Related:
Yushi’s Newly Launched Yu Bowl is Worth Checking Out

If Yushi (47th btw. Lex+Park) is famous for one thing on Midtown Lunch, it’s that they sure like to switch things around every few months. (Remember the conveyor belt, dim sum, then the refrigerated conveyor belt?) Well, they’re at it again. They recently launched Yu Bowl (no relation to the Super Bowl, we’re assuming) which has completely replaced the conveyor belt. The Yu Bowl uses the Chipotle style ordering/serving method where the customers line up and you point to the server what you would like in your (Yu) bowl.

I’ve never been to Yushi but with the introduction of the Yu Bowl, I guess it was time to finally check it out. Here’s how it works. First you pick the base (jasmine rice, brown rice, noodles and veggie), then a protein (chicken, tofu, mini beef balls and pork), follow by three toppings (out of eight choices) and top it off with a sauce and free garnishes.

The price of the bowl is determined by what protein you get. (Teriyaki Chicken and Shiso Sesame Tofu $7.95, Mini-Baller Beef Balls $8.45, and Ooey Gooey Char Siu Pork $8.95)

So how was the food? Surprisingly tasty (though I did walk in with super low expectations). I got brown rice, mini beef balls, Cambodian sweet corn, sauteed magic mushroom, Szechuan green beans, satay sauce and topped with cilantro and spicy peanuts. The mini beef balls, which tasted sufficiently beefy, were a little dry- but the satay sauce did help give a bit moisture to the balls. While the mushroom side wasn’t magical, I did find the other two veggie sides to be fresh tasting and had enough snap and crunch. Also the Szechuan green beans had enough heat.

Yes, $8.45 for a lunch bowl is still on the pricier side, and if you get stuck behind an indecisive luncher it could get ugly.  But in the end the lunch did a good job of filling me up and the food was actually quite good (though I would have preferred to have some fatty juiciness in my meatballs!)

Yushi, 245 Park Ave. (on 47th btw. Park+Lex), 212-687-1900

Let’s face it – It’s only February, and we still have at least a month of cold weather left before we can put away the sweater, scarves and jackets. Bundling up is one way of beating the cold weather, but the contributors here at Midtown lunch like to reach for a hot bowl of soup to warm up. We’ve asked each of the contributors to share a favorite bowl of soup in Midtown, so read on to find out where we like to get our soup on.

Blondie is a fan of the Vegetable Menchanko at Menchanko Tei.

Over the past two years, I’ve finally fallen in line with the Ramen Lovers. As much as I wanted to get to Hide-Chan during lunch, it was brick out there, so I’d venture down the street to Menchanko Tei (45th btw 3rd+Lex). I get lazy in the cold plus they have Vegetarian Menchanko ($9.50), the soup I gravitate towards way too often. The salty miso broth, tofu, and vegetables warm my bones, and always give me enough sustenance to get me through the afternoon. I firmly believe it was the reason I was the only one in the office who didn’t get the flu.

Donny T digs the spicy crab with sweet corn chowder at Soup Spot.

Soup Spot (on 31st St btw. 7th and 8th Ave) cares about your health. I know this because every time you get soup it comes with a piece of fruit. They love us! On any given day they will have more than a dozen different soups ranging from chowders, vegetarian, chicken and rice, gumbo, apple and squash and many more other soups. There are so many reasons to love Soup Spot. Besides the piece of fruit, the menu changes daily, it’s cheap and it’s awesomely good.

On my most recent trip, for $6, I got a small spicy crab with sweet corn chowder and half of a turkey sandwich. That of course came with a piece of bread and an apple. $6!! It’s $3.68 for a small and $4.90 for a large soup without the sandwich. The spicy crab chowder had just the right amount of kick to it, enough to let you know it’s there. Also they used real crab meat in the chowder. Of course I’m not the only person that likes this place, once the weather turns just a bit cold people will line up for their soups.

The only down side to Soup Spot is that it’s tiny inside, therefore the rest of the people will have to wait outside in the cold dreaming about drinking that perfect cup of soup.

Ultraclay is fond of the karaage curry udon at Udon West (on 46th btw. Lex+3rd)

Udon, curry and fried chicken – is there’s some other combination that better defines comfort food for me, I haven’t found it yet. And I need comforting. It’s just so cold.

