Midtown Lunch

Urgh.  What did I say on Wednesday? This just in from Lunch’er Lee:

“Just went by the Street Sweets Truck and 4 hot dog carts set up in their spot on 53rd btwn 5th and 6th at 9am. Not to beat a dead horse, but how could selling croissants and coffee possibly cut into hot dog cart business? They sell crappy hot dogs and prepackaged beef patties? Total horsesh*t, now I don’t have a cup of coffee and I am tired.”

I think it’s easy to turn against the hot dog vendors in front of MOMA but look at things from their perspective.

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Just a reminder today is the last day you can nominate or vote for a cart to be included in Street Meat Palooza 2, our chicken and lamb over rice showdown going on next week. A few of the commenters will be chosen to be participants/judges.  And don’t forget, even though SMP2 is closed to the public, you can also enter to win a spot by purchasing a Vendy Award ticket before Midnight tonight. Good luck!

Big surprise!  It’s day one for the La Cense Burger Truck and by 12:15pm the line was already around the corner of 48th Street, and down Park Ave.  Clearly Midtown Lunchers love the idea of eating a burger from a truck, although if that was completely true the Steak Truck (just one block away) would have a similar line.  (It doesn’t.)  I guess people love the idea of eating burger from a truck made from grass fed beef!

I bypassed the PR lady escorting other bloggers directly to their free burgers, and waited in line to pay for mine like a regular customer.  Your first look at the thing is after the jump…

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Trini Paki Boys Cart, 2006

I think it’s so cool that even after doing this for 3+ years I can still be surprised by something that had been right under my nose the entire time.  It’s the beauty of lunching in Midtown. No matter how long you do it, no matter how much you eat out, there is always something new to discover.  And sometimes it’s not even new… just new to you.  Such is the case with the Trini Paki Boys Cart on 43rd & 6th.

This cart really needs no introduction.  It’s been around for god knows how long (possibly 25+ years), and it has always been considered one of the best chicken and rice carts in Midtown.  Lately, it hasn’t gotten as much press (or long lines) as the cart on 53rd & 6th or the Biryani Cart- but if you had to pick a hall of fame of Midtown street meat, it would easily make the first ballot.  I first wrote about them in September of 2006, and they competed in last year’s Street Meat Palooza. I knew there was always something a bit different about their food, and there has been a lot of speculation about their name (Pakistan I get, but Trinidad?  Where’s the connection?)  It’s even a favorite of food media royalty, like Ruth Reichl and Pete Wells.  But admittedly it’s been awhile since I’ve actually eaten at the cart, and amazingly enough it took a trip with a New York Times reporter to unlock its full awesomeness.

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Here’s a strange marketing decision… Remember Golosi, the by the inch pizza and gelato place that took over the old Yolato spot on Park Ave. btw. 41+42nd.  Well, it looks like they are now selling Golosi branded gelato in other locations. (Thanks to Lunch’er Dave for sending in this photo of Golosi being sold in the Old Bridge Deli on Lex. and 41st.) I thought we had confirmation that Golosi was pretty much the same owners and product as Yolato, but in different packaging.  So it seems strange that they would do anything to confuse the situation.  Yolato is already being sold at a large number of Midtown delis. I tried to get more info on their website, but it’s just a static page designed to look like a website.  Very strange… UPDATE: Apparently any similarities between Golosi and Yolato (and there are a lot of them) are just a coincidence. A rep from Golosi has emailed in to say that “Golosi and Yolato are two different companies with different owners.” And their website is under construction. Their “temporary website” (an online ordering page, run by Seamless Web) can be found here.

Fresh on the heels of our cold noodles post yesterday, the website 89th and Broke sends word of this supposed free deal: “To celebrate its 20th year anniversary, Menchanko-Tei, a Japanese ramen/noodle house in midtown west is offering to pick up the tab… if you win a one-shot game of Jan-Ken-Pon (Rock-Paper-Scissors) with the restaurant’s manager.” A call to the restaurant confirms that the promotion is being held at both locations, but there’s one downside… they’re not doing it at lunchtime!  It’s only for dinner, and it’s not every table.  They choose 5 tables randomly throughout the night (starting at 5pm.) According to 89th and Broke, it’s just until Friday.  Good luck!

Related:
Original Menchako-Tei Post (10/23/06)