Midtown Lunch

The Vendy Awards have announced their third and final category, the brand spanking new “Rookie” Award given to vendors who have been open for less than a year.  And the nominees are…

• The NYC Cravings Truck
• The Schnitzel & Things Truck
• The Picnick Smoked Truck
• The Big Gay Ice Cream Truck (which was also nominated in the Best Dessert Category)

We’re only 9 days away!  And tickets (which now entitle you to food from 8 different savory vendors, 3 different sweet vendors, and all you can drink wine, beer and soda) are almost sold out.  Get yours now>>

What’s the word for hooray in Turkish, because that’s what I want to yell right now. Gulluoglu, the Turkish baklava temple, has opened their Midtown East location (on 52nd and 2nd Ave.) Now is usually the time where I mention that it’s out of bounds, but I’m too excited stuffing my face to care.

They have a pretty spectacular array of sweets, all covered in honey, or syrup, or cream, or all of the above- and most are in bite sized portions so it’s pretty easy to say give me one of everything (which is pretty much what I did.)

They also have savory pastries (some of which I’ve never seen before), plus sandwiches and salads- and everything is under $10- making it a full fledged Midtown Lunch’ing destination.

Oh and they also have imported Turkish ice cream made from goats milk (!!!) It’s pretty much one of the greatest places I’ve ever been, and well worth hiking to 2nd Ave.

Full report with photos coming soon…

Photo of 43rd btw. 6+B’way Taken on Monday

Whoa… this just in courtesy of EJVallejo: “Looks like cops are confiscating one or both of carts involved in Vendor Fight on 43rd & 6th.” “All carts removed including hot dog lady. Cops said they were breaking zoning & ordinance laws.” Just spoke to Olivia from the El Rey del Sabor cart, and she confirmed that the cops came and started rounding up the carts on 43rd. The hot dog halal cart (run by the Greek lady from the video) and the halal cart $1 hot dog cart were both loaded onto a truck by police and taken away. They were planning on taking the El Rey del Sabor cart as well, but it wouldn’t fit on the truck- so they told her to move the cart by the time they came back, or they would seize her cart as well.

There’s no question that the building wants all the carts gone. After the “plantergate” episode, the building took matters into their own hands, installing a new group of planters. And yesterday, a representative from the building told El Rey del Sabor that they planned on planting a tree where their cart was currently parked (basically telling them they weren’t wanted.) Not sure if the building is responsible, but ERdS also said the cops came last week to say that the carts on the block were all parking illegally because of the “No Stopping” sign. The vendors argued that those signs don’t apply to carts, only trucks- but clearly that didn’t hold water. They were told today their carts were being seized because last week they were told to move, and they didn’t.

More on this as it comes in… but one thing is for sure- no Mexican food from the 43rd Street El Rey del Sabor cart today.

Related:
Vendor Fight Over 6th Ave. Spot Caught on Video
The Latest Weapon in the Vendor Wars is… Sidewalk Planters!?
“Plantergate” Continues As Building Reinstalls Planters on 43rd St.

Lunch’er Adam used the ML Forums to organize a meetup at Bombay Eats yesterday so lunchers could sample the various Indian pizzas being offered by Bombay Eats (on 52nd btw. 8+9th Ave.) See, despite my pleading they don’t offer their Indian food topped pies by the slice, only as an entire pizza. They’ll jury-rig a slice of saag pizza if you ask nicely, but if you want to try the real deal you have to order a whole fresh pie. Not a problem if you can get 8 lunchers together for lunch… which is exactly what happened yesterday. Lunch’er “Adam Prato” sent in this report:

Lamb Keema Pie. Photo courtesy of Jessica@Food Mayhem

We actually had a great turnout. At the start, 5 of us midtownlunchers (jessica@foodmayhem, wellerfan, stevenp, scottyelich, and I) showed up for the Indian Pizza outing. After some deliberation, we decided to order 2 18″ pies; stevenp had heard that the 14″ was too doughy, which was exactly my concern since the difference between most “medium” and “large” pies is how thin they stretch the same amount of dough. We went with the Lamb Keema and the Saag paneer. Shortly after ordering, 3 of my coworkers (all of Indian descent) had unexpectedly stumbled in after a meeting since I told them all about the “indian pizza” phenomenon. Though they were there for the buffet, we coerced them into the indian pizza. With the magic number of 8 people, we were able to order a 3rd pie! So we went with the Chicken Tikka.