Udon West’s karaage curry udon ($8.50) has long been one of the few things I appreciate about winter. The broth is hearty without being heavy, the noodles are thick and chewy and the chicken chunks are meaty and well seasoned.

Jeremiah enjoys the Maryland vegetable crab soup at Westerly Natural Market.

Tucked away in the back of Westerly Natural Market (8th Ave. btw. 54+55th), beyond
the rows and rows of organic snacks, natural vitamins and fresh proteins and
produce, sits a row of steaming pots of soup. You ladle your own soup into a 16 oz.
container for $4.49 or a 32 oz. one for $7.99 (the 16 might need to be supplemented
to make a full lunch, the 32 is a crapload of soup). The offerings change daily (there’s
a schedule on their website), but pretty much everything is available everyday in a
16 oz. serving in their refrigerated section.

My favorite is their Maryland vegetable crab soup. It’s basically a delicious, slightly spicy vegetable soup with cabbage, celery, corn, tomatoes, onions, potato, zucchini and a healthy does of Old Bay. As a bonus, it’s loaded with little bits of crab that lend that signature flavor to every spoonful. The lack of crabmeat chunks would be disappointing if the soup weren’t so delicious.

Chris H adores the spicy vegetable chili at Cer té (on 55th btw. 5+6th).

On cold days, i’m drawn to spicy soups like white on rice. And if my go-to spicy soup, yuk gae jang at Cafe Duke, is unavailable, then Cer té’s spicy vegetable chili ($5.95) serves as a reliable backup. This chili is deceptively spicy, and chock full of chunky carrots, zucchini, and al dente pinto and black beans. Despite the fact that I’ve documented decadent lunches here on ML, I’m actually kind of a health freak, and even once dabbled in vegetarianism (I’ve since come to the light). Even as a full-time omnivore, Cer té’s spicy veggie chili is so satisfying, I don’t really miss eating meat. Whether you’re a vegetarian, flexitarian, or meatatarian, it’s hard not to like Certe’s spicy vegetarian chili.

And last, but not least, Mamacita really wishes that Yushi still carried their sake ramen. (She’s a drunk through and through.)

Got a favorite soup of your own?  Throw in the comments…

Related:
Lunch’er Grace Reports: The Ultimate Midtown Soup List

I take the plunge, after the jump…

When I first looked for the new special on the hot bar, it was nowhere to be found. Luckily for me, that meant getting a fresh box from the back. And that box was nearly half-filled with the chicken katsu! It lays on a small bed of white rice, and for the most part, that’s it. The chicken itself was cooked nicely, moist inside while crunchy outside from the panko, with barely any seasoning. I did find myself dipping almost every bite into the sauces, more for their addictive flavor than for moisture. Did I miss the greasy fried goodness? Yes, but I ended up full, it hit my katsu craving, and no coma to speak of. At $9.95, it’s pricey for katsu with rice, but it’s a good size piece of chicken for your money.

Now for the fine print… To cash in on the “buy one, get one” offer, you need to printout this post and bring it in to the store. Limit one per person.  No cash equivalent and no other discounts (such as My Yushi points) can be used in conjunction with the offer. Good at both the Midtown and Downtown location until 3pm this afternoon and tomorrow (11/19).  What are you waiting for?!

Yushi, 245 Park Ave. (entrance on 47th btw. Park+Lex), 212-687-1900

With open minds and empty stomach, 7 Midtown lunchers gathered to rate 7 different banh mi-style sandwiches in a head-to-head competition. To ensure nuance and balance in the competition, representative banh mi’s were to include Chinatown (Paris Sandwich, Banh Mi Saigon), East Village (Nicky’s), Gramercy (Baoguette) and, of course, Midtown (Ma Peche, Yushi, and Boi To Go). We rated the sandwiches with 5 points assigned to each of 6 categories: bread, pork, vegetables, overall taste, authenticity and value. To ensure purveyors and/or price-point did not prejudice the taste ratings, we labeled sandwiches A-G and provided price on the flip side of post-its, so that tasters could self-reveal price after eating the sample and thus rate value independently.

