Midtown Lunch

Everyone's prayers have been answered… but mine.  They started construction on a new Chipotle right in my building (49th between 6th & 7th), and the office is abuzz.  After all, burritos could possibly be the perfect lunch food.  A self contained, all inclusive pocket of goodness, that you can eat with your hands… no side dishes necessary (except for some chips to handle the overflow). 

Everyone seems pretty excited about the prospect of burritos being just an elevator ride away- but I can't fall into that trap.  For me, Chipotle is like a bad Chinese Buffet.  I have to go back once every three months, and feel sick, to remind myself why I only go once every three months.  See, I distinctly remember what my brain told me the last time I ate Chiptole… "Never eat here again".  But that was three months ago, and my burrito starved body is wondering, "Maybe this time it will be different…everyone seems pretty excited… maybe I was wrong about Chipotle." 

And of course three months ago was actually a relapse of it's own.  A few months before that, I had just moved here from Los Angeles, and tried Chiptole for the first time.  My thought… "Never eat here again…"  That lasted about two months.  Why can't they make a decent burrito in this city!

I'm not saying Chiptole is a terrible burrito… but compared to the Burritos in L.A., they definetely fall short (no one would dispute that).  But I'm not even talking about the authentic Burrito shacks… I'm talking about the chains too.  Now if a Baja Fresh or Sharky's opened at the bottom of my building, then you'd see some excitement.  But alas, there is no Baja Fresh, and we'll just have to settle for Chipotle.

The +/- after the jump… Read more »

The last thing NYC needs is another Deli (especially a chain!) but Lenny’s continues to open up new locations- with one of the newer ones being right in Midtown on 48th between 5th and 6th Avenue.  I feel like eating at a chain deli in NYC is like eating at Taco Bell while you’re in Mexico.  With so many sandwich choices already in midtown, when I walked by the sign the first time, I wondered why anyone would get a sandwich at a seemingly yuppified, over-priced chain like this.

Well, after eating there a few times, the answer is simple… it’s pretty damn good.  As for it not being authentic or home-grown, apparently the chain is an offshoot of a place opened in 1989 on the Upper West Side by Sei Hoon Lenny Chu, possibly the most unlikely named “Lenny” to ever open up a New York style deli in the history of the city.  They’ve recently begun franchising with plans to open 80-100 stores in the Northeast over the next 5 years.

As for the food, I’m sure everyone has their favorite deli to get a sandwich in Midtown- but it’s ok to branch out every once in awhile, and Lenny’s is definetely worthwhile.  The ingredients are fresh, every sandwich is made to order (unlike a lot of the Midtown delis) and the choices are endless.  You can order your ingredients ala carte, or choose one of their TONS of pre designed choices like Lenny’s All Time Favorites, Cold Cut Combos, Grilled Combos, Homestyle Combos and Lite Sandwiches.

The place is not without it’s problems, but alot of those can be solved with a few easy suggestions… more on that, and the +/- after the jump. Read more »

I am a huge fan of chinese food, in all its forms.  Dim Sum, Chinatown, cheap, upscale, authentic or american style, mall food court, street fair and of course- the almighty chinese buffet (my personal favorite).  Cheap chinese is one of my favorite lunch choices.  You might say it's a disease.  If given the choice between Chinese, or anything else under the sun, I find it hard to turn down the chinese.  Sometimes my mind and my stomach might be saying something else (sandwich, salad, Italian, Indian) but if god forbid, there's a cheap chinese place (one where you point to what you want) from here to there, the chinese will probably win out. 

You can't deny the genius of the cheap chinese food place.  You get to see all your choices before selecting and it's great if you like variety (most places give you 2 or 3 choices).  Further proof is the fact that every mall food court has one of these places, and even the non-chinese places have started serving some sort of "chinese" style chicken, in those little metal steamer compartments, that you point at to order … my favorite being Bourbon chicken at the Cajun Grille.  Is there really a difference between that and teriyaki? Don't get me wrong, I love authentic chinese food too.  I love Dim Sum and am a big fan of Chinatown (not just NYC, but Boston, San Fran, and L.A) and the more authentic chinese areas outside of big metropolitan cities, like Monterrey Park (the real L.A. chinatown)… and this is the beauty of Hing Won.  It's got both.

