Midtown Lunch

Last week we (half-heartedly) defended Oceana against charges of racism, writing off Chubby Chinese Girl’s lunchtime photo of their all-Asian back room as a hilariously funny coincidence caught in a photo.  But after reading the letter Oceana sent to Eater on Friday afternoon, I think we might be reconsidering our stance.  Rather than just laughing off the whole incident as a coincidence, they actually tried to make it seem like the photo was a misrepresentation of the scene.  Hilarious. Dude… just admit it.  The back room was filled with Asians last Sunday for lunch (6 out of 6 tables to be exact). Who cares about the “other 82 tables”.  Those tables aren’t in the back room!  Also, how stupid do you have to be to send a letter about this to Eater.  Most of their readers probably didn’t even notice their initial mention of the story… but you better believe they saw your letter.  Well played sir.  Well played.  (Oh, and thanks for calling me a journalist!  That was the funniest part of the letter…)

Oceana, the fancy seafood restaurant on 49th btw. 6+7th, is definitely not a Midtown Lunch… but this is way too funny not to post.  On Sunday, Chubby Chinese Girl (the Midtown Lunch’er who came up with Cer Te’s Feburary Sandwich of the Month) had a restaurant week lunch at Oceana and was escorted through a practically empty main dining room to a back room that was filled with all Asian diners (6 tables in all.)  Obviously (or not?) Oceana isn’t racist, according to this their Executive Pastry Chef is Asian and even CCG admitted that she enjoyed the service and the food.  But the photo is kind of damning.  (Hilariously damning.)  There must be a perfectly good explanation for all of this, right Oceana?

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Forgot to mention this yesterday… don’t forget, the Restaurant Week soup truck hit the streets yesterday selling fancy soups from participating restaurant week restaurants. The truck will be parked on Broadway btw. 50+51st from 11am to 2pm for the rest of the week, before heading Downtown next week. Yesterday they had corn, crab and chorizo soup from Delmonico’s Steakhouse, tomato and fennel soup from Tribeca Grill, and Mexhattan clam chowder from Dos Caminos Park. And Lunch’er “Steve” was on hand to check it out…

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The 2010 Winter Restaurant Week kicks off on Monday, and as we reported a few weeks ago they’ll be promoting the two week event by sending a food truck out to sell soups from some of the participating restaurants. They announced the truck’s schedule today and it looks like it will be parked in Midtown (on Broadway btw. 51+52nd) from January 25th through the 29th. The truck will feature two to three soups a day, and may include “lobster bisque from Blue Water Grill, roasted butternut squash soup from Charlie Palmer’s Metrazur, Mexhattan clam chowder from Dos Caminos Park, tomato and fennel soup from Tribeca Grill and coconut and galangal soup with organic chicken and straw mushrooms from Kittichai. Each serving will cost $6 and come with bread from Tom Cat Bakery.” Plus they will donate $1 from every soup sold to the Haiti Relief Fund at the Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City.

Following the first week in Midtown, the truck will be parked in the Flatiron District Feb 1-3rd (on 5th Ave. btw. 18+19th) and in Tribeca on Feb. 4-5 (on Greenwich btw. Warren+Murray).

Related:
Restaurant Week To Feature Soup Truck
My Restaurant Week Lunch at Hatsuhana

If 2009 was the year of the food truck, 2010 might be remembered as the year of the food marketing truck.  Earlier this afternoon we reported that Daniel Boulud/NBC promotion happening on Feb. 8th, and now there’s this.  2010 Winter Restaurant Week kicks off on January 25th, and for added promotion it will include a NYC Restaurant Week Truck, which will travel around Manhattan during lunch “offering gourmet soup from various NYC Restaurant Week participants.”  Naturally, you’ll be able to track the truck on Twitter.  [via SE:NY]

You still have five more days to enjoy Summer Restaurant Week 2007.  If you have a job like mine (i.e. one where you don’t get to take summer associates out to lunches paid for by your company) then Restaurant Week is a great excuse to see how the other half lives.  As far as I’m concerned, $24.07 is not that great a deal for lunch, especially since there are already a lot of fancy places with normal prix fixe lunches that cost somewhere around that amount (like Jean Georges).  But, I am a big advocate for using your full one hour lunch break to relax, and there is no better way to do it than treating yourself to a fancy, sit down, expensive lunch.  It’s obviously only going to be a once in awhile thing, and Restaurant Week is the perfect excuse.

Restaurant week is not without its flaws (it’s not really that great a deal, and you often get what you pay for), but when your wife offers to pay for it- you’d be crazy to say no.  Right?  See, my wife is one of those lucky people who gets to eat out on her company’s dime every once in awhile- and her guilt over getting to go to these great lunches and dinners (without me) often results in her treating me to meals that we would probably never go to otherwise.  (I’m still waiting for my dinner at Del Frisco’s- a place that I’m pretty sure you can only enjoy if you are not paying.)

She has been to Hatsuhana a few times for work, and really wanted me to get to try it- so when she offered to take me there for a Restaurant Week lunch, I decided to hold back on my “Restaurant Week is not really worth it” speech.  I may be a cheap bastard, but I’m not crazy.  No arm twisting necessary.  I don’t mind cheap spicy tuna rolls from a deli, but if you have the money and don’t mind spending it on food, there are few things better than high quality raw fish.

Hatsuhana already has lunches priced around $25, so it sort of breaks the cardinal Restaurant Week rule (eat at some place that you wouldn’t be able to afford otherwise), but they do give you a much nicer lunch for RW, than you get normally for that price, and I wasn’t even paying- so don’t mistaken this for complaining.  For $24.07 you got a miso soup, salad, and this box of goodies:

A breakdown of each section, after the jump…

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