The results are after the jump…

Baoguette won hands down with 5 #1 rankings overall and the highest overall points. Banh Mi Saigon and Boi To Go each had one #1 ranking, and Banh Mi Saigon had the second highest overall points. The Ma Peche banh mi maison chicken banh mi rated lowest in all categories, particularly far below others in overall taste, authenticity and value. (Although in fairness, how can chicken ever beat pork?)

THE CAVEAT

In the end Nicky’s could not be included because they are closed for renovation – neither posting the information on their website nor answering the phone when present but not serving provided extra disappointment. Thus, the 7th sandwich was the Ma Peche chicken banh mi, which we rated alongside the others, though calling it banh may be questionable.

OVERALL GROUP COMMENTS

Baoguette was the group favorite with a flavorful variety of pork, nice quality bread, and good balance of flavors and textures. Baoguette earned the highest ranking in all categories, including overall taste. Expectedly, only Chinatown banh mi’s rated higher in value. Baoguette at $5 plus tax (compared to $3.75 lowest price, and $10 plus tax highest price), provided the best value banh mi outside of Chinatown.

Ma Peche’s banh mi maison chicken banh mi rated the lowest. The bread is a nice quality French baguette, but the sandwich struck us as plain, which is different from simple and certainly not descriptive of a well-made banh mi, as well as unappealing. Though asterisking the entrant due to not being pork, we unilaterally liked the flavor of the Ma Peche chicken banh mi, which rated second in the *pork* category, second only to Baoguette. Plus, we gorged ourselves on the gorgeous Ma Peche deserts, so to some that might be reason enough to eat their chicken sandwich. UPDATE: The letters got mixed up.  The banh mi maison was universally liked from a flavor standpoint, and rated 2nd only to Baoguette in porkiness (makes sense).  But it ended up in 5 place, probably because of the price.

Yushi rated the overall second lowest. Of their 3 pork products, they include “barbequed” pork slathered in hoisin sauce. Though none of us dislike hoisin sauce itself, it masks all the other flavors and makes the sandwich too saucy and mushy. Add to that the soft, untoasted bread, and for the expectation of banh mi sandwich, the experience is not pleasant.

Banh Mi Saigon and Paris Sandwich took the second and third overall ratings and first and second value ratings, in that order, with Banh Mi Saigon edging out Paris Sandwich by a very slim margin. As reviewed before, Paris Sandwich wins on bread and Banh Mi Saigon wins on filling (pork and vegetables), though some may find the Banh Mi Saigon fillings too sweet.

Boi To Go ranked #4 overall, and as Yelp and other reviewers suggest, it is the most controversial. Among the Midtownlunch.com crowd, it had the highest variation in points. The flavor of the pork is very distinctive with a strong flavor (perhaps anise?) – which some intensely like and some intensely dislike. Quite simply, if you don’t mind experimenting with $8, you’d have to try it yourself to decide.

SUMMARY

Overall points ranking:

1 – Baoguette (5), Multiple Locations (link)
2 – Saigon Banh Mi (1), 138 Mott St (btw Grand St & Hester St), 212-941-1541
3 – Paris Sandwich, 213 Grand St.
4 – Boi To Go (1), Two Locations (link)
5 – Ma Peche Chicken Pork (link)
6 – Yushi, 245 Park Avenue (on 47th btw. Lex+Park), 212-687-1900
7 – Ma Peche Pork Chicken (link)

Number of #1 Rankings in (parenthesis)

For more photos, and a complete report from one judges point of view check out Feisty Foodie.

Yushi (on 47th btw. Park+Lex) seems to add a new thing every month (like boozy ramen) but when Lunch’er “Jason” told me they had added banh mi, I took a second lunch break and ran there. Since you don’t know I’ll tell you now – one of my life goals is to eat every Vietnamese baguette in New York City (my favorite so far is Nicky’s in the EV, but I admit I’m only just getting started.) Sadly it was a Thursday, and I was informed banh mi day is on Wednesdays! So began the six-day countdown to the following Wednesday. Luckily the wait was worth it.

The following Wednesday, I was greeted by a trio of 10-inch banh mi on display. Pork is your only option (no problem here!) and the sandwiches on display exploded with cilantro, pickled veggies, and three kinds of pork: BBQ, sliced pork roll, and pâté.

