Midtown Lunch

On Tuesday ML contest winners gave us a sneak peak at 4Food, the burger joint/social networking hub officially opening September 7th on Madison and 40th. Today, everybody will get a chance to check it out from 3:30 to 6:30pm. The food isn’t free, but they will be open for business and serving their full menu- testing out their ordering system and staff for Midtown eaters willing to be guinea pigs. Not in the mood for a spinach and pine nut stuff turkey burger this afternoon? They’ll be open again tomorrow from 9am to Noon. [via Eater]

Photo courtesy of The Wandering Eater.

UPDATE: Just got word that because of technical issues 4Food will not be soft opening this afternoon… but to make up for it they will be giving out $5 gift cards to anybody who shows up.  (That’s almost better, right?!)

As much as I love a cheap meal, I haven’t really been able to get behind the 99 cent pizza trend, which is why back in February, it was Brownie who hopped the subway to try the dollar slice at K Food Pizza (on 33rd btw. Mad+5th) even though I work a block away. This pizza joint, located on the site of the old Golden Krust, has been churning out dollar slices ever since and it hasn’t once tempted me to walk in the doors. That is, until I saw the sign advertising a Latin Food Buffet for $5.50!
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According to Grub Street starting at Noon today the Van Leeuwen Ice Cream truck will be driving around Manhattan today giving away free ice cream to anybody who has signed up to be a member of Gilt City (whatever that is.) Van Leeuwen has had trouble parking here in the past, so there’s no guarantee they’ll show up in Midtown at all- but just in case, we’ve added Gilt City to our Twitter Tracker for the day so you can follow the trail of free ice cream. Also on the ML Twitter Tracker, Joyride is on 52nd, Cravings is on 53rd, Eddie’s Pizza Truck is on 52nd, Schnitzel & Things is on 52nd, Wafels & Dinges is on 48th, QBA Kitchen will try to park on 44th, and Quick Stop Kosher is in front of B&H.

Thanks to Lunch’er Michelle for passing along this one… Katsuhama 55 (on 55th btw. 5+6th) is one year old, and to celebrate they’re offering a special lunchtime curry for just $5.50.  The lunch deal (as well as some dinnertime specials) runs today, Monday and Tuesday.  Check out the full flyer, after the jump…

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Got this scary letter from Lunch’er Amber yesterday re: one of our favorite Midtown Lunches of all time, Cafe Zaiya (on 41st btw. Mad+5th):

Was shocked to walk into Zaiya [yesterday] and see almost no food on display. The only thing in the center racks was bread – no bento boxes, no sandwiches, no rice bowls, nothing. Some of the center displays were completely empty. Some of the food was in the fridge cases, though – including hot savory pastries from the bakery side that usually sit on top of the bakery counter. It looked like they had just been put into that case from the oven, because they were wrapped in cellophane and there was steam/condensation trapped in the wrapper (which is pretty much just a horrible crime, since those pastries are not nearly as good if they are cold).

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Last week we got wind of a new cart called “My Biryani“. It was welcome news considering how long the lines can get at the real Biryani Cart sometimes. Years ago the Biryani Cart distinguished itself from the standard street meat carts by offering specialties like biryani and kati rolls, and “My Biryani” cart takes a page out of that book. They set up shop just two blocks away (on 44th and 6th Ave), so clearly an investigation is in order. Let’s find out how the new kids on the block stack up against the Vendy Award winner.

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