Midtown Lunch

Finding good Korean food in my part of Midtown east is quite difficult. There are more than enough awesome Japanese restaurants to satisfy my Japanese food cravings but once in a while I just want to stink up the office with the smell of kimchi. At the moment, I either walk all the way down to Ktown (to eat at my favorite place, Woorijip) or I rely on the many Korean taco trucks roaming the streets. Being that I’m way too lazy to go to Ktown, I pretty much wait for any Korean taco trucks to come to me.

Most recently I had the Seoul Food truck on my radar because they offer free food and who doesn’t like free food?! Anna gave the food from Seoul Food truck a pretty positive review so I had slightly high hopes for them.

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I finally got to check out the unassuming little takeout spot JJ Hong Kong Cafe, which opened on 6th Ave. btw. 36+37th just a few weeks ago. There have been some decent reviews in the Forums and I’m always eager to find some cheap Cantonese-style food in this area. Turns out this restaurant is connected to another called Jin Jin Hong Kong Cafe in Bensonhurst, but sadly they only offer Hong Kong-style baked rice (the dish deanlo was hoping for in the Forums) at the Brooklyn location. Due to space restraints, this Midtown location only sautees their spaghetti and fried rice dishes.  But it wasn’t a total loss…

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• Bon Chon serves a $9 LaFrieda beef bulgogi burger!? [Midtown Eating]
• The Daily News has a deal for Ceci’s Italian [Midtown Eating]
• Shamrock Shakes are already available at McD’s [Midtown Eating]
• The udon at Cafe Today is super garlicky [Midtown Eating]

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 Lunch’er Moe, a finance guy who wants to tell us about the REAL Little Italy Pizza.

Name: Moe

Age: 25

Occupation: Finance

Where in Midtown do you work? Mid 40’s near Madison Ave

Favorite Kind of Food: My whole motto in life is “I live to eat, not eat to live.” My favorite kind of food can be described in one word — SPICY! I like food with flavor like BAM! If my tongue had a face, I want food that breaks its nose with one punch. I grew up in Queens, which has a large asian population, and combined with my affinity for spicy food, it’s no surprise that my favorite cuisines are mostly from Asia. I enjoy Pakistani, Indian, Afghani, Thai, Korean, Vietnamese, Cambodian, Chinese, Lebanese, and Turkish food (yes, Turkey is partially in Asia).

Least Favorite Kind of Food: 4Food on Madison b/w 40th and 41st has to be the WORST place to eat for many reasons. First and foremost, their food was horrible. It’s the kind of food that makes you really sad after you eat it, because now you’re full and can’t make up for it by eating something good, so you’re stuck with horrible food in your belly. Secondly, they tried making their menu really interactive, but ended up making it overcomplicated. They even had an employee out in front that had to explain the ridiculous menu.

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Midtown: My co-workers and I are really into food trucks and carts, so we frequent Korilla BBQ (bulgogi tacos ofcourse), Taim Mobile (Harissa Falafel), Jamaican Dutchy (jerk chicken, duh), Luke’s Lobster (uhhh Lobster rolls), Biryani Cart (spicy buradi rolls), Wafles N Dinges (speculoos ice cream w/ nutella on top), and Mr. Khan’s halal cart on 45th st b/w 5th and 6th ave.

When the trucks aren’t around, we frequent Naya express (the lebanese chipotle on 3rd ave b/w 43rd and 44th st), Potbelly’s (just for the oatmeal/chocolate cookie), Num Pang (grilled skirt steak sandwich!), Kati roll (chicken unda / beef tikka rolls), and Crisp (African and Parisian falafel). There needs to be a special burger section, because here at work, we are all burger fanatics. In fact, we had a taste test between 5 of the supposedly best burgers in midtown (Shake Shack, Pop burger, PJ Clarke’s, Burger Joint, and Bill’s burger — photo attached for proof). Shake Shack won with an overwhelming majority.

Special Midtown dessert tip: Go to the Doubletree Hotel on 51st and Lexington and buy a tin of their amazing cookies for around $10. These cookies are heavenly.

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I was surprised to discover Kwik Delights, the most recent addition to the Kwik Meal empire, set up on 36th and 6th Avenue yesterday. That’s quite a ways from its usual spot on 45th and 3rd. The guys working the cart told me they moved last week because another vendor took their spot and instead of fighting with him, they found a new spot. I’m sort of surprised they didn’t hold tight since they’ve fostered that location for the last few years, but this is certainly a welcome addition to this area of Midtown. Even though the original Kwik Meal is just nine blocks north, you can now get your chicken schwarma and quality lamb right here (especially since the price is back down to $9!)

Good news for all lunchers looking for authentic Neapolitan pizza in Midtown – Don Antonio is open for business (on 50th btw. 8+9th Ave.)  The new pie shop boasts some serious culinary chops, as its owned by Roberto Caporuscio, the pizzaiolo in charge of Kesté, as well as Roberto’s long-time mentor, Antonio Starita of Naples’ Pizzeria Starita. While most of the pies are well above the $10 range, almost all of the restaurant’s calzones and paninis are at the $9-10 range. Serious Eats has a drool-worthy preview of the place, and we can’t wait to check the place out ourselves for lunch. And if anyone has tried Don Antonio’s, please let us know what you think in the comments.

Don Antonio, 309 W 50th Street (btw. 8+9th). 646-719-1043

In honor of Valentine’s Day tomorrow, Wafels & Dinges has made a commercial for their latest special “De Bloody Valentine Wafel”.  It features blood orange chocolate, strawberries, and almonds and sells for $7 ($4 for a mini). They’ll be available at least for the next week, and beyond that until they run out of blood orange chocolate.  For me, a treat like this is more of a I’m-angry-at-being-alone-and-I’m-going-to-sit-in-the-corner-drowning-my-sorrows-in-this-waffle kind of thing… but if you prefer to take the video’s advice and give it to your sweetheart like an engagement ring, I suppose that works too.

Watch the whole video, after the jump…

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