Midtown Lunch

• El Camioncito truck is MIA and one luncher *GASP* turns to salad?! [Midtown Eating]
• Does Midtown East in the 50s need more ML Lovin’? [Midtown Eating]
• Anyone know if Cer te is planning a June sandwich special? [Midtown Eating]
• Nothing like a little Famous Halal street meat before Coco at Radio City [Midtown Eating]

Tomorrow is National Doughnut Day, and Dunkin Donuts is celebrating by giving away a free doughnut with the purchase of any beverage. Midtown chains don’t have a great track record with promotions like this- but we called the Rock Center Dunkin Donuts and they’re in (although last year they ran out of doughnuts just after 10am!) Don’t want buy a drink (or take the chance that your DD isn’t particpating?) Krispy Kreme will just give you the free doughnut no strings attached and according to this [PDF], the location in Penn Station is participating. Doughnut loving freeloaders, prepare to engage.

Getting good Vietnamese food in New York City is a tough task. Most purists would say you can’t get any good stuff here, while others will proclaim Manhattan doesn’t have it but the outer boroughs does. So, naturally, it’s pretty bleak for those of us here in Midtown. When Boi Noodles announced they were opening on 40th btw. 7+8th, it was exciting news for those of us on the west side of Midtown. From the reviews of Boi to Go and Boi Sandwich on the east side, I kind of knew what to expect- not the best Vietnamese food of all time, but hopefully better than Chicken House (on 36th btw. 7+8th.)

So, how did Boi Noodles stack up to my expectations?

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Todd English’s new “Food Hall” in the Plaza Hotel is set to open tomorrow on 59th Street and 5th Ave.  We love food courts, but last week Eater got a sneak preview of the menu and with a few exceptions it’s looking like this will definitely be a splurge lunch.

In the forums yesterday there was news about a new BRGR opening at the edges of the ML border, by 61st and 3rd ave. (We can’t be everywhere, and always appreciate it when you guys let us know about stuff like this.) I stopped by to check out the scene and see what’s on the menu. They tout grass-fed beef burgers from $7.55 to $10 with all sorts of fillings. They all seem to come with grilled onions, lettuce, tomato, and pickles though. Fries are $2.50, sweet potato fries are $3.50, and the shakes are $5.50. You can see their full menu on their website, and a shot of the interior is after the jump.

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This just in: Totto Ramen, the new ramen spot on 52nd btw 8+9th from the owners of Yakitori Totto, will open for business at 5pm today… but have no immediate plans to open for lunch! Yakitori is meant to be an after work kind of thing, so it was understandable that it look the flagship restaurant so long to give in to the demands of lunchers… but ramen?  They should be open for lunch! (Hell, people start lining up at Ippudo in the East Village at 11am.) We spoke to somebody on the phone at the restaurant who said they may open for lunch somewhere down the line- once they have “more customers”. What a bummer.

Last month, I pondered what Leña Grill would be bringing to 35th btw. 5+6th. I feared that ‘Grill’ seemed a little too fancy and thus out of the ML price range, but thankfully that doesn’t seem to be the case. I passed by this morning and asked the folks working on the space a bit about the place. Unlike previous attempts that were greeted with “I think it’s going to be a restaurant,” I got some more info.

Details and a shot of the menu after the jump.

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