Midtown Lunch

Ever since the Jamaican Dutchy reappeared on the east side, I’ve been going there regularly. I know they have a long list of items and daily specials, but I’ve never had anything else other then their jerk chicken and their stew chicken. Then one day I decided to actually read the menu and the descriptions of each item, and was particularly intrigued by Friday’s lunch special- the escovitch chicken ($9 for small and $11 for large). What’s escovitch chicken? According to Jamaican Dutchy, escovtich chicken is boneless fried chicken. Two of my favorite words, fried and chicken. Since it was Friday, I had to check out what this was all about.

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Every Friday we go south of the ML boundaries in search of a delicious lunch. Sometimes it’s Murray Hill south or the Flatiron District, sometimes Gramercy and everything in between- but we just like to call it Flatiron Lunch. This week we’re excited to welcome a new Flatiron contributor… Sarah Z. Make her feel welcome!

Keko Café caught my eye with their somewhat odd but welcoming sidewalk blackboards that venture beyond the power of suggestion. “You need a cup of coffee.” “I do? Okay.” Inside, the interior and menu reflect an eclectic but charming Parisian café serving baguette sandwiches, crepes and quiches, among other things.

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Bella Napoli (on 49th btw. 6+7th) has long been a favored pizza spot for my office mates for their quality grandma’s slice. The other day as I was walking to the subway I noticed they were sporting some new signage touting 5 buck 25th anniversary lunch specials. Naturally I had to check it out. Read more »

• Cafe Today is now open on 52nd & 3rd [Midtown Eating]
• Does this place have Hong Kong style baked rice!?!? [Midtown Eating]
• The Fish N Shrimp truck rules! [Midtown Eating]

I walked by Steve’s Ice Cream on 42nd Street btw. Mad+5th this week since the weather is frighteningly ice cream appropriate, but was dismayed to see the store shut up and a rent sign plastered in the window. What happened? Surely, it can’t be due to the weather being too cold. According to their website, they closed shop at the beginning of December and they promise to open a new location in Brooklyn this summer. In the meantime, you can still purchase their packaged ice cream at a few specialty stores in Midtown, most notably Earnest Klein Supermarket on 6th Avenue and 54th Street.

Last week, we reported that Peters since 1969, a comfort food joint with outposts in Brooklyn and Hell’s Kitchen, moved into the old Yummy Yummy falafel space on Lex between 55th and 56th. Jeremiah tried out the Hell’s Kitchen location a while back and reported back without much enthusiasm, but how does the new location stack up?

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It’s very hard not to walk into Hop Won (on 45th btw Lex+3rd) and not end up getting lunch from their steamed table. I’m a big fan of their chicken and broccoli and have also tried roast pork, their sweet and sour chicken, and chow mein. But there are also some great gems on the regular menu, especially if you pay attention to the handwritten items on pieces of bright yellow papers taped to the wall. Gems like the shrimp omelette over rice for $6.23.

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Some friends and I are leading a crawl to a place where drinks come with bacon. Photo by Clay Williams.

Blondie got the Millenium Falco pizza at Roberta’s, Brownie tried to recreate Shopsin’s Mo Betta sandwich, Brian played video games and drank beer at Barcade in Williamsburg, Rachel had breakfast at Cafe Bene, Donny checked out the new One Girl Cookies in Dumbo and I’m hosting a Bed-Stuy Bar Crawl with some friends.

Elsewhere in the ML universe… Zach gets excited about Korean food at Pioneer Chicken in Los Angeles, Philly guest contributor, John reports on Texas BBQ in Center City and Andrea wins with Chicken and Waffle sandwiches from Real Good Food.