Midtown Lunch

A little over a month ago, we spotted the Paris Sandwich Banh Mi Truck making its rounds through Midtown. Although we were excited to have some new Banh Mi options in town, we were immediately hit with disappointment that there was no pork Banh Mi on the menu at all. What’s a Banh Mi without the pork?!

Despite pork being left off the menu, I recently caught up with the truck at 47th and Park, and after the bad things Lunch’er “vinegarhill” had to say about his Curry beef Banh Mi in the comments, I decided to go for the Canh Chua Fish Baguette!

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This just in from Lunch’er “copyboy”…

Sara Halal Food, a generic chicken and lamb grilltop cart long a fixture on the corner of 48th at 6th Ave. caught fire and burned this morning. Billows of black smoke enveloped the lower floors of the News Corp. building as tourists gawked at the blazing mobile eatery. A hook and ladder responded and the fire was extinguished without much fuss. The cart seemed damaged and dirty (dirtier) although the splamb cube can probably just be shaved and reused. It’ll take a bit of refurbishment to get it back in working order.

About a dozen firemen poked and prodded the cart with fire hooks. They disconnected the propane tanks, which appeared undamaged and certainly undetonated. When asked what caused the blaze, a fireman responded, “Cause?”

Fast-casual: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the food blog Midtown Lunch. Its continuing mission: to explore strange new corporate-coined food terminology, to seek out cheap food and restaurants, to boldly eat where no one has eaten before. Our mantra (which I just paraphrased) or Prime Directive (stay undercover, do not reveal you’re from the internet, and be honest) is constantly in play. When Wok to Walk came in out of nowhere to eat up half of Roll & Go’s space, an eyebrow was raised. Now that it’s open, it’s time to see if the assembly-line construction of fast-cas food (think Chipotle or similar cook-to-order assembly lines) can be applied tastily to Chinese food.
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In anticipation of the grand opening, Ippudo Westside (Ippudo’s newest Midtown location, which we found out last month was opening on July 13th) is now soft open for lunch and dinner! According to the website, they are serving lunch from 11-2pm everyday until the grand opening on Saturday, July 13th.  Dedicated ramen lovers, let us know how the lines are and how the menu compares to the East Village!

Ippudo Westside, 321 51st Street (Btw. 8th and 9th Ave)

I was a big fan of Schnitzel & Things, so when its brick and mortar location just a block from my office shut down this year, I was pretty disappointed. My interest wasn’t too piqued when an advertisement for a Mediterranean restaurant appeared at the location a bit later. I’d expected they would sell food similar to what you can get at most carts in Midtown. So when Adana Grill (3rd Ave btw 45th+46th)finally opened, boasting a menu of Turkish grilled meat dishes, I was pleasantly surprised.

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In the spirit of the apocryphal “for sale: baby shoes, never worn” sad story, Lunch’er “Elise” has tipped us off to a Craigslist post of the entire contents of Spring Dumplings, enjoyed by many with great potential but forced out before their time. In addition to 130-year old reclaimed wood furnishings, there’s tons of restaurant supplies and fixtures if you wanted, say, a six-burner range or food holding wells. Cash only – check out the details if you want to bottom-feed off of a failed restaurant get some bargains.

Happy Birthday America.

Midtown loves its kati rolls. Amongst Indian food, few other dishes than the stalwart samosa, popular pakora, and killer kati rolls stand in the street-food pantheon. These things are the best eat-and-walk chow you can get on the subcontinent, I assert. Problem is, the southern chunk of midtown has been fairly kati roll-free. Serendipitously, Seamless’ “hey guys, look what’s new!” blast came out the other day showing a new spot that we hadn’t yet heard of: The Kati House (on 36th btw. 8+9th). On an otherwise unremarkable block housing an NYPD motor pool and generic dragon Chinese, could this be an addition to the hole-in-the-wall Indo-Pakistani in the area?
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After some serious grilling on the Fourth of July, you’ll need something sweet (and American) to pair with the fireworks. I’ve found just the thing: good old fashioned apple pie. Clay (behind the camera) and I visit Little Pie Company to sample three varieties of apple pie. And while stuffing my face, I learn a little something about this great country. Check out the video after the jump…

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