Midtown Lunch

Free Lunch Alert: This just in from Lunch'er "Gate 321"...  Fresh and Company, on Madison between 41st and 42nd, is giving out free lunch until 2:00 or until the food runs out.  Freeloaders, engage.

El Nosh Offering Jew-ban Sliders, Yucca Latkes, and More Today Only: Fusion frenzy isn't an original Xbox launch title anymore - someone has decided that it'd be awesome to make a Jewish/pan-Latin fusion restaurant and take over the Miami Food Machine truck to promote it. As much as I'd love some carne asada helzl, they're doing some interesting dishes. Kosher keepers beware, if they're offering "Jew-ban Sliders" - which look really tasty - they're still mixing meat and milk, so I would be wary about pork in stuff. For the rest of us, though, this looks interesting at the least. Keep an eye out on Miami Food Machine's Twitter for locations. Today only, so be swift about it!

BV’s Burgers Are Just $3 This Week: BV's Burger posted on their Facebook page that all this week (sorry for the late notice) they're offering a discount on their sirloin burgers. Between 1:30 to 4:00 p.m. you can get the 8 o.z. burger for just $3! Just a quick reminder that BV's Burger is at 120 West 45th street located in the rear courtyard behind the main restaurant.

More Recommendations If You’re Going to Comic-Con: Speaking of Comic-Con, in addition to yesterday's suggestion all of the recs from this post we did back in 2011 are still completely valid.  Want a longer list?  The blog Eataku has its own pretty long list of recommendations for places relatively close to the Javitz Center.

Get a Free Luke’s Lobster Roll (And Book!) From Simon & Schuster Today: If you're a fan of books and lobster rolls today is the greatest day of your life.  Simon & Schuster is teaming up with Luke's Lobster Truck to promote the novel The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion.  The truck will be at 47th & Park starting at 11:30am this morning and the first 100 people in line will get a free copy of the book plus a free lobster roll.  As always you'll want to double check the location on twitter before heading out.  Freeloading readers, prepare to engage.

Free Top Chef Jambalaya and Po Boys Alert: Free Pie Face isn't enough for you?  There's a Top Chef roaming the streets today handing out free fried shrimp, roast beef and smoked sausage po-boys, as well as jambalaya and red beans & rice, from Domilise’s. We're hearing that their next stop will be on 51st and 6th Ave.; follow along @bravotopchef for all the locations.

Free Pie Face Alert: Looks like this is becoming a monthly occurrence! Once again, it is free pie day at Pie Face. This time, from noon until midnight they're giving away free mini mince beef pies in exchange for social media posts. Just be sure to tag them on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter. Find the nearest location to you here.

Manganaro’s Hero Boy is Closing, Long Live Manganaro’s Hero Boy: Rumors of old-school Italian-American culinary landmark Manganaro's Hero Boy's death apparently have been greatly exaggerated. The other day we reported that the 9th Ave landmark famed for its decades-long familial spat that makes the Lannisters look like lambs by comparison, but it looks like the new owners of their building have been persuaded otherwise. One can only guess at how much cash was involved in that persuasion, because nobody in the deal is talking. Rejoice, you can still get your heroes even if actual Italian sandwiches are but a block away!

Lezzette is Closed Again: Lezzette is not having a very good summer. In what could be a mirror image of an earlier post, the awesome doner/gyro spot near Penn has had their insurance shutter show up as down. No DoH signs or recent inspections, nothin'. Their last inspection was 7/23, allowing their reopening on 7/30. It's back to Troy for us should we be craving an F5 meat tornado in the meantime!

Vanishing Manhattan Continues: No More Manganaro’s Heroboy on 9th: It looks like the vestiges of old family rivalries which used to be one of the most awesome New York food stories ("so wait, which one is the BEST Manganaro's?") are disappearing in the name of development. Manganaro's Hero Boy, who (like every single other sub shop in the NY/NJ metro area) purports to be the original home of the 6-foot hero, is going to be vacating after its building was just sold. The property will be redeveloped as Hudson Yards begins to take shape. Ciao, Manganaro family splinter faction. 9th Ave will miss you.