Midtown Lunch

I twittered about this earlier last week, but Lunch’er “Joseph” wants to see more!

“I was desperate – I forgot my lunch and had no cash today. Couldn’t think of a decent card-only idea so I searched for Midtown Popeyes. [The one on 40th btw. 7+8th] came up on Google, but the lead posting was the one about the bankruptcy declaration. Luckily I went anyway and they were open and good. I’m not sure if it warrants another posting to remind people that they really are open – might help show them some business and improve the likelihood of someone taking over the franchise??? I’d have to go to 14th or harlem on my lunch hour for popeyes if they close. :(“

There are some decent fried chicken alternatives in Midtown, but I think I speak for everyone when I say that we don’t want to lose Popeyes.

Related:
8th Avenue is the Fried Chicken Corridor of NYC
Cafe Cello May Have the Best Fried Chicken in Midtown

Grub Street has a great look at all the things that go into opening a food truck in New York City, including start-up costs, obtaining permits, and finding a location. It’s spot on about permits and the difficulty finding a spot to vend in, though I would caution that it’s a little too optimistic about profit margins:

“According to one business plan we’ve seen (but never came to fruition), a pizza truck seeking $300,000 in start-up capital expected to make money right away. High volume and excellent margins can be a reality for trucks. For this pizza concept the profit margin was estimated to be over 50 percent, as compared to a good restaurant, where the margins aren’t greater than 10 percent, if you’re lucky.”

Is that true?

Read more »

Weeks and weeks of preparation (played out in other areas of the city) have finally lead us to this moment in time. As promised on Friday, the Schnitzel & Things Truck will finally make it’s way to Midtown today.  They plan on trying to park on 49th Street btw. Park+Madison by 11:30am this morning, but first day parking can always be ruined by unforseen “obstacles”.  Be sure to check their Twitter feed, or the ML Twitter Tracker before heading out. UPDATE: As of 11:15 they’re set up on 48th btw. Park+Lex.

New York City’s prohibitive rules and red tape surrounding the issuing of licenses and permits to street vendors has claimed its first “hipster” victim. The Dessert Truck announced in a letter posted to their website that the city has refused to renew the vendor’s permit they use on their truck.

August 7th, 2009

WTF?

We can’t open.  Yesterday the city notified us that the mobile food vendor’s permit used by the DessertTruck is no longer valid.  For reasons too confusing and vague for us to understand, the city denied the permit holder the right to renew his permit.

What does this mean?

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I guess he’s not down with the Little Morocco

• Grill 44 makes a mean dosa [Chowhound]
• Whoa. This peanut butter/chocolate cookie looks amazing [Blondie and Brownie]
• Too bad this just out of bounds Five Napkin Burger kobe dog is $14! What a monster [Fork in the Road]
• The octopus salad at Margon is a perfect summertime treat [Bionic Bites]
• The Sul Lung Tang at Han Bat is a mystifying bowl of soup [Taxi Gourmet]

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. This week she hits up my favorite bar in Hell’s Kitchen and discovers my major happy hour weakness: Nudie Photo Hunt!

The Gaf on W. 48th is the Hell’s Kitchen branch of the popular bar on the UES. It is a local’s bar with enough room to bring the whole office yet casual enough that you don’t feel like you’re in a touristy sports bar. If you live or work in the area, this is your comfortable standby. I was tipped off on this place by commenter Wayne who had these words to share, “The Gaf is one of the few Irish bars in midtown that features a facade that is wide open to the outside…. so you can scope the scene for hotties and enjoy the fresh air too.” I have to agree; I’m also on a summer kick of going to bars that offer fresh air and views of the nightlife.

Read more »

Saw this message on twitter from Miss Softee to the Treats Truck yesterday and it gave me a great idea! Two chocolate chip cookies from the treats truck, plus a squirt of soft serve from Miss Softee’s ice cream truck would make quite the awesome ice cream sandwich- don’t you think? Ideally this would be perfect on Tuesdays and Thursdays, when the Treats Truck is parked on 38th & 5th and Miss Softee is parked on 40th and 5th. But I suppose if you liked the idea enough you could walk from 45th and 6th (where the Treats Truck is parked today) to 40th and 5th.

I actually suggested this idea to Kim a couple of years ago as a way to smooth things over with the Mister Softee truck that parked on 45th and 6th (as you may recall, he wasn’t too excited when the Treats Truck showed up on the scene.) I think now it’s time to make this happen! Even if it isn’t officially endorsed, I’m sure that you could buy two chocolate chip cookies from Kim, walk them over the Miss Softee truck- and she would be more than happy to sell you a squirt of soft serve for a couple bucks.

Related:
Meet Queen Frostine: The Ladies of Mister Softee

Photo courtesy of Blondie and Brownie

I usually prefer fritos or cheetos in my sandwiches, but beet chips could work too!  Blondie and Brownie hit up the Rock Center Greenmarket last Friday, and had this inspired lunch from Katchkie Farms: turkey sandwich stuffed with beet chips and a delicious looking bowl of cold zucchini soup. If you’re still deciding where to eat today, this looks like a damn good choice. (The Greenmarket is open Wednesday through Friday, but Katchkie Farms is only there on Fridays.  On Thursdays you can find them, and this sandwich, at the new Port Authority Greenmarket.)

Related:
Rock Center Greenmarket is Now Open

It looks like the day I have long been praying for has finally arrived!  It’s not a pork bun cart, or a Korean burrito bar- but it will have to do… The rumors are swirling that East Village based Momofuku will be branching out into Midtown in the next six weeks- opening a large (probably upscale) restaurant “in the old Town space in the Chambers Hotel on West 56th Street.” No word on lunch menu, or prices, but if this ends up being true (and Eater has it on good authority that it is) you’re about to see me break my Midtown Lunch $10 price cap.  (Sorry, but it has to be done.)

Related:
The Perfect Space For the Next Momofuku is in Midtown

UPDATE: New York Times’ Diner’s Journal confirms the news, and David Chang is quoted as saying they are kicking around the idea of “installing a milk bar in the front of the street-level entrance.”  Yes please.