Midtown Lunch

The day has come! The first (of many) Hello Pastas opened on Lexington btw. 54+55th this morning. As they promised, it’s kinda like the Chipotle of pasta, with a similar set-up to make for maximum ordering efficiency. You queue up, pick your pasta (choice between farfalle, conchiglie, fusilli, whole wheat fusilli, or gluten free penne), sauce, size (14 oz. “Handy” vs. 19 oz. “Handful”), and you’re out! The checkout counter also reminds me of the sweets section at every Pret A Manger counter stacked with last minute temptations in case hot pasta on a sweltering city day brings you down. For those hesitant to commit, don’t forget there’s an 8coupons deal for TOMORROW that gets you any pasta with any sauce for just 88 cents! Easy to hate aspiring empire-builders, but even 88 cent lunches are hard to resist. For those who can’t fathom eating steaming fusilli bolognese in this weather (like I am right now), they offer cold pasta salads and regular green salads too.

Check out our first taste, and the menu, after the jump… Read more »

Peoples pops isn’t the only thing being given away for free today in Midtown. For the third year in a row, Maxwell Medical will be promoting their 30 minute medical massages by giving away free Mister Softee all summer long.  Today is the first giveaway, and it’s going down on 40th 42nd Street and 2nd Ave. from Noon to 2pm.  Just make sure you grab one of the fliers being handed out by the Maxwell Medical reps in the area… you can’t get a free ice cream without them.  (Don’t worry too much, we’re pretty sure they stand right in front of the truck with them.)

Shuttered Korean barbecue spot Chung Moo Ro was never really in the ML price range, so we didn’t really mourn it when they closed up shop over the winter. Miss Korea Barbecue has just opened in its place. Both the new look of the space inside and the menu look remarkably similar to Haru Hana just down the block, so it may be the same owners.

Get a glimpse of the menu after the jump.
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Thanks to Lunch’er Chris for taking one for the team today… “Just a friendly PSA – Margon is currently closed until July 12.  Apparently the restaurant takes a one week vacation every year, the week after the 4^th.  I learned this lesson the hard way today.”

The burger craze is definitely in full effect in New York these days, so you knew it was only a matter of time before the fast food corporations dipped their toes into the game. Obviously we’re on high alert for the new Shake Shack opening soon on 8th Ave… but they’re not the only ones going through training right now.  Remember the Burger King on 40th and 7th that was slated to be turned into a Whopper Bar?  I walked by today and saw that the posters are up, and people are being trained inside. As far as fast food burgers go, BK’s isn’t the worst, so we might keep an eye out for this one… or not.

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 Tinger, an “intimate apparel” designer (?!) who loves cheese.

Name: Tinger

Age: 24

Occupation: Print and Graphics Designer for a private label intimate apparel company (and blogger at Tinger Tastings)

Where in Midtown do you Work?: Herald Square Area

Favorite Kind of Food: Oh geez, where do I start?? I guess in terms of salty foods, it would have to be any type of homemade dumplings, spicy noodle soup, any and all seafood/sushi, PIZZA ( white pizza with ricotta cheese, rosemary, spinach and garlic, margherita, or a well done plain slice), gorgonzola gnocchi, falafel sandwiches stuffed to capacity with veggies/condiments, anything with coconut curry…. In terms of sweet, red velvet ANYTHING (as long as it comes with a cream cheese of some sort), gelato/ice cream cones, anything stuffed with chocolate ganache…wow, I am making myself drool just typing this stuff out

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Anything mass produced, generic, from a chain restaurant, or of poor quality. Anything “low fat, sugar free, low carb”= depressing and unsatisfying, how can anyone LIVE like that??

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Midtown: I’m a huge fan of Maoz Vegetarian (7th Ave. & 40th St.) since it’s so close to my work, Ying Du (38th btw. 7+8th) but they raised their prices from 4.50 a container to 5.00 :( , Baoguette (Lex btw. 25+26th) is always tasty, and Cafe Zaiya (41st btw. Mad+5th) for when I want something small and cute.

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