Midtown Lunch

We reported recently that Shanghai Broadway took over the old Kebab & Grill space, looking like one heck of a nice addition to an otherwise unremarkable chunk of the Garment District. It’s in a competitive spot – Chef Yu, Ginger’s, New Li Yuan, Main Noodle House, and Lunch Box Buffet all bracket the region with very good Chinese offerings. While their menu contains some Generic Dragon standards, it’s got some interesting items. Can they measure up?
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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.

Over the summer (or at least that is when I noticed it), New York Style truck started parking on the corner of 21th Street and 6th Avenue. I probably would have noticed a truck with mac and cheese and cheesesteak sandwiches, but the fact that they have been blasting rock music from their speakers made sure I noticed them. It took me a while to get around to trying their food and the opening of Mad. Sq. Eats delayed this post, but it was inevitable that I would get around to writing about a place called New York Style Mac and Cheesesteak. (You see what they did there with the name…)

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The wait is finally over! After anticipating its opening since last February, Sur Empanadas fried up their first set of Argentinian empanadas in Midtown East this past Tuesday. The empanada factory and bakery servers gourmet, fried, and regular empanadas ($2.75-$3.65 each) in addition to a selection of sandwiches ($5-8), pastries, cakes, desserts, and ice cream. We have a peek at the full menu (and an early review from Lunch’er “Hightemp”) after the jump…

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Way back in 2012, Anna reviewed the Yogi BBQ Cart, then a newcomer offering Korean fusion in Midtown East. Anna was pleased by the cart’s tacos, but was intrigued by the Korean gyro she saw on the menu. So when I saw the Yogi Cart on the corner of 3rd Ave. and 49th, I jumped at the opportunity to try some Korean-Greek fusion.

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Even if you’re not on The Cinnamon Snail‘s vegan bandwagon, it’s very possible you’re on their doughnut bandwagon. And one of their draws are the seasonal updates to their doughnut line (they’re also now selling the Thanksgiving Sandoo, but that’s for another post.) Here’s three of the autumn-inspired flavors that can be found on the truck.

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Midtown is always in need of new lunch places, and it looks like we’ve got two (well, one is an expansion) to keep your eye on. The first is Midtown West’s chance to get in on the Num Pang sandwich action with a new shop on West 48th Street between 6th and 7th. Yes, this is the former location of one of the Sam Ashes on that street.

But wait… there’s more.

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We received a tip from Luncher Stephen last week about a brand new spot on 49th and 7th. Roast Kitchen sounded like it could be a promising place for take-out rotisserie chicken, but it seems much closer to a fast food salad joint. The meat seems to play second fiddle to ingredients like kale, quinoa, and brown rice. But composed salad selections often include something like marinated steak, spicy chicken, or pork butt. When pork butt enters the picture, we start listening. Prices seem to hover right around $9. I can’t find a full menu online, but click below for a photo of their salad bowl selections.

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Looks like Korean coffee chain Caffe Bene is expanding with a new location. The cafe is sandwiched between their Chelsea location (on 27th and 7th) and the Times Square spot we’ve written about on 49th and Broadway. The above signage was wrapped around the northeast corner of 36th and 7th. Now if only that Maple Macchiato was just a tad bit cheaper!

The Astoria franchise, Mysttik Masaala, known for their Indian, Tibetan, and Nepalese fare opened their second cart in Midtown East recently on the southeast corner of 54th and Park. The franchise opened their first cart in Manhattan on 44th and 2nd earlier this summer. The cart seems to keep prices at a $7 ceiling (as compared to the 44th Street cart), and we know the momos are a must. If you’ve had a chance to check out the second cart, let us know what you think in the comments!

Mysttik Masaala Cart, Parked on the SE Corner of 54th and Park