Midtown Lunch

The world, or at least NYC, is divided about this dessert, courtesy of Fork In The Road

• Apparently, much like with cupcakes, the world is divided on whether a store called The Best Chocolate Cake In The World actually can make that claim…or if they even serve cake. [Fork In The Road]
• And other publications also weighed in on whether it’s delicious or overpriced. [Eater NY]
• Fancy sandwich lovers can get their fix at the just out of ML price range Salume, aka “the perfect respite for designer clothes shopping.” [Always Hungry]
• The chicken curry noodles at Bo Ky sounds like everything delicious thrown into one bowl. Random chicken parts included! [Serious Eats NY]
• The pepito torta at La Esquina is now easier to eat without having awkward bits of meat sticking out of your mouth. [Lunch with Front Studio]

This makes my stomach full just looking at it, courtesy of Lunch with Front Studio

• Beware the hidden danger in the pork stew from La Nueva Conquista, which is “yummy in taste but also rather bony.” [Lunch with Front Studio]
• There is now a Subway suspended above the World Trade Center site, and they’re thinking of adding Papa John’s pizza. That is all. [NY Times]
• The fact that BabyCakes has to advertise that its cake balls contain sugar almost makes me forget that they’re “soy free, casein free, egg free, vegan and kosher.” Almost. [Always Hungry]
• Word on the street is that it’s best to mix and match the cookies in The Meatball Shop’s ice cream sandwiches, and the street doesn’t lie. [Fork In The Road]
• Everything you need to know about Eddie Huang’s  new place Xiao Ye, which could open in the next week. Let the countdown to long lines begin! [Eater NY]

These five dumplings cost less than a hot dog, courtesy of Food In Mouth

• I am not the only one who finds Prosperity Dumpling utterly delicious. [Food In Mouth]
• You can now get your fix of raw Holland herring from the just in-bounds Russ & Daughters. No, really, you first. [Fork In The Road]
• Does a blueberry cake doughnut count as lunch? I vote yes. [Serious Eats NY]
• A new Taiwanese chain has taken over the space that once was the short-lived and reviled chain Kung Fu Bing. [Grub St.]

The sandwich, the myth, the legend: the Spicy Rizzak, courtesy of Serious Eats NY

• Sandwich lovers rejoiced and wept as Tiny’s Giant Sandwich Shop reopened on the Lower East Side. A field trip may be in order. [Serious Eats NY]
• The Bon Chon on John St. apparently comes alive at night, but not so much at lunch, which is the complete opposite of every other place in the FiDi. [NY Times]
• Kuai An  in Chinatown puts all kinds of funky bits in some of their soups, but at least the hand-pulled noodles are tasty. [Food In Mouth]
• Looks like we weren’t the only ones who noticed the Plein Sud vs. C&H Halal Cart feud going down in Tribeca. [Eater NY]
• There are so many things to love about Chinatown, and these dirt-cheap fried black rice cakes at Quickly had me at $2.99 for a bag. [Fork In The Road]

This wall makes me feel lame, courtesy of Attack

• An ad agency downtown, Wieden+Kennedy, has put up an awesome Wall of Restaurant Worship at their office. It puts to shame my list scrawled in Sharpie/pile of restaurant take-out menus. [Attack]
• Ed’s Lobster Cart, an offshoot of waaaay out of Midtown Lunch-range Ed’s Lobster Bar, is opening its cart this weekend behind the World Financial Center at Vesey & N. End Ave. This is about the only time I will spend $15 on a sandwich. [Blondie & Brownie]
• The mortadella sandwich at Parisi Bakery on Mott St. is “oh-so-slightly funky.” [Serious Eats NY]
• Eddie Huang will be previewing the food for his upcoming Lower East Side restaurant Xiao Ye this weekend. I’m still sad he had to change the name from Crackhaus.  [Grub Street]

This is what comfort food looks like in Malaysia, courtesy of Lunch with Front Studio

• Malaysian mini-chain Nyonya can hook you up with some “reliable comfort food” at their newly-fancified Grand St. location. [Lunch With Front Studio]
• Apparently if you don’t have your shit together at Katz’s Deli and lose your ticket, they will slap you with a $50 fine. [Eater NY]
• The twice-weekly (including Wednesdays) Fulton Stall Market opens for the season on South St., for all of  you who love putting a lunch together from multiple sources. [Diner’s Journal]
• Torrisi Italian Specialties gets another glowing blogger endorsement for its sandwiches, which toe the ML price line. I want to go to there. [Food In Mouth]
• Fancy pants Vietnamese sandwich shop An Choi expanded to the space next door and built some hipster-looking tables to sit at. [Grub Street]

It might look delicious, but looks can be deceiving, courtesy of Serious Eats NY

• The “painfully sugary” Cookies & Cream cupcake from Tribeca Treats fulfills the stereotype that all of these tiny cakes suck. [Serious Eats NY]
• Shake Shack may open a location in Battery Park City, although the Union Square Hospitality Group is playing coy and denying things that weren’t even asked about. [Grub Street]
• Battery Park City is getting even more food lovin’ from another non-terrible chain, Le Pain Quotidien. [Eater NY]
• An egg and potato hero from Torrisi Italian Specialties makes fast food breakfast sandwiches look weak and sickly. [Fork In The Road]