Midtown Lunch

So as painful as it is to say, this is my last week of full time Midtown Lunching. Don’t worry… the site isn’t going anywhere, but I’m moving to L.A. so this week I’m making sure to hit all the places I’ll miss the most. A “Farewell Lunch Tour” if you will. Here’s where I’ll be today…

The Original “Biriyani Cart”, circa 2007

I still remember the day that the Biriyani Cart went from being just another chicken and rice cart with a few Indian dishes tossed in, to the media superstars you now know and love.  Kati Roll had just been forced to move their extremely popular operation from 46th btw. 6+7th, to 39th btw. 5+6th.  And it was in that moment that Meru, the owner of the Biriyani Cart, had the greatest idea of all time.  He threw up a sign on his cart for “kati rolls”, and a legend was born.

I still think of Kati Roll as the industry standard (their freshly fried paratha is out of control good), and my original post about Kati Roll was the most read post on Midtown Lunch for a long long time. But the Biriyani Cart is one of my favorite carts in Midtown… and they’ve had their share of accolades as well.  It would be impossible to choose a favorite… so, I guess I’ll have to go both!

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Forgot to mention this yesterday… don’t forget, the Restaurant Week soup truck hit the streets yesterday selling fancy soups from participating restaurant week restaurants. The truck will be parked on Broadway btw. 50+51st from 11am to 2pm for the rest of the week, before heading Downtown next week. Yesterday they had corn, crab and chorizo soup from Delmonico’s Steakhouse, tomato and fennel soup from Tribeca Grill, and Mexhattan clam chowder from Dos Caminos Park. And Lunch’er “Steve” was on hand to check it out…

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• Disappointed by Minar’s vinadaloo. Anybody have a better rec? [Midtown Eating]
• How bad off would you need to be to want to take the subway to Harlem for pancakes? [Downtown Eating]
• Worst sandwich I’ve ever had… (it might surprise you.  Seriously? The worst? [Midtown Eating]
• More confirmation that Barros Luco’s sandwiches are larger [Midtown Eating]
• Another L.A. lunch question.  Maybe I should start an L.A. Midtown Lunch… [Miscellaneous]

Who thought it would be a good idea to add Vietnamese food to a Thai restaurant that already serves sushi.  Seriously?  As much as I like pho (and bubble tea), I don’t think that this is going to be the thing to take New York Thai Grill and Sushi (on 54th btw. 5+6th) over the top. Has anybody discovered a dish they do well?  I can’t imagine there is anything that could get me to try a place that does Thai, sushi, and Vietnamese soups.  What’s that you say?  They offer a $23 all you can eat thai food and sushi dinner… uh, well I suppose I could be persuaded to check it out for dinner.  You know… for research purposes. Anybody been?

New York Thai Grill and Sushi, 37 W 54th St (btw 5+6th Ave), 212-581-8808

Related:
Asian Station Might Be the First Multi Ethnic Restaurant to Ever Be Good

So as painful as it is to say, this is my last week of full time Midtown Lunching. Don’t worry… the site isn’t going anywhere, but I’m moving to L.A. so this week I’m making sure to hit all the places I’ll miss the most. A “Farewell Lunch Tour” if you will. Here’s where I’ll be today…

Since Noodle Bar opened Momofuku has always been synonymous with the East Village. The food, the style, the attitude, the music… nobody would mistake any of the Momofukus for uptown restaurants. But that didn’t stop me from occasionally mentioning my favorite New York City empire on Midtown Lunch. The first time was in June of 2006, in a post about Sapporo (on 49th btw. 6+7th), and on many other occasions I practically begged David Chang to bring his pork buns to Midtown- both on this site and on other sites.

Well this year my dream finally came true when Momofuku started serving a limited menu in the mezzanine of the Chambers Hotel on 56th btw. 5+6th (a preview of Ma Peche, their new Vietnamese influenced restaurant opening sometime this year.) And in a move that practically made my head explode in disbelief, even offered a $10 “Midtown Lunch” menu of specials for those of us who are financially challenged (aka cheap bastards.)

How could I leave without stopping by one last time…

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Was walking by Yips (on 51st 52nd btw. 5+6th) the other day, and noticed this new sign in the window. It’s been awhile since I had a craving for Yips, but I’m kind of curious (especially if the soups are excellent, like Hing Won.)  Nothing on the menu really popped out at me, but who knows.  There could be a gem hidden in there. Has anybody tried these new soups?  Check out the menu, after the jump…

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The new Midtown location of Bon Chon chicken opened on Thursday after lunch, and all Friday reports made it sound like a complete shitshow. There were a number of lunchers twittering from the scene and Lunch’er Rebecca posted this in the comments: “The wait for food at Bon Chon has been an hour and a half since 1pm. Waited 2 hours for my food. They had many refunds today.” Maybe ordering an hour in advance is the way to go?  Not so fast says Lunch’er “beribboned”.

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