Midtown Lunch

Now that Downtown has its very own section of the site, what are we going to post on Fridays at 10am? Answer… how about a new column devoted to those lunches just south of the ML boundaries. Every week we’ll post about a lunch in Murray Hill south, Gramercy, Flatiron, and everything in between… or to make it easy: Flatiron Lunch.

My lunch hour travels rarely take me to the western edges of Flatiron Lunch boundaries, but earlier this month Robert Sietsema’s tweet about Soul Fixin’s reminded me that I’ve been meaning to try this place out for years. When it was on 34th Street and 9th Avenue, I was never willing to brave the tourist and shopping crowds or –shudder– the M34 to get there. The not-so-new location on 28th Street near F.I.T. may not be closer, but it’s a much easier walk without all the foot traffic in the way.

There aren’t a whole lot of options for soul food in the Flatiron Lunch boundaries, so I decided to check out some American-style Fried Chicken for a change of pace. See what I got after the jump.

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Relegated to a “specials” menu

The QBA Cuban Kitchen Truck is going to roll out some changes to its menu next week, and there’s good news and bad news. The bad news is that their bistec meal and their chicken meal (the one that the Downtown section of ML raved about yesterday) will no longer be available on a daily basis- leaving the pork meal, maduros meal and Cuban sandwich as their core daily menu items. The good news, on the other hand, is that the bistec and chicken will join a daily specials rotation that will also include new items, such as picadillo (ground beef in savory tomato sauce) and ropa vieja (shredded beef, peppers & onions in savory tomato sauce). I was pretty happy with the pork back when QBA started making stops in Midtown so I’m interested to see what these new dishes are like. QBA can usually be found on 44th btw. 5th+6th on Thursdays, but you should keep up with their location (and menu) on Twitter. Or the Midtown Lunch Twitter Tracker, of course.

Related:
QBA Truck Brings “Quick but Authentic” Cuban Food to the Streets

• El Caminocito Truck is missing, again [Midtown Eating]
• Need a lunch spot near Grand Central for 60 people [Midtown Eating]
• Tsushima is a great east side sushi option for under $20 [Midtown Eating]
• Has anybody tried the burrito at La Baguette Cafe? [Midtown Eating]
• Plans for the August ML Happy Hour meetup have already begun [Connections]

I think it’s safe to say people are super excited about the new Mexicue Truck… they’re parked on 52nd and Park today and as of 12:10 the line is already 30 people long (and getting longer by the minute.)  I guess a little rain isn’t a deterrent when chili rubbed, pulled pork sliders are involved.

Related:
Mexicue Truck Hits the Street Serving, You Guessed It, Mexican Barbecue

Thanks to discskyer for passing along this photo of the Maoz on 40th and 7th Ave.  It’s quite a coincidence that this happens the same week that the DOH is giving out letter grades… but we’ll take them at their word (their last inspection would have gotten them an A).  As for lunch, if you’re looking for some replacement falafel in the area you’ll have to make due with this, this, or this.

Lena Latin Grill, the new South American lunch spot on 35th Street btw. 5+6th, will soon be serving Latin breakfast. Starting August 2nd from 7-10am, they’ll be offering empanadas, arepas, cafe con leche and more. Too bad they don’t serve that stuff through lunchtime!  Check out the menu after the jump.
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