Midtown Lunch

We have long dreamed of the day that New York would get their very own KOGI Truck, the infamous Los Angeles based Korean taco vendors that teased us back in June of last year, before pulling the rug out from under us just a month later. Kogi has spawned a host of fusion taco imitators on the West Coast… to the point where it seems like every new truck that hits the street in L.A. has at least some kind of taco option- regardless of what kind of food it is.  Here in NYC, we’re not so lucky…  until now that is!  Enter the Mexicue truck, a scrappy new entrant in the street food scene which, through savvy marketing, has amassed significant buzz. We’ve watched with growing curiosity for the past week as the Mexicue crew zealously tweeted their location and wares to over 650 followers.

Expectations in check, I decided to check it out for myself.

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Have you been wanting to try the concretes or shakes at the new Midtown Shake Shack (on 44th & 8th), but didn’t want to wait in the crazy lunchtime line?  Good news for you!  It looks like they’ve added a “C line” to the Times Square location.  Eric, the luncher who was kind enough to send us this photo of the new sign, was concerned that this might be a weekend only kind of thing… but we’re going to assume hope that it’s permanent.

Related:
Your Guide to the Theater District Shake Shack Concretes
How to Determine Your Shake Shack Wait Time

Photo courtesy of Burger Conquest

• Black Shack is now serving something called a “Mayhem Burger” [Burger Conquest]
• Lunch’er Josh is a fan of the pernil sandwich at Margon… [NYC Foodie]
• … and the macarella from the Street Sweets Truck [NYC Foodie]
• You can get a $15 lobster roll at the pop bar/cafe next to the Rock Center Greenmarket [FeastNY]
• The sorbet at La Maison du Chocolat is gooood [SENY]
• Will letter grades effect ethnic restaurants the most? [Grub Street]

If you like to eat, chances are you like to drink (read: a lot of you are freakin’ lushes), so I thought maybe it was time to introduce a happy hour column to the site. Every week, our Happy Hour Correspondent “Mamacita” will post about a different bar in Midtown that fits the Midtown Lunch mentality: unhealthy food, not lame (unless it’s lame in a cool way), and most importantly… cheap.

Asian Station was first called out on Midtown Lunch for having too many cuisines on one menu: Japanese, Thai, Malaysian and the inevitable Chinese food. However, it turned out that it was better than we expected. I stopped by recently to see what was new and I am sad to report that the 3 sushi roll lunch for $10 has increased by a buck and you now only get a choice of soup or salad, not both. On the other hand, I was drawn in by their inexpensive Happy Hour.

From 4 to 8pm you can satisfy your thirst with 50% off beer, sake, sake-cocktails, and wine. The décor is what you’d expect: hip and modern. There’s neon blue back lighting to the bar, sushi chefs milling around looking like they can sashimi any fish in the sea, and cute young hostesses that are eager to seat you and offer you a sake-tini. However there was one problem…

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Sure, sure, there might be something whack in the meat at Burger King. But it’s the King! And they let me have it my way… Even with all the food options that Midtown Lunch uncovers, there’s still times when I just need the guilty taste of fast food. Earlier this month we told you that the Whopper Bar on 40th and 7th Ave. was almost ready to open. I walked by today and there was a guy in the front saying they’ll open tomorrow (7/31) after 3 PM. He was also handing out some free toppings coupons too. My doctor recently cleared me to eat all the artery clogging food that I want, so maybe there’ll be some Whopper Bar in my future. It’s against everything that ML stands for but… I just can’t help it!

The long awaited Korean Fried Chicken War of 5th Ave. is about to commence. We’ve gotten word that the  Koreatown branch of Bon Chon Chicken (on 5th Ave bet. 32nd & 33rd St.), just a few doors down from Kyochon’s US flagship location, is set to open some time next week and it’s not just another Kfc joint. According to the owner and manager Simon Lee, the new Bon Chon will be a completely different concept from the other more fast-foodish locations of the chain. “The classic east meets west. American sports bar meets classic Bon Chon.”  That could be interesting.

More details (plus my plywood peek from a couple weeks ago) after the jump.

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