Midtown Lunch

Everybody has a different way of marking the end of summer. For some
it’s temperature, for others maybe it’s leaves. For Midtown Lunch it’s
the appearance of the red hot soup carts. I was alerted to this one on
52nd btw. 6+7th by a lunch’er. Not sure if the full fleet has been
dispatched, but they’re all connected, so I’m guessing there are more.

Feel free to post sightings at other locations in the comments…

The Rickshaw Dumpling Truck has set up shop on 57th & Park, and plans on being there until 3pm. There have already been some complaiints about the high prices (6 dumps for $6) but before you jump on that bandwagon,
understand how tough it is for these vendors. The Rickshaw Truck already got their first ticket ($100+) trying to park a little farther south this morning, and were threatened by a halal guy in their second spot. Let’s hope the third one is a charm.

In happier news, there will be a Treats Truck/Dumpling Truck double team tomorrow on 45th btw. 6+7th for those of you on the west side. Full dumpling report coming soon.

Without sponsors this site would not exist… actually, who am I kidding. Of course it would. Everyone knows Midtown Lunch is just an excuse for me to stuff my fat face. That being said, it is nice to have help paying for my weekly lunch bill.

This month, that funding was graciously provided by GoMobo.com, a service that allows you to text message your lunch order, and skip the line at some of your favorite places in New York City. Midtown Lunch’ing favorites where you can use GoMobo include Spice Fusion, Bread & Olive, Chicken Bar, Goodburger, Hing Won, Indus Express, La Bellezza, and more. To see a complete list go to our Restaurant Index and look for the “Order Now” button, or just visit www.gomobo.com

Just like yesterday, there is free Mister Softee on Madison and 53rd again courtesy of Maxwell Medical (they’re also giving away coupons for free massages.) They’ll be out here until 2:30 pm. If you missed it,
don’t worry. They’re doing it again tomorrow and Friday. Same place, 12:30 to 2:30 p.m.

Thanks to a lunch’er for spotting the White Castle Truck parked on 44th and Broadway giving out free burgers. The truck is only going to be here until 10a.m., and then they’re heading over to the Letterman studios (which is on Bway btw 53+54th) But they’ll only be there until burgers run out- which at this rate should only last until 10:45. Good luck freeloaders.

This was the scene at Chop’t on 56th btw. Park & Madison at 12:40 today. They’re not even giving away free food or nothing. Really? Seriously? There’s even a Cosi right next door. Oh, sorry. They don’t chop their salads up into little bitty pieces. You people is crazy.

Related:
Chop’t is As Terrifying As You Would Think

I love having guest writers on the site, so when this guy wrote in and asked if he could submit a post about making an entire lunch out of free samples in Midtown, I was like- uh… of course!  Nobody loves free stuff more than me… except maybe this guy.  Meet Jeremy, an employee of a PR agency on 45th & 5th, who has developed the “perfect” free lunch experience. (He may also be related to Profiled: Midtown Lunch’er “Jim”)

 

Like most of you, I’ve been looking to Midtown Lunch for good cheap food since I started working in Midtown late last year. When I’m feeling flush I head to Ambrosia (on 45th btw. 5+6th) for (runny egg on request) bibimbap, ‘wichcraft for the slow-roasted pork sandwich, or Chiyoda (on 41st btw. Mad+5th) for a taste of the sea. But the New Year brought crippling student loans and totally unreasonable spending habits (this summer I ate at James Beard and WD-50 on two consecutive nights), so naturally, I have started looking for low-cost alternatives.

It’s not that I can’t scrape together five dollars for lunch, or that I can’t cook for myself. As all Midtown Lunch disciples know, one of the few joys of working a serious midtown job is taking your one hour lunch break to walk around the neighborhood, get annoyed by tourists, play chess in Bryant Park, and think about getting on the downtown F train and never coming back.

First I started reducing the size of my meals, beginning with the “Master Cleanse” diet. “It’s about learning restraint, dude.” That ended on day four when I passed out in the shower. Then I limited myself to tiny lunches, like a small plate of kimchi from Cafe Manhattan (on 45th btw. 5+6th.) Incidentally, what’s on display in the cold buffet by the lb. trough is not the Korean staple, but some unfermented imposter. (Ask and you shall receive the real shit.) When it became apparent that my coworkers were starting to feel sorry for me (my supervisor still gives me her hard-boiled eggs, an edible symbol of life itself) I realized I had to create the impression that I was living luxe, but do it on the cheap.

So I devised a cheap Midtown Lunch walking tour: a multi course, totaly free, tasting menu that anybody can do (provided you are not easily embarassed.)   Read more »

Had to do it. Mixed combo platter, hot sauce on the side, from the cart
on the SE corner of 53rd & 6th. I have been craving street meat all
week long… can’t… figure… out… why. Oh, right.

NY Times reports today on how the Unlimited Metrocard has changed the way office workers approach lunch.  “Today, many downtown office workers think nothing of hopping on the subway at Wall Street and zipping up to Union Square for lunch. Workers in Midtown might ride a couple of stops to Macy’s to get some shopping done during a break.”  It’s true, while my goto Subway Lunch is now gone, I have considered seeing how long it would take to lunch in other parts of the city via the subway.  Shake Shack?  Chinatown? Some have even suggested Jackson Heights could be done in under an hour if you hit the trains right.  That would be amazing.  And this idea is clearly spreading… some of my former co-workers have made it a habit to hop on the Rock Center subway to Nolita for lunch on Fridays.

Anybody have any intel on this topic?  Back when it was still open, the Manhattan Mall food court was easy in under an hour.  Have you gone farther?  How long did it take?  And where did you eat?  Comments please…

Spicy Pork from Woorijip.  Photo by NYCblondieandbrownie

• Are rising food costs effecting the portions at Woorijip? [Blondie and Brownie]
• The Famous Ray’s Pizza on 52nd & 8th Ave. is now Famous Amadeus [Urbanite]
• Danny hits up the Papaya Dog on 33rd and 5th [Food in Mouth]
• First it was Bella Vita, now Angelo’s is the best pizza in Midtown [Superman]
• You can still get the 3 rolls for $10 at Aoki [Blondie and Brownie]