Midtown Lunch

It’s been a while since I buffeted it up at lunchtime in Midtown.  When I first started this blog, there were quite a few buffets that fell under the Midtown Lunch price range.  There was Rangole on 46th btw. 5+6th (now closed), Al Baraka Turkish Buffet on 55th btw. Lex+3rd (now called Kannaat), Arang in Koreatown (they stopped doing buffet), Chinese Midtown Buffet on 7th btw. 39+40th, International Food House latin buffet on 35th btw. 7+8th) and Curry Dream on 39th btw. 5+6th.  I made an exception for the $10.99 vegetarian Indian buffet Sukhadia on 45th btw. 5+6th,  and Spice Fusion became my favorite buffet in Midtown when they opened last year on 8th Ave. btw. 47+48th. Since that time, almost every one of these buffets have either closed or raised their prices, leaving West Tandoori Club on 37th btw. 7+8th, the last remaining under $10 Indian buffet in Midtown.

Last month, when the W.T.C. closed for “renovations,” I figured that was it.  Even if they re-opened as a buffet, it’s not going to remain under $10.  So imagine my surprise when a few weeks ago, West Tandoori Club re-opened as “Touch of India” with an $8.95 lunch buffet.   Last friday, I headed over to check it out…  Read more »

Tomorrow is Jamaica’s Independence Day, and Golden Krust  is celebrating by selling their jerk chicken patties for 99 cents the entire month of August. With the Jamaican Dutchy (on 51st & 7th) readily available, I’ve never given GK their full +/-, but with 4 locations in Midtown- maybe it’s time. Thoughts?

4 Locations in Midtown:

• 33rd btw. Mad+5th
• 8th Ave. btw. 39+40th
• 3rd Ave. btw. 43+44th
• Grand Central Terminal Food Court (although this is just a kiosk, so I’m not positive if they are participating in the August promotion)

I love fried chicken… and can you blame me?  I won’t step anywhere near a McDonalds, but KFC or Popeyes? You probably aren’t going to want to get in my way.  I don’t know why that is.  Oh wait- yes I do.  Fried chicken is amazing.  And, if you are as big a fried chicken fan as me you might be interested in knowing that a branch of Church’s Chicken recently opened inside that mini food court on 8th Avenue between 44+45th.

I’ll admit, I don’t think I’ve ever eaten at Church’s.  I was always a KFC fan growing up, a Popeye’s fan later in life (after spending so much time in New Orleans), and I had a brief flirtation with Bojangles in 1986.  But never Church’s.  Anybody a big fan?  Feel free to sound off in the comments.  I’m curious if this new addition to the Midtown Lunch’ing landscape is something to get excited about…

Fresh on the heels of yesterdays post on how to make a complete Midtown Lunch out of free samples comes this ridiculousness.  Free sushi samples, on the street, in the hot sun, from a pizza place.  No joke.  Yesterday, Madrit’s Pronto Pizza on 55th btw. 5+6th added a sushi bar to their establishment, and to generate interest they were giving away free samples today in front of the store. I’d like to pretend like I didn’t try it, but I’m a gross man, and couldn’t help myself.  Luckily I’m still alive to type this…

I don’t think I’ll ever be getting the sushi from Madrit’s Pronto, but they do have a pretty sweet outdoor seating area in the back, so I may have to go back for a slice.

Photo by seraphim1970

Thanks to Gen from Foodies R Goodies for passing this info along.  Naruto Sushi, the take out Japanese place on 49th btw. Mad+5th is now Shinbashi 49.  Operated out of the back of the upscale sushi restaurant of the same name, Naruto was originally designed to be its own separate store, with its own management.  The owners decided that wasn’t working, so now it’s being run by the same people who run Shinbashi on 48th btw. Mad+5th.

I may be on crack, but it looks like there may have been an improvement in the quality of the rice since I wrote about Naruto.  I didn’t try anything, so I don’t know for sure… but if you work in the area, and are looking for decent take out sushi, you could probably do a lot worse than this place.  If you check it out, feel free to comment below.

And for more photos, check out Gen’s post at FoodiesRGoodies

Another Pret is opening up on 3rd Ave btw. 47+48th and they’re doing another one of those free sandwich days. It’s a little tricky though, so you may want to pay attention… On Friday morning from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. they’ll be giving out flyers for a free Pret goodie bag, which can be redeemed after 12:15 p.m.  At previous openings the goodie bag contained half a sandwich, a bag of popcorn, a brownie, and a coupon for a free cup of coffee. Not too shabby. If they haven’t given out all the goodie bags by around 1:30, they may start to give out more flyers at the door- so if you don’t manage to score a flyer on Friday morning, you can still try to snag your free food sans flyer.  Their main goal is letting people know the store is open, so people have been successful at getting free food without a flyer in the past, but there are no guarantees.   Good luck freeloaders!

 
Remember when I wrote about the bento boxes Chiyoda Sushi (on 41st btw. Mad+5th) was selling out of plastic tubs on 49th btw. 6+7th?  Well it appears as if the Chiyoda guy has been replaced by another dude selling Japanese bento boxes out of plastic tubs in the same spot.  This new guy is from the Washoku Cafe, a new Japanese lunch place that is opening soon on 37th btw. Mad+5th.  The actual storefront isn’t set to open for a little while, but in the meantime you can sample their food from this random sidewalk vendor.  Every day he’s on 49th btw. 6+7th with different bentos, rice bowls, noodle dishes, sushi and rice balls (omusubi).  Almost everything is $6 to $7.50, and depending on the day he’ll offer anything from eel ($9) to beef bowls ($6), sushi sets ($7.50) to cold udon and soba ($6).

The guy is only out there until around 12:30/12:45 so by the time I showed up yesterday the pickings were slim.  What I got is after the jump…  Read more »

The food court on 3rd Ave. (btw. 49+50th) that is home to Pampano Taqueria, Sophie’s Cuban, Pump, and Yorganic is about to welcome another addition: the Silo Cafe. This will be the chain’s second branch in Midtown (there is another one located just-in-bounds on 32nd St. btw. Park+Madison), and from the looks of their website it’s just another generic Midtown deli. However, the 32nd St. location does have udon, teriyaki and bibimbap, so this place might be worth a quick looksee, provided they follow suit. The basement of the Crystal Pavillion is finally starting to look less like a war zone, and more like a food court.  (I love food courts.)

Anybody been to the Silo Cafe on 32nd? Feel free to comment below- the good citizens of 3rd avenue are eagerly awaiting your opinions. And if you want to see photos of the interior, they are posted after the jump…  Read more »