Read more »

Photo courtesy of The Eaten Path

Onya, the Japanese noodle chain owned by the company that brought Beard Papa to the US, opened on Monday and Midtown Lunchers have wasted no time in checking it out.  It’s not really fair to judge a place on its first week (especially one that makes its noodles fresh, and will most likely get better with time) but the reviews seem generally positive.

As promised yesterday, James Boo weighed in on his blog The Eaten Path and seemed generally pleased, if not completely blown away:

“Onya’s curry udon… is certainly well done; I could see this kind of broth easily going down the path of too thick or too salty, but Onya’s preparation avoids these pitfalls to give us a hearty udon option… I wasn’t at any point disappointed by the food, which is likely to improve as the kitchen staff finds its bearings here in New York. The sheer diversity of menu items and sizes makes a meal here extremely convenient, and I’ll be going back soon for the cheaper udon and mini donburi options.”

Questions about service, and an Osaka born blogger weighs in… after the jump.

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With all the fighting that goes on for spots in Midtown one would be inclined to believe that running a cart or truck in this part of NYC would be a fairly lucrative operation. Selling low cost, low priced food in one of the busiest sections of the busiest city in the country should be a slam dunk, right? Well apparently not, because the Steak Truck (which has one of the better spots in the city on Park Ave. and 47th) is considering packing it in, and moving to a different part of the city.

Read more »

Lunch’er Carolyn sent in this terrible news yesterday: “As I was on my way to pick up my beloved samosa chat, I found that Indian Newsstand on 6th between 37+38th was shuttered! I didn’t see any notices, but I just thought I would spread the word. Also, just so the people know, they changed their awning in order to display their entire array of foods.” The Department of Health would be the natural culprit, and a quick search of their site uncovered this: last month they received a failing score of 38 from the DOH because “Food Protection Certificate not held by supervisor of food operations.” That doesn’t sound too bad (i.e. no mention of rats or roaches)… hopefully they’ll get this sorted out soon so Carolyn can get her chaat!

Related:
The Best Indian Food in Midtown Might Be Sold Out of the Back of a Newsstand
A Guide to the Best Indian Street Food in Midtown: Translating the Menu at Taj Delhi Chat
Khodiar Lunch Services Loses the “Taj Delhi Chat” (And Some Quality Along With It?)

• Get 20% off bento boxes at Chiyoda Sushi through the end of the month [Midtown Eating]
• Where can I find Japanese rice balls Downtown?  [Eating Outside Midtown]
• British restaurants insult people on receipts as well [Miscellaneous]
• A review of the pastrami at the newly opened Toasties on 51st [Midtown Eating]
• Fashion Week… still getting the hopes up of some horny Midtown Lunchers [Miscellaneous]

Well, the Hot Doug’s event at Astor Center is already sold out- but there’s another event that was just announced you might be interested in. There are no foie gras dogs, or duck fat fries- just discussion about an issue that should be near and dear to every Midtown Luncher’s heart.  This Sunday night the Street Vendor Project is hosting a panel called “Street Food Snapshots: Mobile Vending in NYC” featuring SVP founder Sean Basinski, Serious Eats‘ Ed Levine, Kim from the Treats Truck, and me.  We’ll discuss the current explosion of “fancy” food trucks, how it is effecting the Street Vendor Project and the Vendy Awards, and what it means for the future of street vending in general.

I’ve written a lot about these issues on Midtown Lunch over the past few years– so if you’ve become interested in the subject, own a street food truck, are thinking of getting into the business, or you’d just like to tell me in person how much of an idiot you think I am, this event is for you! Tickets are $15, and light snacks will be served PLUS they are “working on turning the street in front of Astor Center into a one-time night market with a couple of participating vendors ready and waiting to sell you snacks after the discussion is over.”  A portion of the ticket price will go to benefit the Street Vendor Project, and all ticket holders will get $5 off tickets to the Vendy Awards, or a free Vendy Award poster (if you’ve already bought your Vendy tickets.)  For more info, and to purchase your ticket visit the Astor Center Website. See you there!