Midtown Lunch

• The Eggstravaganza Cart is better than Qdoba [Midtown Eating]
• The schnitzel and falafel at Kosher Oasis are great [Midtown Eating]
• Who wants to go in on a whole Indian pizza? [Connections]
• Peking Duck House on 53rd has a crispy szechuan beef dish [Midtown Eating]
• The original Kwik Meal is better than the one on 47th & Park [Midtown Eating]
• Where can I find eel?  The animal, not the dish… [Miscellaneous]

All the votes have been tabulated and the Colonel’s Heart Attack has been crowned the winner of Cer Te’s August sandwich challenge. The sandwich will be sold every day for the entire month of September (starting tomorrow, natch.) Also, they’ve sent word that “some improvements” have been made to the sandwich based on feedback from Midtown Lunchers.

Improvements to a “winning” sandwich?

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I love it when Midtown Lunch brings people together. So in that spirit I was hoping somebody out there could help this tourist out. She ate a sausage while visiting NYC a few weeks ago, and hasn’t been able to get it out of her head since.

Hi Zach,

I have an unusual request. I returned from New York City a few weeks back. I was there from July 23 – Aug 1. While there I dined at a street vendor I believe was on 50th Street and 7th Avenue. It was just down the street from the Sheraton NY on 53rd. I think that it is one street down from the Jamaican Dutchy but I am not positive. It is just off to the left from the corner of 7th Avenue. I had the chicken served over rice with salad on July 31st. The food was amazing, however, this is not the reason for my email. A few nights prior to that I had a sausage on a bun and that is when I first met the gentleman that was working for the vendor.

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Whether or not you think the Garment District is an amazing area for lunch or not can probably be determined by a single factor:  whether or not you love “strange” Chinese food.  And by strange, of course I mean real Chinese food- made for actual Chinese people who work in high 30s on the West side of Midtown.  At these places the General Tso’s, Beef and Broccoli, and egg rolls have been replaced by fried pork chops, various types of offal, salt and pepper shrimp with their heads still on, and at least 3 or 4 vegetable options (no American broccoli though.)  My favorite of these places is Ying Du (on 37th btw. 7+8th), but there is also Fuji Bakery (on 35th btw. 7+8th), and the Lunch Box Buffet (on 34th btw. 7+8th) which is the least strange of the three and features the most excellent Fay Da Bakery.

On Friday, I noticed a sign in the window of Sushi Osaka (on 8th Ave. btw. 36+37th) touting a new “Lunch Special” featuring 3 Chinese items over rice for $5.  Apparently another one of these “strange” Chinese spots has now opened in the back of this sushi restaurant.

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Last summer Adham’s Halal came out of nowhere to place 3rd in Street Meat Palooza. But this year, when we returned to Broadway & 40th to re-enter them in Street Meat Palooza 2, some other cart was in its place. The replacement cart, Fresh Food Halal Food, placed a respectable 7th place but fans of Adham’s were disappointed the cart didn’t get a chance to defend its 3rd place ranking. Well, I’m not sure if this is the original from Broadway & 40th, but I spotted an Adham’s Halal Food on 35th and Broadway on Friday. Any Adham’s fans have the lowdown on this cart? Has this cart always been here?  Is this just one of many Adham’s carts (I kind of remember seeing one on 6th Ave. as well) or is this the OG? If you know, let us know in the comments. And of course, there’s always Street Meat Palooza 3!

I guess the “hospitality special” is now over, because the Kashmir Buffet has raised their price from $7.99 to $9.99. At $8 this weird, borderline scary, all you can eat Pakistani buffet was a strange treat. The kind of thing I would recommend everybody try just once (just to prove how much of a Midtown Lunch’ing badass you really are.) At $10, it’s much less attractive- especially with the far less scary Spice Fusion buffet just 10 blocks north (on 8th Ave. btw. 47+48th). You’re still a badass if you go.

Related:
Adventure Lunchers Should Flock to Kashmir Buffet

Grilled Chicken and artichoke sandwich from Financier. Photo courtesy of Blondie and Brownie

• A great look at the new Financier Patisserie on 1st Avenue [Blondie and Brownie]
• Another reason to hate Cafe Metro: KFed eats there [Buzz Foto via Cityfile]
• Wheel…….. Of…….. Lunch! [Slashfood]
• Checking out the food at the new El Rey Del Sabor cart on 43rd [Thirsty Foodie]
• It’s not in Midtown, but this is what you should be doing after work today [Hapa Kitchen Luau + Pig Roast]

If you like to eat, chances are you like to drink (read: a lot of you are freakin’ lushes), so I thought maybe it was time to introduce a happy hour column to the site. Every week, our Happy Hour Correspondent “Mamacita” will post about a different bar in Midtown that fits the Midtown Lunch mentality: unhealthy food, not lame (unless it’s lame in a cool way), and most importantly… cheap.

Naples 45 has long been on the ML radar because of their $2.50 (previously $1.50) take out slices after 2pm until closing. In fact, I think Zach was still working for ‘the man’ back when he wrote about them. How’s that for a flashback! Well, I’m a woman of slender means so when commenters mentioned that they offer free pizza during happy hour I headed over to check out the deal.

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