So, I cannot tell a lie. I was stuck in a meeting and didn’t get to eat the sandwich til three hours after I bought it! I know, what kind of food blogger am I? By 3PM, the poor thing was damp from their “special pho sauce” (which I’m pretty sure is just hoisin), various veggies, and moist meat components.

Still, it was utterly satisfying although I must warn it was a bit more sweet than a traditional banh mi (thanks to the sauce). Maybe the fact that I was ravenous helped this baguette’s cause, but I don’t remember the last time so much pork and pâté starred in a banh mi. The sweetness might be an issue for some (hoisin belongs in pho, siracha belongs on banh mi!) but I still enjoyed it.  And for Midtown, where bread can be a major issue (Boi Sandwich I’m looking at you) it was downright great. Plus Yushi didn’t skimp on the stuffing at all. For $7.95, I’ll be going back tomorrow. And this time no meeting is going to stop me from eating it right away!

Yushi, 245 Park Ave. (on 47th btw. Park+Lex), 212-687-1900

Today I was going to tell you all about the banh mi that Yushi (on 47th btw. Park+Lex) has been serving on Thursdays, but they decided to move them to Wednesdays! No sense in teasing you with something you can’t have until next week. Still want to head to Yushi? Thursdays are still peking duck day. (And there is always the sake ramen.)

Related:
Today is Peking Duck Day at Yushi (and You May Be Surprised to Hear Where The Duck Comes From)

Speaking of Yushi, they have a special running only through the month of March. Any 3 plates from their refrigerated conveyor belt sushi and dessert line is only 9.95.  Green plates are excluded (of course!), but filling up on 3 of the $4.75 plates would still make this a pretty good deal.

Related:
Midtown Lunch’ers Report: Yushi’s New Refrigerated Conveyor Belt

Yushi (on 47th btw. Park+Lex) has become known for their near manic proclivity at adding new items to their menu. Last week they introduced their new Sake Ramen and as the official ML Happy Hour Correspondent I thought it was fitting that I try this boozy broth. After all, I’ve had a fair amount of sake in my day and if you count all the ramen I ate in college then the same can be said for the latter. However, I don’t think I’ve ever added sake to my ramen, at least not on purpose. I wasn’t sure how this combination would sit with me. I figured it might be great or it could be bad. A kin to pouring beer on your chicken noodle, but enough talk, time for soup!

Yushi’s soup station operates from opening till 2pm, after that sake ramen can still be ordered but only from the back kitchen. You only get two choices… Sake Ramen for $7.95 or Super! Sake Ramen for $9.95. Considering that he super! sake also comes with a double dose of booze the answer was clear: Super Sake Me!

The soup consists of teriyaki chicken, broccolini, scallion, fresh ginger, and half a soft boiled egg, all topped with some high octane sake. The dark chicken was flavorful and the broccolini and egg was a nice touch. I didn’t notice any ginger, but that might have been due to the super sake powers of the soup.

The sake was hard to ignore but hot noodles and broth mellowed the alcoholic sting nicely. Yushi prides itself on healthy lunch options, but this is Midtown Lunch not Healthy Choice so after a few spoonfuls I headed over to the sushi station and grabbed the sesame chili oil, wasabi and soy sauce (That’s right I added salt, screw you Bloomberg!) That did the trick nicely.

All things considered, it’s not the most flavorful soup, and better ramen can be found at the same price point at places like Menchanko Tei or Men Kui Tei, but in the end who cares? It’s booze and soup! If you like booze… and you like soup… you’ll probably like this.

THE + (What people who like this place will say)

• Yushi offers healthy and fresh meals and I believe sake is an integral part of a balanced diet
• Dark meat chicken is used in the teriyaki, and that means more flavor
• Booze and broth: two great tastes that taste great together

THE – (What people who dislike this place will say)

• I don’t really like sake and would rather just have a great bowl of soup elsewhere
• It could use more salt and a bit more of a flavor boost
• The noodles were slightly over cooked
• I love ramen, and no amount of booze is going to trick me into thinking this is ramen!  (Teriyaki chicken? WTF!)

Yushi, 245 Park Ave. (on 47th btw. Park+Lex), 212-687-1900