Midtown Lunch

Inconspicuously sandwiched between perennially busy Korean favorites Cho Dang Gol and Hanbat, you’ll find MEW Izakaya. Some of you are thinking, how authentic can a Japanese restaurant possibly be on this particularly Korean block of 35th St? Or why come here when there’s so many other asian options in the area? Well, their menu, atmosphere, and price have since won me over and made MEW one of my favorite spots when I have time to enjoy a sit down lunch.

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When Leña Latin Grill opened up in June (on 35th btw. 5+6th), we pegged it as a “Latin Chipotle” (yes, South American would have made more sense) and comments were mixed. Since then I’ve stopped in several times and to be honest… I keep going back for more. See why after the jump.

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Lena Latin Grill, the new South American lunch spot on 35th Street btw. 5+6th, will soon be serving Latin breakfast. Starting August 2nd from 7-10am, they’ll be offering empanadas, arepas, cafe con leche and more. Too bad they don’t serve that stuff through lunchtime!  Check out the menu after the jump.
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I don’t know what you guys think, but I’m pretty psyched to finally have a NYT reviewer that eats like us. In 5 years as the restaurant critic of the New York Times Frank Bruni and Midtown Lunch crossed paths just once (his 2 star review of Szechuan Gourmet.) But in less than three months Sam Sifton (who is quickly becoming my favorite food reviewer of all time) has doubled that output- first with his one star review of Le Relais de Venise L’entrecote, and today with his one star review of Madangsui- a great Korean BBQ place on 35th btw. 5+6th. Getting real Korean BBQ (where your meat gets grilled on the table right in front of you) is too expensive for Midtown Lunch’ing purposes, but if you’ve always wondered where the best place to get it in our neck of the woods is Sifton says Madangsui.

Photo courtesy of meltingnoise

My go to spot for pizza in Koreatown is the Little Italy Pizza on 33rd btw. Mad+5th, but Ultraclay has got another option.  He hit up Pizza Rustico 2 recently (on 35th btw. 5+6th) and stands behind their buffalo chicken pizza. “The bleu cheese is a thinner dressing that I’d like, but is just strong enough to balance out the tang and spice of the buffalo sauce.” Not as good as the slices he remembers fondly from college in Massachusetts (where dipping pizza in blue cheese dressing is considered de rigueur) but close enough.

Pizza Rustico 2, 25 W 35th St (btw. 5+6th), 212-736-1114

I was really really into Lunch’er Jamie’s profile last Tuesday… but probably for different reasons than some of you. My interest was particularly piqued by the mention of her choice for “best Midtown Lunch” around: the special noodles with brown sauce at Hyo Dong Gak on 35th btw. 5+6th.

I’m a big fan of the craziness known as Korean/Chinese food, mostly for the jjajangmyeon (or “noodles with brown sauce” as it is called in English.) While usually a restaurant that serves multiple kinds of Asian foods under one roof is a big red flag, Korean Chinese food is a different animal.  It’s a hybrid cuisine with certain dishes you can only find at Korean Chinese food restaurants (like jjajangmyeon.) Most people consider Shanghai Mong (on 32nd btw. 5th+B’way) the go-to Korean Chinese food place in Koreatown. But with this kind of endorsement from Jamie, I knew I had to check out Hyo Dong Gak.

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