Midtown Lunch

Do you wonder what the ML contributors do when they’re not eating lunch in Midtown? (They’re actually pretty easy to stalk!)

Hello DBGB Thai Sausage! Photo by Food in Mouth

Brownie tries “The Sneaky Pete” at Shopsin’s (3 poached eggs over spicy garlic bread topped with jack, bacon, tomato and scallions) while Blondie discovers that the Van Leeuwen brothers are now serving palm sugar ice cream. Ultraclay had a delicious birthday dinner at Maialino, Danny loved the bone marrow and thai sausage at DBGB, and congrats to Amy whose Stupidly Simple Snack videos launch on Hungry Nation tomorrow!

I may not be willing to trek over 10 blocks at lunchtime for a meatball sandwich, but I’m totally willing to do the trek after work for a gelato sandwich! As we told you last week, the Mia Dona cart is now serving gelato sandwiches from around 4 until 7. I stopped by yesterday and went with the ricotta drizzled with honey. The homemade brioche was soft, sweet, and fluffy; the gelato is pretty fantastic, except the freezer is a bit too cold- rendering the gelato a bit hard. The server did mention that if the cart gets more traffic, they’ll offer more flavors. $6 is a bit pricey for a late afternoon sugar rush, but in fairness it’s probably the cheapest dessert on the block, and quite possibly the best take-away one in the area.

Mia Dona Gelato Cart, 206 E. 58th (btw. 2+3rd), 212-750-8170 (Weekdays from 4-7pm)

My first thought when George Steinbrenner died two weeks ago wasn’t of Yankee Stadium or championship trophies, it was of Larry David’s voice. I guess I’m a bigger Seinfeld fan than Yankees fan. One of my favorite Steinbrenner episodes of Seinfeld is when he becomes obsessed with George’s lunchtime calzone stuffed with cheese, pepperoni and eggplant, and starts making George bring him one everyday. The spell that calzone casts on Steinbrenner always makes me crave one. So, to honor The Boss, I headed out to some of Midtown’s most notable pizzerias in search of Midtown’s best calzone. See what I found after the jump.

Read more »

Yup… that’s Hoda.

Today is the first day of the annual summer Rock Center Farmer’s Market. As in years past you can find them set up at the North Plaza, Rockefeller Place at 50th Street every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. from now through September 3rd. The vendors vary each day so I’ve put together a little guide to some of my favorites.
Read more »

• Meru, from the Biriyani Cart, should be back this week [Midtown Eating]
• Looking for a mid-range sushi option in Midtown East [Midtown Eating]
• What does your co-worker have against fried pork?! [Miscellaneous]
• New York was snubbed by stupid street food list [Miscellaneous]

Thanks to Lunch’er Dave for passing along this one… yesterday, the brand new “Mexicue” Truck hit the streets selling a fusion of Mexican food and BBQ (think burnt ends in a Mexican rub, topped with an arbol BBQ sauce, and habanero salsa.) Yesterday they were in the Flatiron (on 25th and Park), and today they parked on 40th btw. 5+6th. We’ve got some pretty decent Mexican food in Midtown, and there’s the Daisy May’s Cart (on 49th 50th btw. 6+7th) when you’re craving that BBQ fix. But combined? This could be a game changer. The menu looks pretty great to say the least… and these press photos on Flickr, are, well… press-y. But they give you a pretty looking idea of what you’re getting. (Thanks to the forums for that link!) We will definitely be hitting this up soon, and early adopters should let us all know how it is in the comments. They’re already sold out for today, but to follow them in the future here’s their website, Twitter and Facebook accounts.

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 Sarah, an actress who likes her steak to still be moo’ing and is looking for a good guac.

Name: Sarah

Age: 26

Occupation: Actress/Blogger

Where in Midtown do you Work?: Auditions are as far north as 54th and 8th or as far south as 36th and 8th-so I have covered a lot of ground of midtown west in the four years I have lived here!

Favorite Kind of Food: Kimchee, sourdough bread, fried mandoo, VERY rare steak (still mooing, please), french fries, anything spicy enough to make my lips blister, bone marrow, foie gras, guacamole, the sourdough bacon burger from Jack in the Box, chili cheese Fritos, and nutella…YES NUTELLA!

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Okra. I can’t get past the slime factor. And Jello. A dessert should not be see through, and that’s just the way I feel.

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Midtown: Pick-A- Pita (on 8th btw. 39+40th) for some french fry stuffed falafel sandwiches, Baja Fresh (on 41st and B’way) for the steak quesadilla and the unlimited salsa bar, Woorjip‘s kimchee soup and fried mandoo (on 32nd btw. B’way+5th), the Pad Kee Mao at Pam Real Thai (on 49th btw. 9+10th), Sloppy Fries at Schnipper’s Quality Kitchen (on 41st and 8th), and absolutely anything on the menu at Xie Xie (on 9th btw. 45+46th) as long as you get the 1,000 year old ice cream sandwich for dessert. To misquote John Mayer, it is Gustatory Napalm. For reals.

Read more »