Totto, izakayas are after work spots- so Sake Bar Hagi doesn’t open until 5:30pm either.  Small price to pay for the best gizzards I’ve ever had.  (Disclaimer: They are also the only gizzards I’ve ever had.)

Got your favorites?  Feel free to post them as comments below…