Midtown Lunch

A couple of weeks ago, when QBA announced they’d be altering their menu to include some new specials, I hoped that this would change a pretty good cart into a great, must-visit cart. After all, there is no shortage of good Cuban options in Midtown- and as much as we love food trucks, isn’t it really all about the food?  I’ve already written about the pork meal and the cuban sandwich and our Downtown editor Andrea tried the chicken meal. I think the consensus is pretty clear; the QBA meals with meat and rice and beans are good, and a solid lunch option, but not spectacular. According to their website, today the truck will introduce ensalada batabano, a salad with tomatoes, feta and scallions.  And earlier this week they had ropa vieja, which we (naturally) had to go try.
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Just an FYI… the new Friday fish and dumplings special that we loved so much from the Trini Paki Boys Cart (on 43rd and 6th Ave) is now a Thursday special instead of Friday.  And they’ve decided to add coo coo to the mix, a Trinidadian dish involving okra and cornmeal.  For $7 you get it all… the coo coo, the fish and the dumplings.  Do it.  Do it.

Related:
Trini Paki Boys’ Friday Fish & Dumplings is Great

Photo courtesy of Lunch’er Adam

I noticed a couple of things while walking down 46th street btw. 5+6th the other day… the first is Cafe Jia, a new place opening soon right next to Nino’s. Sadly it looks like another generic deli, but it does say tex-mex bar, a teppanyaki (think hibachi) bar and a gourmet coffee bar (I’ll believe that when I see it). You never know, this place could be good. (We’re not keeping our hopes up.) Regardless, it’s supposed to be open 24 hours, so they’ve got that going for them.

Remember Michelle’s on the same block?

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Thanks to Lunch’er Dan for passing this (strange) one along:  “Lily O’brien’s [the Irish chocolate shop on 40th btw. 5+6th] has just started serving empanadas and they are delicious.  My midtown coworker, Andrew Flynn, a bonafied food snob, refuses to believe that Lily O’Brien’s could possibly be serving empandas (much less good empanadas), and I’d love to be able to prove him wrong on the scale of hitting him with a Midtown Lunch post.”  Uh… consider your friend proven wrong…?…we guess?

Lily O’Brien’s, 36 W 40th St. (btw. 5+6th), 212-575-0631

The opening of the new Koreatown Bon Chon has been much more subdued than when neighboring Kyochon opened the door on its spaceship themed chicken shack. While the lines haven’t been particularly long, the wait is still classic Bon Chon. The new, faster frying process owner Simon Lee told us about last week doesn’t seem to have been implemented yet. As of 1:30pm, customers were being told that any order would take at least 20 minutes. My small, mixed order took half an hour to show up.

Also note that the entree options, which include tonkatsu and bulgogi tacos(!) are not available yet, but hopefully will be in the next day or two. With less than a week under their belt, clearly, this is all still a work in progress, so have patience and, if you’ve got the time, enjoy the leisurely pace by watching the Yankees game playing on one of the projectors.

Related:
Let the Fried Chicken Wars Begin: New Bon Chon Opens Today