Midtown Lunch

Today’s Pork from Cafe Cello (on 46th btw. 5+6th)

I swear, if one more person even jokes about not eating pork anymore because of this swine flu stupidity I’m going to throw up in my own mouth. I’m sick of it. It’s not even fun to joke about. There’s nothing wrong with eating pork people! Which makes this news even more infuriating: Gyu-Kaku (the Japanese BBQ restaurant on 3rd Ave. and 50th) refused to serve a customer any of their pork dishes last night. Way to fan the flames with ignorant business practices.

Thankfully Cafe Cello (on 46th btw. 5+6th) has returned just in the nick of time. Their delicious roast pork is back! And the only thing you have to be scared of is their recent DOH closing… but when meat looks this good, I’m willing overlook a bit of “evidence of roaches”.

Related:
The DOH Has a Purpose Beyond Closing Our Favorite Restaurants (And it Rhymes With Twine Glue)

“Why don’t you write about the places on 9th Ave.!?!” is a question I get a lot.  My reply is usually some form of “Well then I have to go to 2nd Ave., and 26th street, and 65th Street… and then it never ends.”  Essentially, you have to have boundaries or else it’s complete chaos.  And while there are people who work on the outskirts who will travel to 2nd Ave. or 9th Ave. for lunch, most Midtown Lunch’ers will not… unless there is something that is going to make everyone say “oh man… I need that now.” Like banh mi, or tacos, or thai food, or $1 fried chicken.  Or gyros (and Greek pastries!)

The age old gyro question came up again last week, when Profiled Lunch’er Harry asked if there was a real Greek gyro to be had in Midtown.  Street carts, chop their gyro up and fry it on the griddle, rather than allowing it to fully cook on the spit, Gyro II leaves a lot to be desired, and while Famous Chicken Place does a bang up job- we still don’t have a real deal Greek gyro in the ML boundaries.  Unless you are willing to travel to 9th Avenue. Uncle Nick’s and Posiedon Bakery were (enthusiastically) recommended in the comments… and when commenters speak, I listen. And boy am I glad I did.

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I’ve been begging for it ever since the Midtown Lunch Sandwich Challenge began, and word is the Papa Perrone Truck (on 55th btw. Mad+Park) is stepping up to the plate today. Chicken fingers. Mozzarella sticks. French Fries. Sauce. Roll.  If you’ve ever been to the Rutgers grease trucks you know exactly what I’m talking about.  This may or may not be a one time only deal (depending on how it’s received, how tough it is to make, etc.) so if you’re interested in trying this monstrosity, you might want to hit up the truck today.

It looks like Province Chinese Canteen, the little Tribeca mantou shop that closed at the end of last year, will be reopening soon on 53rd Street btw. 2+3rd under the new name “Mantao Chinese Sandwiches”. I’m all for little Chinese sandwiches, although according to a comment on Yelp, the original owners “‘sold’ the business to a midtown buyer, are franchising it out, and are keeping a %age of the profits.”  Should be interesting (especially since some folks didn’t like the place that much to begin win.)  I guess we’ll just have to wait and see if it’s any good…

Photo courtesy of Writing With My Mouth Full. And thanks to Kathryn Yu for the tip!

In honor of Queen’s Day (?), which is today, Wined and Dined and Serious Eats: New York are reporting that Danku (on 57th btw. 5+6th) is going to start serving made to order stroopwafels, a kind of waffle cookie sandwich thing with a “hot caramel goo” in the center. You all know how I feel about Danku (and I know how you feel.) I love Indonesian food, and had incredibly high hopes for this new chain. But despite a few decent dishes, overall it was a pretty big letdown. Could this be the thing that turns it around?

Strangely enough, I was walking by Danku weeks a few weeks ago and they were handing out free samples of these stroopwafels… so I was a little surprised to read that they were “introducing” them today for Queen’s Day. (Maybe they were just “testing” them? Or maybe I was imagining things… because PR people never lie. Today is the day! Get excited!) Either way, the free sample I tried was pretty delicious… so if you’re into this kind of thing, I would definitely recommend checking it out. For more on the Danku Stoopwafel (and a behind the scenes look at exactly how they make them) check out Serious Eats: New York.

Related:
Everything You Wanted To Know About Danku (But Were Afraid To Try)

I requested it yesterday, and Adam Kuban has answered the challenge… ladies and gentleman, the cheap slice showdown between 99 Cent Fresh Pizza and its new neighbor 2 Bros. It’s as amazing as I imagined it would be when I issued the challenge. The winner as declared by SLICE: 2 Bros. (Didn’t I say the same thing? Maybe I do know something about pizza!) He also clears up the whole “do you have to pay tax” issue, but I think his findings only apply to the 9th Ave. location, not the one near Grand Central.  [Slice]