More on Hing Won, Pictures and the +/- after the jump… Read more »

I remember when a good friend of mine told me her offices were moving from Soho to Midtown.  The first thing that came to mind was “You’re screwed…”.  All those great dining options, replaced by an endless supply of halal carts and $8 salad joints.  Sure there’s the few midtown lunch options that have garnered some notoriety (Burger Joint at le Meridien, Bouchon Bakery if you’re on the north side of Midtown), but for the most part, if you’re looking for a quick Midtown lunch for under $10, the good places require a little more digging.  If you work in Midtown this site will hopefully be a place for you to find the gem in a sea of duds… and there are alot of those. 

I’m not going to set any boundries to what qualifies, but I work on 6th Avenue and 49th Street, so most of the places will be in walking distance from there.  I’m also a big fan of ethnic food, and not such a huge fan of the salad by the pound places… so while I can recommend a few good salads (Variety Cafe being one), a larger proportion of this blog will focus on ethnic foods. 

Everybody’s got their favorites, so comments and recommendations are totally welcome… and I’m not scared of carts, or dirty joints, so hit me with your best shot (minus the Sbarro pizza buffet & Hooters- although their chicken wings are not without merit).

All in all I hope this will be a useful resource for all of you who are unlucky enough to work in this food challenged part of the greatest city in the world.  Sure we’d rather work in Chelsea, the Village, Soho, Chinatown (my personal dream), or at a desk in the Shake Shack- but we’re stuck in this wasteland.  So let’s make the best of it….

ABOUT ME:

• Sex: Male
• Age: 30
• Where I live: Hell’s Kitchen
• Where I work: Media Company in Midtown (hence the blog)
• Favorite Food: I don’t discriminate against any kind of food (but I am particularly partial to Asian Food)
• Favorite Restaurants in NYC: Fatty Crab, Momofuku Noodle Bar, Craft, Telepan, Grammercy Tavern, Hell’s Kitchen

Do you have an idea, suggestion, tip or piece of information about eating lunch in Midtown?  Email me at zach@midtownlunch.com

Flickr Page: http://www.flickr.com/photos/59445098@N00/

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I remember when a good friend of mine told me her offices were moving from Soho to Midtown.  The first thing that came to mind was "You're screwed…".  All those great dining options, replaced by an endless supply of halal carts and $8 salad joints.  Sure there's the occasional high profile cheap lunch option (Burger Joint at le Meridien, Bouchon Bakery if you're on the north side of Midtown), but for the most part, if you're looking for a quick work lunch for under $15, the good places require a little more digging. 

If you work in Midtown this site should be a perfect place for you to find that good place without having to eat at alot of duds… and there are alot of those.  I'm not going to set any boundries to what qualifies, but I work on 6th Avenue and 49th Street, so most of the places will be in walking distance from there.  I'm also a big fan of ethnic food, and not such a huge fan of the salad by the pound places… so while I can recommend a few good salads (Variety Cafe being one), a larger proportion of this blog will focus on ethnic foods.  Everybody's got their favorites, so comments and recommendations are totally welcome… and I'm not scared of carts, or dirty joints, so hit me with your best shot (minus the Sbarro pizza buffet & Hooters- although their chicken wings are not without merit).

All in all I hope this will be a useful resource for all of you who are unlucky enough to work in this food challenged part of the greatest city in the world.  Sure we'd rather work in Chelsea, the Village, Soho, Chinatown (my personal dream), or at a desk permanently situated in the front of the Shake Shack line- but we're stuck in this wasteland.  Let's make the best of it….