Midtown Lunch

If you’re the type of person that reads Midtown Lunch, you probably like cheesesteaks. Lucky for you, plenty of decent Philly-style options have opened up in recent years… like this one, this one, and this one. These places are all great, but you may find it difficult to stay under $10. Sometimes, I just crave a big gut-buster that won’t bust my wallet too. So, I began a search for midtown’s best cheap cheesesteaks. Initially, my intention was to order as “traditional” a Philly cheesesteak as possible at each destination, but it soon dawned on me that there’s really nothing traditional or authentic about ordering cheap-ass cheesesteaks from street carts in New York City.

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Every Friday we go south of the ML boundaries in search of a delicious lunch. Sometimes it’s Murray Hill south or the Flatiron District, sometimes Gramercy and everything in between- but we just like to call it Flatiron Lunch.

It may just be me, but the sight of signage promoting quail curry on Thursdays got me super excited. (It’s not just me, right?) Where else can you order quail curry in Flatiron or Midtown? (Seriously, is there any place else?) I was excited.

When I went to Lahori Kabab on a Thursday to claim my quail curry, they didn’t have it. Trust me, I was super bummed. They promised me they would have it the next week. When I asked which of the daily specials he preferred, the guy at the counter said his favorite is Friday’s haleem.

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We may not be on the street anymore but it aint the last you heard from fishingshrimp! In the meantime check out our new truck @mooshugrill

— Fishing Shrimp (@FishingShrimp) July 29, 2013

We haven’t seen the Fishing Shrimp truck around in Midtown for a while and now we get word from Twitter that they have called it quits due to raising seafood costs. But they will still be available for catering and pop-up possibilities. The company (which also runs the Bian Dang and Domo Taco trucks) quietly launched a new food truck this week and it’s called Moo Shu Grill, serving lo mein and moo shu wraps. They tweeted that they’ll be coming to Midtown today for the first time, parking on 38th and Broadway. If anybody tries them out, please leave feedback in the comments.

A couple of weeks ago, Schnitzel & Things announced via a blog post and tweet that they would be launching a new food cart. Luckily for Downtown Lunch’ers, this week, the cart hit the streets in the Financial District. But fear not, ML’ers, although the new cart is starting out downtown, we hear they have plans to make their way to Midtown after the kinks are worked out.

Check out the menu after the jump!
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When Fusion 9th went Fukushima after a very short period of time (not like we’re gonna miss their meh-at-best food) it was a near given that a restaurant would come into the space. Nobody really expected such a quick-draw on part of Larb Ubol/Isan Authentic Thai, though – there was maybe about two months tops of vacancy on this 9th Ave frontage. It’s unironic cliche on Midtown Lunch that 9th has tons of Thai places, some that are even good, and some that had the ol’ eyebrow raised. When they opened not a week after our newspost, it was time to match their quickdraw with a quick review. Doubly so because this spot is the creation of Ratchanee Sumpatboon, formerly of Zabb Elee. Does Larb Ubol Thai the knot or is it amongst the dustbin of pad thai history?
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As you round the corner on 60th Street at Park Avenue, just on the brink of Midtown East, wafts of barbecue grilled meat greet you. If you follow that smell, you end up half way down the block where a wood and charcoal burning grill sits on the front patio of Amali Restaurant, surrounded by a wooden lattice with an adorable take out counter to order from. With quite possibly the only wood and charcoal burning grill out on the street in Midtown Manhattan, Amali has rolled out Amali Street Food for lunch this summer, and they’re serving up some pretty awesome sandwiches with the new outdoor grill!

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That sure didn’t take long, and it couldn’t have happened to a nicer place. Kati House (on 36th btw. 8+9th), which opened last month and seems to have become my boss’ favorite food spot, apparently got a visit from the NYPD last week. Said boss was by them and found the sign, and those bright pieces of paper are closure orders and NYPD notices galore. The bright orange one says it all: ABC Violation. Looks like they got hit with the 9th Ave serve-the-underage-itis! We’ll keep everyone posted, but it looks like it’s back to Kati Roll Company for those who want ’em.

Pie Face seems to cropping up in Midtown like hungry dingoes around a nursery. We’ve seen a bunch of them come up over the last year or so, and now that their newest location on 9th and 36th is open it’s high time we gave them a look beyond breakfast food and giant morasses of mashed peas, potatoes, and gravy over a meat pie (can you GET any more British Commonwealth chow than this?). On their first weekday open, running 24-7-365, can they carry a tune when it comes time to Pie Face the music?
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Doner kebab fans, rejoice! After being hit by a DoH closure that has lasted for over a month, Lezzette (on 34th btw. 8+9th) has been finally cleared to re-open. Traffic from this awesome gyro and/or Mediterranean salad joint was decent, but clearly there are a few readers and commenters waiting for the word. The word is “gyros,” ladies and gents!  You’re all clear to return…

Lezzette, 369 West 34th (btw. 8th and 9th)

When DiSo’s Italian Sandwich Society‘s bright red truck started parking in Midtown in June, the lines were long and the temperatures outside were HOT. On the first day of business in Midtown, Lunch’ers were commenting that the sandwiches were delicious, but wait times were up to 45 minutes with the truck running out of bread by 1:45. Since then, we’ve gone back a couple of times for a closer look…

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