Midtown Lunch

As we noted last week, International Gourmet Kitchen (IGK) is now open (on 8th Ave. btw. 35+36th) and as I walked into the place on Thursday, I realized that Lunch’er Mark’s assessment was pretty solid.

It’s kind of like Guy & Gallard, only with better/more varied options and more reasonably priced … The space is clean and airy with seating upstairs, and I was very surprised by how reasonable the prices were.

He paid only $8 for a cheeseburger, fries and a can of soda.

The perimeter of the new lunch spot showcases different stations, including the token salad creator, a grill spot that serves burgers and other hot sandwiches, pasta, burritos and quesadillas, and Asian rice bowls and noodles in the back. I went straight for the Asian goodies, and found a plethora of noodle options from around the East: ramen, yakisoba, udon, pho, and pad thai. Where to start?

Read more »

Shio Ramen from Tabata. Photo courtesy of Lauren Shockey

• Lauren Shockey really likes the shio ramen at Tabata [Fork in the Road]
• Comme Ci Comme Ca is 2% of the price of Per Se [Food in Mouth]
• Something has changed at Cafe Zaiya, and not for the better [Tasty Eating]
• Burger Joint and Taim Mobile have two of the worst lines in NYC [Eater]
• Try the nylon khaman at Bombay Fast Food (fka Taj Delhi Chat) [Fork in the Road]
• The sliders at Bill’s Bar & Burger are excellent [A Hamburger Today]
• The Treats Truck brick and mortar is also going to sell b’fast and lunch!? [Zagat]
• Check out this video of Zach talking to Adam Roberts about the beginnings of ML [AG]

If you like to eat, chances are you like to drink (read: a lot of you are freakin’ lushes), so every Friday afternoon we 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.

With all the expensive Irish pubs in Midtown, sometimes you have to travel one avenue over to get a decent happy hour. And it’s the five hour happy hour that brought me to Whiskey River (on 2nd btw 31+32nd) this week. Happy hour there goes from 3pm to 8pm, a little longer than most and early enough that area workers can stop by for a late afternoon beer (at least one did while I was there.) But is this happy hour worth trek to Kips Bay?

Read more »

While this may not be “Midtown Dinner” some of us occasionally work hours that might require dinner at the office or picking up take out on the way home after a long day. If that describes you, or if your cheap eating tendencies extend to the dinner hours, the Bian Dang in Food Gallery 32 (on 32nd btw. 5th+B’way) is doing a dinner special that includes entree, appetizer and a drink for $10 from 6:00pm until 11:30pm.

My favorite street meat spot over the past few years has been the Little Morocco cart (39+7th). The unique flavors, the little extras (corn!), the occasional kofta option, and the $5 price tag make it a hard cart to compete with. As we’ve learned over the years, however, the quality of the food is at least somewhat dependent on its usual operator, Omar. With word of Omar’s move to California (good luck!), came questions about whether Little Morocco would ever be the same. Questions I intended to answer once I heard a new Little Morocco cart had surfaced after their most recent controversy.

As you can see from the above picture, it is indeed a different physical cart. It has no Little Morocco signage and really nothing to distinguish it from a generic Halal cart. But it is parked in the exact same spot (NE corner of 39+7th) and is being run by the owner of the original Little Morocco who has filled in for/helped Omar in the past. He confirmed that the old cart would be coming back to this spot once the sticker issue is sorted out, but I wouldn’t recommend holding your breath. Now, what about the food?

Read more »

When I heard that Resto’s new spinoff, The Cannibal was opening last month and that it would have a generous lunch lunch menu with sandwiches, I was really excited. Those that know my particular food obsessions won’t be surprised that a place specializing in butchering, charcuterie and beer jumped to the top of my to do list.

I stopped in a couple weeks ago to grab a bite and get a first look at the place. Check it out after the jump.

Read more »

New York Comic Con began yesterday, which means tens of thousands of big-time comic fans are descending upon the Javits Center to walk the convention floor and check out panels. Although we have little experience eating in Midtown in costume, we do want your lunching experience to match the fun you have at the convention.

Now, admittedly, the Javits Center is out of bounds, and the immediate area around there can be a wasteland for food … which is where we come in: Super Midtown Lunch! (Who’s imagining Zach in a cape right now? Sorry.)

Here are five spots that are a few blocks walking distance from NYCC.

Read more »

• ‘wichcraft says not to worry, gruyere sandwich will be back [Midtown Eating]
• Ginger Man on 36th has a great selection of beers [Midtown Eating]
• Anybody know what happened to the soup cart on 46th? [Midtown Eating]