Usually at these food truck affairs, it’s always the same trucks over and over again. But I was pleased to see some new offerings aside the expected Wafels & Dinges, Frites ‘n’ Meats, and Red Hook Lobster Truck. Quite a few vendors who very rarely make the trip to Midtown proper showed face. Solber Pupusas and Souvlaki GR served up their Vendy Award winning deliciousness.


And Bongo Brothers, which is a favorite of Andrea’s downtown, proved that their stellar Cuban sandwiches are a welcome addition to the NY street food world.

I’m fully aware of the deliciousness of Freddy the King of Falafel, Mexicue, and Taim Mobile, so I mainly stuck to some of the newer trucks I had yet to fully experience. Phil’s Steaks lived up to Rachel’s previous experience with a well-seasoned steak and salty provolone sandwich. Mexico Blvd brought a nice al pastor taco (with a generous pineapple garnish) to the mix, but lost me on the vegan (and bland) quesadilla. And Morris Grilled Cheese Truck had both the classic cheddar and landaff and the gouda and bacon fat sandwich for tasting. Their simple and inventive combinations might have been my favorite two bites of the night.

There wasn’t too long of a wait at any of the trucks, including the usually insane Korilla BBQ queue. They tried out a promising new taco: elote salad, prosciutto powder, and cilantro-wasabi aioli. It wasn’t their best effort, but with a little refining, it could be as tasty as their bulgogi tacos. I was hoping this might be a new special, but the guys tell me for now it will not be offered on the truck. Perhaps at the next of these big food truck gatherings.

To balance things out, there were a few “healthy” food trucks. NYC Healthy Bites hangs out in the Union Square area and their dry organic hot dog reminded me why we don’t usually focus on health food on this site. The Green Pirate Juice Truck, however, foiled that idea with some well-balanced and delicious vegetable juices like The Hot Pink Limeade (beets, limes, and cucumbers). Seriously!

Unfortunately, Cinnamon Snail had to cancel at the last minute due to a truck emergency. I was bummed because I was really craving a vegan donut. Instead, I settled for my first Kelvin Slush of the year and two tastings of Coolhaus‘ ice cream sandwiches, thank you very much!

The most exciting discovery (aside from the breathtaking views from the West Side Highway) was the brand spanking new Chinese Mirch truck. Last night marked their first official appearance on the street (or I should say “on the dock”). This is a truck version of the Indian-Chinese fusion restaurant in the Flatiron. They brought some Tibetan momos over rice in a spicy chili sauce. It’s a little premature to make a full judgement on their food, but they plan to launch in the Financial District today and hope to come to Midtown soon enough. Follow them on Twitter at @ChineseMirch.

Choice Eats, the Village Voice’s annual tasting event which takes place next week, is unfortunately sold out. The good news is that tickets just went on sale for Choice Streets. This is an extension of the main event (although it’s one month later) and is a tasting from over 20 food trucks, including Midtown favorites like Korilla BBQ and Wafels & Dinges in addition to ones that don’t often come to this neck of the woods, like Kelvin Natural Slush and Souvlaki GR. The event takes place on Tuesday, April 24 from 7-10pm on Pier 86. Tickets are $30 for general admission and include all the food, beverages, and entertainment. You can purchase them here.

To make up for their 10 Worst Things to Eat in Times Square list from a few week ago, Robert Sietsema- food critic for the Village Voice- put out his 10 Best Things to Eat in Times Square list today- and with few exceptions it’s basically just a list of Midtown Lunch’s Greatest Hits. He completely ignored the fancy restaurants of Midtown, choosing instead to highlight such under $10 ML classics as Tad’s Steak (see, I’m not crazy for liking it!), Teriyaki Boy, Cafe Edison, Kim’s Aunt Kitchen Cart, Margon, and Sapporo.  The only real shocker of the list is their boundaries, which went as far west as 9th Ave (Gazala Place) and as far north as 56th (Szechuan Gourmet) and yet didn’t include an Honorable Mentions list- even though with those boundaries you clearly could have listed a ton more places.  Like Madeleine the Crepe Lady, who actually has a legit claim to be called “in Times Square”.  It also included Kim’s Aunt Kitchen Cart, but not the Biriyani Cart- which is about a 100 yards closer to Times Square. Go figure.

As with any list like this, it’s easy to pick it apart or make our own (better) suggestions… but in the end, Fork in the Road got what they wanted.  All of you guys to click over and read it!

Ouch! We heard Famous Dave’s BBQ (on 47th btw. 6+7th) was hit or miss when it first opened- but worse than the by the pound buffet at Smiler’s!?! Come on! Fork in the Road has released their weekly top 10 list and today it shines a spotlight on the 10 Worst Things to Eat in Times Square. Seeing as how Midtown Lunch is devoted to finding the best food around Times Square (and beyond) we’re proud to say we haven’t tried a single one of the ten things.

It’s a familiar story at this point: Another year, another Choice Eats that sadly neglects the restaurants of midtown. This was my first year attending and I was honestly surprised at how few Midtown offerings there were. In past years, Margon flew the flag for the underrepresented, but this year, the only restaurant to fall within Midtown Lunch boundaries was Toloache, with just out of bounds Xie Xie and Mantou Chinese Sandwiches rounding out the Midtown selections.

It was disappointing from a Midtown Lunch’ing standpoint, but there was plenty of other deliciousness to stuff my face with. After the jump, some of my favorites.

If the point of participating in an event like this for the restaurant is to pique interest in potential new customers, I have to declare this a success all around. Xie Xie’s braised pork with tart shallots certainly has my interest. Once I figure out a good excuse to head to 9th Avenue during my lunch break, I’ll be up there to give them a try.

Choice Eats also reminded me which places I need to go back to after a long absence. One bite of Fette Sau’s smoked pork belly left me wondering why it’s been out of my life for so long. Thrown in for good measure, a smoked ham better than any you’ll find on the Easter table next month.

Sara Jenkins’ Porchetta sparked an obsession in me that still makes me salivate when smelling fennel and rosemary together. That juicy, herb-scented pork is one of my favorite foods in the world.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that table after table of readily available beer made a good reward after standing outside in the damp weather for an hour waiting to get in.

For more coverage of Choice Eats, check out Robert Sietsema’s live blogging and Blondie and Brownie’s report (which will probably be up later today or tomorrow).

Related:
The Midtown Lunch Sandwich Challenge

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Related:
Margon Does Midtown Proud at Choice Eats
Margon Does Us Proud at Choice Eats (Again)