Midtown Lunch

A couple of weeks ago, when QBA announced they’d be altering their menu to include some new specials, I hoped that this would change a pretty good cart into a great, must-visit cart. After all, there is no shortage of good Cuban options in Midtown- and as much as we love food trucks, isn’t it really all about the food?  I’ve already written about the pork meal and the cuban sandwich and our Downtown editor Andrea tried the chicken meal. I think the consensus is pretty clear; the QBA meals with meat and rice and beans are good, and a solid lunch option, but not spectacular. According to their website, today the truck will introduce ensalada batabano, a salad with tomatoes, feta and scallions.  And earlier this week they had ropa vieja, which we (naturally) had to go try.
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Last week, Lunch’er “uncledunkle” took to the ML forums to ask if anyone had ever tried the burrito from the La Baguette truck (SE Corner of B’way & 40th Street). I’d been wanting to try La Baguette myself and this seemed like a perfect opportunity to take a bullet for a good cause (too bad they answered their own question before I got a chance.  Oh well, I’m one day late!) Anyway, I too got the chicken burrito ($5) and was kind of happy to discover that it’s basically just another way to enjoy some delicious street meat.

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We have long dreamed of the day that New York would get their very own KOGI Truck, the infamous Los Angeles based Korean taco vendors that teased us back in June of last year, before pulling the rug out from under us just a month later. Kogi has spawned a host of fusion taco imitators on the West Coast… to the point where it seems like every new truck that hits the street in L.A. has at least some kind of taco option- regardless of what kind of food it is.  Here in NYC, we’re not so lucky…  until now that is!  Enter the Mexicue truck, a scrappy new entrant in the street food scene which, through savvy marketing, has amassed significant buzz. We’ve watched with growing curiosity for the past week as the Mexicue crew zealously tweeted their location and wares to over 650 followers.

Expectations in check, I decided to check it out for myself.

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Thanks to Lunch’er Dave for passing along this one… yesterday, the brand new “Mexicue” Truck hit the streets selling a fusion of Mexican food and BBQ (think burnt ends in a Mexican rub, topped with an arbol BBQ sauce, and habanero salsa.) Yesterday they were in the Flatiron (on 25th and Park), and today they parked on 40th btw. 5+6th. We’ve got some pretty decent Mexican food in Midtown, and there’s the Daisy May’s Cart (on 49th 50th btw. 6+7th) when you’re craving that BBQ fix. But combined? This could be a game changer. The menu looks pretty great to say the least… and these press photos on Flickr, are, well… press-y. But they give you a pretty looking idea of what you’re getting. (Thanks to the forums for that link!) We will definitely be hitting this up soon, and early adopters should let us all know how it is in the comments. They’re already sold out for today, but to follow them in the future here’s their website, Twitter and Facebook accounts.

Got this email from Lunch’er Robert this morning about the Joyride Fro Yo Truck (first reported about by Grub Street last month) “Spotted a new truck in midtown – Joyride.  52nd and 6th.  They say it’s their second day of ops.  Fro-yo and coffee.  You can get the fro-yo caffeinated (aka “buzzed”).  I’m trying the caffeinated offering now.  Pinkberry-esque.  Coffee = Stumptown!  V tasty.  Had a double espresso at Zibetto right before so might be altogether too much buzz for me.  Now back at the office and the hands are a little shaky.  Not many people sampling.  I have a feeling they’ll eventually flee this corner (a la Schnitzel Truck) so people should try it out before they move on.”  You can follow them on Twitter here.

Pizza trucks aren’t new to midtown and neither are dollar slice joints, but $1 pizza from a truck? Now that’s something! Last week while running some errands in the Flatiron area I noticed a pizza truck I’d never seen before parked outside of Maffei’s Pizza (on 22nd and 6th Ave)  with a big old $1 slice sign. I have much love for the $1 slice, so I had to get the scoop. Turns out the truck is affiliated with Maffei’s Pizza and they are going to be selling grandma slices for $1. Those who love grandma pizza know that the grandma don’t come cheap- these slices routinely cost more than a regular cheese slice and can go for upwards of $3 in midtown.

According to the guys on the truck they are planning on making regular midtown appearances, potentially “midtown Mondays” and hope to be fully up and running in the next couple of weeks. In the meantime, you can follow them on twitter. By the time I spotted the truck they weren’t serving any more pie, so I’m looking forward to trying out their pizza when they hit midtown proper. They were in the Flatiron yesterday (on B’way and 28th) and the early word on their slices sounds promising. Plus if the grandma slices off the truck are like the ones that Maffei’s sells at their shop, we should be in good shape (provided their fresh out of the oven!) Anyone tried out this new truck yet?

The last few times I’ve gone to Little Morocco, the delicious street meat cart on the NE corner of 39th and 7th, I’ve asked for the kofta over rice and gotten a shake of the head in reply. I assumed they kept selling out. But yesterday I noticed that the kofta and fried shrimp had been duct taped. The guy running the cart told me that he’d stopped making the kofta because no one was buying it (seriously?!?), and that he’d bring it back if customer demand was there. This means two of the items that put Little Morocco on the map have been discontinued indefinitely. So, head down to Little Morocco and tell him to bring them back. We want kofta! In the meantime, maybe I’ll finally try the fish that Danny liked.

Last month we told you that the “Famous Dal Cart” (discovered by Grub Street in the EV) had to decided to move to Midtown for lunch. It hasn’t been the most consistent cart of all time (one day it’s there, one day it’s not), but they seemed to have settled on the NW corner of 32nd and Park. So I swung by last week to see what they have to offer. Just from the name, Famous Dal Cart, I knew two things before even eating any of their food. First, I should probably try the dal (duh). Second, it’s always good to be weary of restaurants that claim to be “famous” or “best” at something (especially when they’ve been open for less than a month!) In other words, I was keeping my expectations on the low side (but hoping to be pleasantly surprised.)

When I arrived at the Famous Dal Cart, I knew that even if their dal wasn’t good enough to be famous, they would at least win an award for having a festively decorated cart.

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From Lunch’er Jason:

Dear Midtown Lunch, I have been a loyal reader for the better part of the last 5 or 6 months, and this has been the tastiest half year of my life. I work at 51st and Park Ave, and today I saw a new truck on the corner of 50th and Park. It seemed to be a Greek style chicken/lamb and rice truck that also offered souvlaki. All of their dishes seem to come in the form of sandwiches too. I would have stopped for lunch had I not already mentally committed to a huarache from El Rey del Sabor. The attached picture is the truck in question. I’ve never seen it before and I was wondering if [anybody] may have additional information about this mysterious blue Greek truck.

We’re on the case Jason. In the meantime, has anybody already tried this cart? Let us know how it is in the comments. Turns out this truck is an oldie but goodie…

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The Trini-Paki Boys cart (on the SE corner of 43rd and 6th) is well known to Midtown Lunch’ers.  It’s mostly famous for their Pakistani version of chicken over rice, topped with Trinidadian pepper sauce- but Zach was pretty excited to discover that they also served biriyani, dahi bala, polourie, samosas, and most importantly doubles.

I discovered doubles in my college days through a Trinidadian ex-girlfriend. It’s been years since we’ve been on speaking terms, but doubles are still a fond memory. So a week or so ago I finally got a chance to check out the Trini Paki Boys cart for myself- and for once skipped the street meat in favor of a double.

After the jump, some doubles porn and a little background on the whole “Trini-Paki” thing.

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