Midtown Lunch

Ever since visiting Thailand 2 1/2 years ago I’ve been borderline obsessed with khao soi, the soup-like curry noodle dish topped with pickled cabbage, shallots, lime, and deep-fried crispy egg noodles. Despite all the great Thai food we have in New York, khao soi (being a Chiang Mai specialty) isn’t as ubiquitous here in the states as your pad thai, pad see ew, or the standard curry dishes (red, green, massaman, etc.) According to this post in the forums Sripraphai (unsurprisingly) makes a good version at their restaurant in Queens (I haven’t tried it yet), and I had a decent (but hipster’ish) version at Thai Market on the UWS.

So when I heard last week that Talent Thai (on 34th btw. 2+3rd) specialized in Chiang Mai style dishes, like khao soi, I was pretty excited. And yesterday, I traveled that extra 25 feet outside the Midtown Lunch boundaries to check it out.

Read more »

HB Burger (on 43rd btw. B’way+6th) has decided they want to be considered a bona fied Midtown Lunch for one more week! Today was supposed to be the last day for their $9.95 Midtown Lunch special, but they’ve decided to extend the deal for one more week. That’s a cheeseburger plus fries, tator tots, or onion strings for just under $10. Plus, according to this post by Blondie and Brownie, they’ve improved the tator tots. (Or I just got a bum order.) Either way it’s great news! (Now good until July 24th, M-F 11:30am to 5pm.)

Related:
HB Burger May Not be a “Midtown Lunch” But It’s a Damn Good Burger

Twitter is not just for the hipster trucks anymore! Judging from their tweets it’s clear that the Steak Truck (on Park and 47th) hasn’t completely grasped what twitter is all about (“print this ad with code 7787 and get free soda can with any lunch purchase, but you must present this print .from twitter,s web site.”) but it’s a start. And anybody that uses twitter to give out free food stuff is alright with me.

Speaking of getting deals on Twitter, Burger Joint in the Parker Meridien is also using the social networking tool now (@burgerjointnyc) to let people know about specials. On Monday they did an early bird special, $10 for a cheeseburger, fries, and a soda between 11 and 11:45am. No word on when the next one will be.

Can’t bring yourself to sign up for twitter, but wouldn’t mind hearing about deals from the Steak Truck and Burger Joint? They’ve both been added to the Midtown Lunch Twitter Tracker>>

Roy Choi & Lee Anne Wong During Last Month’s Midtown Kogi Invasion

A rumor that had been floating around for a bit was finally confirmed at last night’s Eater panel at the 92YTribeca: Lee Anne Wong is no longer working as the East coast rep for the LA based Kogi BBQ Truck.  According to the former Top Chef contestant “Kogi will be focusing on their West Coast operations” while she moves on to “some very exciting projects down the line.”

So does this mean Kogi in NYC is dead?  Kogi’s Chef Roy Choi had this to say: “I love NYC! We are doing our best but my energies right now are trying to keep the food fresh to def! 55th and Lex….it will go down in history :)” History?  That doesn’t sound too promising.

Could Baja Fresh be our best chance of getting “Kogi” to NYC?

Read more »

Also included in the earlier email from Lunch’er “Sir-Eats-a-Lot” was this bit of news:

“Having been on a Kwik Meal kick for a while, I made a return to my first ML love, the XPL on 48th and 3rd. While catching up with the guys there, I was surprised to find out they aren’t affiliated with truck on Park anymore, and haven’t been so for a year! Apparently they felt the other guys were slipping and weren’t willing to focus on consistency, so they bought out the cart on 3rd. Having no reason to go to the truck on Park, I can’t speak to that, but I’ve always been all about the guys on 3rd, who are super nice and make some serious street meat. This, plus the report on the other Famous Halal guys cart, got me thinking: Why not do a comparison of the branded carts?”

Let’s do it! Their entries in Street Meat Palooza (they came in 2nd) and SMP 2 (they came in 5th) were purchased from the cart on 48th and Park (but they also have a third card on Broadway btw. 53+54th). Anybody notice a difference since the cart on 3rd Ave. made the switch?

Related:
XPL Quietly Started Charging for Drinks?

Yesterday, Lunch’er Dan sent word about a new Jamaican cart parked on the SE corner of 48th and Park called the Jerk Pan. Not sure how long it has been there, or whether or not it will still be there today. He forwarded along a menu that looks very similar to the Jamaican Dutchy menu- complete with patties, coco bread, small and large portions of jerk chicken, oxtails, curry goat and more. Plus mini-meals, sorrel drinks, and rum cake.

Check out the new cart’s complete menu after the jump…

Read more »