Archive for February 2010

Midtown Links (The “Good Looking Buns” Edition)


Photo courtesy of Eating in Translation

Midtown Happy Hour: Muldoons in Running For Best Burger and Beer Deal

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.

My quest to find the best burger and beer deal started the when I finally tried Blarney Stone’s mighty burger and fries with cheap draft beer. How I waited so long to try something ML had been writing about for over a year, I don’t know. However, it sparked a fever and the only prescription for it was more burger and beer! I tried Coppersmith’s but they turned out to be a dud. So the search continued with little hope. Then I saw Muldoons sign advertising a burger and Bud for $10. I usually never drink Budweiser, but with food I suppose it couldn’t be worse then a tall glass of water, right?

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That’s Progress!: Most people consider Midtown to be the pit of NYC dining, and we have had our share of DOH visits, but Robert Sietsema has shared his 10 worst restaurant moments over on Fork in the Road and as far as we can tell none of them are in Midtown!  That's something, right?

Lenten Lunch: Blarney Stone’s Fried Fish Sandwich

Blarney Stone Happy Hour

Oh the Blarney Stone, my divey Midtown sanctuary. I find solace in your burgers, and sliders, and corned beef, and Guinness, but what about the practicing Catholics among us? Surely they want to celebrate the end of the workweek regardless of Lenten responsibilities. Enter the Blarney’s Fried Fish Sandwich…

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Not a Snow Day For Everybody: The ML Twitter Tracker will likely read like a snow covered death march today... Treats Truck, Cupcake Stop, and Cravings have already thrown in the towel. But Jiannetto's, the Jamaican Dutchy, the Biriyani Cart, and the 45th & 6th Ave. Kwik Meal cart are already in place. (The other Kwik Meals are closed.)

Flatiron Lunch: He-Man & Haandi Buffet Make For a Perfect All You Can Eat Lunch

Now that Downtown has its very own section of the site, what are we going to post on Fridays at 10am? Answer… how about a new column devoted to those lunches just south of the ML boundaries. Please give a warm welcome to Jason Lam from the blog Me So Hungry. Every Friday at 10am he’ll post about lunches in Murray Hill south, Grammercy, Flatiron, and everything in between… or as we’ll call it from now on: Flatiron Lunch.

In a time when trendy Curry Hill restaurants are popping up with their $9.99 lunch buffets, Haandi is still kickin it as the cabbie’s choice. I’ve been to this place for dinner a while back and it was packed with cab drivers scarfing down their curries and kababs. I had the two meats and veggie over rice platter ($7.99). I came out stuffed and had my first sighting of the legendary Madison Square Park He-Man around the block. It looked like he was making out with an old handicapped lady in a wheelchair, but maybe it was a hallucination caused by the spicy curry. Anyway, two items to taste isn’t enough for me. I like to taste it all. So onto their $9.99 All-You-Can-Eat lunch buffet.

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Crain’s Says Comfort Diner is Gone For Good

On Wednesday we reported that Comfort Diner had closed, and was moving to 44th btw. Lex+3rd, but according to Crain’s there’s no space on that block for them to move into.  A commenter claimed it was going to take the place of an already existing cafe on the south side of the block, but the only thing that really fits the bill is Benvenuto Grill. There is a Chipotle next door that is a similar size to Benvenuto (and which could accommodate a whole diner) but that place always looks more busy than Benvenuto ever does. I guess we’ll see what happens!

Related:
Comfort Diner Loses Their Lease After 14 Years

ML Forums: Shrimp Curry; Shamrock Shakes

XPL and Hot Soup Are Goooood: The Downtown section of ML has been on a street food tear this week, and you might recognize their past two cart lunches. Yesterday Kevin wrote about the branch of XPL on Wall St. & Pearl, and today Chris waxes poetic about the Hot Soup Cart (which serves the same soup you get from the carts up here.)

At Lunch Now: The People Want Their Pork Shumai!

Fwd: The people want their pork shumai!
It’s pork shumai day at the NYC Cravings Truck

You gotta love it.  No wet slushy snow’ish weather is going to keep us from eating street food… Lunch’er “Masto” even braved frostbite for his Taiwanese fried chicken.  Did you go out for lunch today?  If yes, give yourself a big pat on the back.