Midtown Lunch

Like sand through the hourglass… another day, another fight between food trucks. Apparently the Rickshaw Dumpling Truck decided they wanted to test out 48th & 6th today, a spot that Frites N Meats has been cultivating on Tuesdays and Fridays for awhile now. The result? Security from the Fox News Building called the peddler unit of the NYPD, and everybody got kicked out (and according to FnM owner Vadim, the word permanently was used.) This spot on 48th has seen its fair share of trouble in the past, but clearly the trucks worked things out with the building who doesn’t seem to mind the trucks (Cravings is there on Mondays, Frites N Meats is there Tuesdays and Fridays. Eddie’s Pizza is there on Wednesdays, and Schnitzel is there on Thursdays) as long as it’s only one per day. I guess we’ll see what happens tomorrow when Eddie’s Pizza shows up to the spot. As for the trucks today? Rickshaw has settled on 52nd and Lex, and Frites N Meats has settled on 52nd and 6th, although you’ll probably want to check the ML Twitter Tracker just to be safe.

More after the jump…

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Every Tuesday we turn over the site to a different Midtown Lunch’er for his or her recommendations for the best lunch in Midtown. This week it’s George, a Knowledge Manager (?!) who loves spicy Indian food and Chicago.

Name: George

Age: 43

Occupation: CRM Knowledge Manager and Blogger behind George and Julia Eat Manhattan

Where in Midtown do you Work?: 6th Ave btw 46+47th

Favorite Kind of Food: Spicy Indian is always my first choice. Give me a glowing vindaloo on a bed of rice with fresh naan for dippin’ and I’m in heaven. A close second, is fancy Mexican food. I blame top chef winner Rick Bayless and his 27 ingredient mole. I also regularly enjoy Turkish, Thai and this city’s great Pizza. My sweet tooth favors ice cream, Pinkberry and cookies. I love it when the peanut butter/chocolate combination is applied to any dessert.

Least Favorite Kind of Food: With all due respect to my Colombian chums, I am fond of their coffee but not their food. I also steer clear of hard-to-identify seafood. I am generally so picky about seafood, I will often avoid it altogether. I realize I am missing out on so much and I am gradually adding underwater creatures to my diet. Knowing this, you may be surprised to learn that I am a sushi fan. Go figure.

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Midtown: Though not in the under $11 category (closer to $12-16), St Andrew’s (It’s Scottish!), on 46th btw 6+7th, has an amazing Maryland Crabcake Sandwich and a unique Salmon BLT (standard Scottish fare?) When I need a dose of Indian, I get it at Indus Express (on 48th btw. 5+6th). Could be a dosa but more likely, I’m having the Indus 2 meat/1 veggie combo. This comes with bread or rice (not both). Bread and Olive (on 45th btw. 5+6th) is also up there for its fantastic Mediterranean. I make my food choices before I get there (with back-ups). You see, Bread and Olive’s presentation/lay-out/menu confuses me, they are often out of things, and they are not always patient with me. The quality of the grub is worth the humiliation and confusion. If I’m eating at my desk, the best deal in town is still Moshe’s Falafel Cart (on 45th and 6th) 4 balls, 2 bucks. It might be $2.50 now.

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So what if you’re walking by the Trini Paki Cart one day (on 43rd and 6th), not knowing what to do for lunch… and you pick up a small chicken biryani. Then you happen to walk by Cafe Zaiya (on 41st btw. 5+Mad) and see some pastries… and then what if you decided, “Hey, let me put it together.” I know soba sandwiches exist in some Japanese bakeries, but what about Biryani sandwiches? After that thought popped up in my head, it was impossible to keep the beast in the cage. I had to find out if the marriage of Japanese bread + Street food with Trinidadian and Pakistani influence would be delicious.

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Photo courtesy of Jeremiah’s Vanishing New York

According to Jeremiah’s Vanishing New York, only 2 of the original 15 locations of Andrew’s Coffee Shop are still open, and both are in Midtown. According to the piece (which was inspired by the closing of the last remaining downtown branch of Andrew’s) the one on 35th and 7th is renovated and kind of crowded, while the location on 38th btw. 7+8th is practically empty. In other words, if you’re looking for a bit of quiet lunchtime nostalgia, you might want to check out the branch on 38th before it closes too.

The turf wars between ice cream truck drivers in Midtown is legendary, and we’ve stumbled upon the aftermath of more than one “encounter”. But this could be the first time a brawl between a Mister Softee vendor and a rival ice cream truck vendor has been caught on video.  Mister Softee CEO Jim Conway is pretty good about pointing out when bad generic ice cream trucks are mis-identified as official Mister Softee vendors… but it looks like he’s going to have a tough time denying this one (the instigator was clearly identified as a Mister Softee truck.)  Super curious to see what they do to the vendor in the video (if anything).  Check out the video for yourself>>

Related:
Cops Cracking Down on Softee Trucks After “Altercation”
Rule #1 of Vendor Fight Club is You Don’t Talk About Vendor Fight Club