Midtown Lunch

This is kind of exciting.  The Famous Halal Guys’ daytime cart on the SE corner of 53rd St and 6th Ave (who won last year’s Street Meat Palooza) have added kofta kebabs to their menu.  I had already had lunch by the time I walked by and spotted this beautiful sight on the grill, so I didn’t get a chance to sample.  But you better believe that a chicken/kofta over rice combo platter is in my immediate future (topped with white sauce and hot sauce of course.) No word on whether the nighttime cart (on the SW corner), or their other daytime cart (on the SW corner of 53rd and 7th) is also serving the item.

Related:
Debunking the Myths of 53rd & 6th, the Most Famous Halal Intersection in New York City
Are Lunchers Finally Getting the Message About the Halal Carts on 53rd & 6th?

I don’t even really know what to say.  I started Midtown Lunch three years ago this week as an excuse to stuff my fat face during lunch.  And somehow that has lead to this? It’s kind of ridiculous.

We’re hearing rumors that the company who owns Beard Papa, will be bringing a branch of their Japanese Udon restaurant (called Onya) to the now vacant Cafe Zest space on 47th btw. Lex+3rd.  There is also the possibility that it could end up sharing the space with a new branch of Beard Papa, who just closed their counter inside Cafe Zaiya (although that part is still up in the air.)  Anybody been overseas and eaten at (or heard of) Onya before?  Is it a cheap, fast food kind of place (like Udon West) or a fancy sit down place (i.e. expensive?)  Let us know in the comments…

A brand new sweets truck just hit Midtown, and is giving away free samples for the next couple of hours on 55th btw 5+6th. . They’re not selling anything just yet, but their menu includes croissants, cookies, cake, muffins, and quiche. They’re affiliated with One Girl Cookies in Brooklyn, and will carry some of their items, plus a host of homemade recipes. Plus about 20% of the stuff will be baked right on the truck.

They hope to be in this spot every single day (but you know how that goes.) More details to come when they launch their website and twitter (of course) in the next couple of days (and I’ll post a photo of the menu here once I get home.). They’re still testing eveything out right now (this is their very first day) but if you want a free sample, now is the time. Freeloaders engage.

Check out a photo of the menu after the jump…

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Every Tuesday I turn over the site to a different Midtown Lunch’er for his or her recommendations for the best lunch in Midtown. This week I couldn’t be more excited to have Ruth Reichl, the Editor in Chief of Gourmet Magazine, which just so happens to be the media sponsor of “Street & Savory: A Global Street Food Festival” on Monday night to benefit Citymeals-on-Wheels. The event is in Rock Center and will feature street cart inspired fare by a long list of famous restaurant chefs as well as food from some of our favorite street vendors, like The DessertTruck, The Treats Truck, Red Hook Ballfield Vendors and (the one I’m most excited about) the Los Angeles based Korean taco truck: KOGI BBQ. Get more info about the event, plus register to win a pair of tickets (valued at $1200!) after Ruth recommends her favorite spots to eat lunch in Midtown.

Name: Ruth

Age: 61

Occupation: Eater, Editor, Writer

Where in Midtown do you Work?: Conde Nast

Favorite Kind of Food: There is almost nothing I won’t happily eat.

Least Favorite Kind of Food: The only thing I won’t eat is honey.

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Midtown: The Mysore masala dosa, saag paneer, and brinjal bhartha at Minar (on 46th btw. 6+7th.) White rice, chicken, all the vegetables, no white sauce at the Halal Chicken Curry Cart (on 43rd and 6th.) Kalbi, bibimbap, yukgaejang, and soondubu from Kang Suh (on B’way and 32nd.) The spicy tendon from Wu Liang Ye (on 48th btw. 5+6th.) Ma po tofu and twice cooked pork belly from Szechuan Gourmet (on 39th btw. 5+6th.) Spaghetti neri with squid, crudo, fried blowfish tails, grilled fish, fish soup from Esca (on 43rd & 9th.) Chawan mushi with uni and omakase sushi from Sushi Zen (on 44th btw. B’way+6th). Lasagna, pasta, and salads from Insieme (on 7th Ave. and 51st.) And Le Bernardin (on 51st btw. 6+7th) is pure luxury; everything is fabulous.

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Apparently Monday at 1:30pm is the time to hit up the new Baja Fresh on Lexington btw. 45+46th.  5 people in line.  Nobody at the salsa bar.  Got my food in five minutes. (A stark contrast with… I don’t know… say… opening day.) Finally, the chance to enjoy one of the things I really miss about living in Los Angeles: the Baja Chicken Burrito.  Since this chain opened up their first Manhattan location last Monday I’ve heard a lot of words thrown around.  Overrated, overhyped, meh.  To those people I say… you may be right.

Expecting Mexican food greatness from Baja Fresh is like hoping for rare roast beef on your Arby’s Sandwich. And complaining that it’s not real Mexican food is like wishing that In N Out Burger served thicker patties. You don’t compare In N Out to JG Melon; you compare it to McDonalds.  In other words, in the world of fast food pseudo-Mexican corporate chains (Chipotle, Qdoba, Taco Bell), Baja Fresh is the king. And in a terrible Mexican food city like New York, any decent addition is welcomed with open arms.

Of course I base that opinion entirely on the Baja Chicken Burrito, which is pretty much the only thing I order at Baja Fresh. But after hearing negative things about the New Jersey locations of Baja Fresh, I was concerned that this NYC franchise wasn’t going to be able to pull it off.

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It’s only fitting that with Fashion Week set to leave Bryant Park next year, Fashion Soup (on 41st btw. 6+B’way) would run into some problems of their own. Anybody know what’s going on with this place? They were closed last Friday (the 22nd), and then again yesterday. The last time specials were posted to their website was on Friday the 29th, and nobody is answering their phone. There doesn’t seem to be any problems with the DOH, so what’s the deal? Anybody eat at Fashion Soup recently? Or have some info? Post it in the comments…

Update in the Comments: “It appears they are selling all of there store supplies so… this place is history. On a side note if your in need of a really big pot or spoon you can stop by and probably get a good deal..”