Midtown Lunch

Craving Pizza, Free Toppings, & Schnitzel?: Don't forget... Twitter may be blocked at your work, but the ML Twitter Tracker isn't! NYC Cravings is on 53rd, Eddie's Pizza is on 52nd, Schnitzel is on 48th, Wafels is on 46th, QBA Kitchen is on 44th, it's a free topping day at Go Go Curry, and it's free soda day when you grande size any sandwich at Barros Luco.

Spotlight on Spekuloos: In case you missed our mention of it a few weeks ago, the New York Times did a little spread (pun intended) on the spekuloos spread now being sold by Wafels & Dinges ($7.95 a jar.)  If you haven't tried it yet it's basically those Biscoff cookies you get on airplanes ground into a peanut butter-like paste.  In other words... deeeeelicious!

Salad as Matchmaker?: Wow... this is as frightening as it is laughable.  Just Salad (the chain that doubled as a pick up spot when it first opened in 2006) has launched Salad Match, a website dedicated to helping match people based on their preference in salad toppings, dressing, and of course whether or not you like your salad tossed (naturally.)  [via Grub Street]

Totto Ramen is Now Open For Lunch: Great news for ramen fans! Lunch'er Arvind tipped us off this morning to the fact that Totto Ramen, the offshoot of Yakitori Totto that is on 52nd btw. 8+9th, is now open for lunch.  Most of their bowls of soup are over $10, but it looks like it might be worth the splurge! Just a warning though... the place is tiny.

Midtown is the New Downtown: Yesterday, Eater noted that quite a few restaurants have migrated north from the lower half of Manhattan into Midtown recently- citing the Shake Shack, Ma Peche (which just got 2 stars from the NYT) and OBao as three examples. We still wouldn't come here on the weekend... but it is certainly getting better.

NYMag’s Cheap Eats: New York Mag's annual Cheap Eats is issue is out, and there are a few ML shout outs on there... like the newly open Hide-Chen Ramen, as well as Sichuan "newcomers" Mapo Tofu and Lan Sheng. They also listed their 25 favorite food trucks. (We have no comment on some of the choices, but you can feel free to sound off in the comments!)

Free Ice Cream Cancelled By Rain: Once again Maxwell Medical is paying a Mister Softee Truck to park on 53rd and Madison today, and hand out free ice cream from Noon to 1:45pm. Same rules apply as last week... to get free ice cream you'll need to grab one of the massage fliers being handed out by the MM reps who will be in the area. Sorry... this just got canceled because of the rain.

Beware of Frozen Sandwiches and Sushi: And yet another reason to avoid generic Midtown delis... the Wall Street Journal reports that a number of Midtown spots (like Cafe Metro and Bocca) are hoping to avoid getting bad letter grades from the DOH by keeping their prepared foods super super cold- leading to complains from some lunchers.  Nice.

Mister Softee for Hard Bodies?: Billy Gunnz, Midtown's Mister Softee for the ladies, is serving up banana protein shakes today as a special (on 39th & B'way). We at Midtown Lunch are more partial to orange creamsicles than "healthy" protein shakes, but with the line situation at Shake Shack, you might need fortification.

Sing at Crisp for 20% Off: According to an email sent out by Crisp this morning, if you sing "The Heat is On" at either of their locations you'll receive 20% off. Deal good through the end of the month. Want to get these deals sent directly to you? You can sign up for their mailing list here.