Midtown Lunch

I promised I wouldn’t cry post about all the price increases, because there were just too many, and it is starting to sound like a broken record at this point… but some things are much bigger than a Price Hike List (which I put up on the left hand Navbar on Wednesday).  For example- the $1 slice of pizza, which is hands down, the cheapest Midtown Lunch there is.  Well, I’m sad to report that Z Deli on 8th Ave. btw. 48+40th has upped the cost of their slice from .99 to $1.49 (a 50% increase!!!), leaving 99 Cent Fresh Pizza (one location on 43th btw. Lex+3rd, and one out of bounds location behind Port Authority)  and the Prince Deli (on 3rd Ave. btw. 43+44th) as the only two remaining purveyors of the $1 slice of pie in Midtown.

The Z Deli slice was barely worth $1, I can’t even fathom anybody paying $1.50- but more importantly, what will 99 Cent Fresh Pizza do if the cost of flour, and cheese continues to rise.  Shut down, or change their name?  Either would be incredibly upsetting…

Save Tony Video, courtesy of the Street Vendor Project

The New York Times has an article this morning about Tony “The Dragon” Dragonas, the famous street meat and burger vendor situated just outside the Midtown Lunch boundaries, on 62nd & Madison.  According to the Times, the 2005 Vendy Award winner “has 42 outstanding violations totaling $16,865” and “next month he is scheduled to appear before an administrative law judge, who will determine whether he can continue operating.”

Not mentioned in the newspaper article, but highlighted on the website of the Street Vendor Project, the organization who runs the annual Vendy awards, is Tony’s explanation for the fines:

Last year, the guy in the restaurant down the street started to complain about my smoke. I’ve never really had any problems with the Health Department, but the inspectors started coming every couple of weeks. Every time they came, they would give me 3,4, 5 or 6 tickets. Usually they cited me for the smoke. They also gave me tickets for not wearing my hat, being too close to the crosswalk, and other things. But never for selling bad food — nobody has ever gotten sick or complained about my food.

If “The Dragon” gets shut down, it will be a big blow to the city’s street meat conossieurs.  Get more information, and sign the petition to help save Tony at http://streetvendor.org/

On Thursday from 11am to 3pm, Yorganic, a new frozen yogurt place in the same basement food court as Pampano Taqueria, and the new Sophie’s Cuban (which had their own free food day a month ago), will be giving out free servings of their frozen yogurt. 

As you know, we’ve been burned by offers of “free yogurt” before, so I confirmed with the owner- it’s a 5oz serving of yogurt with one topping.  (I don’t know if that’s alot, but i’m pretty sure it’s more than a thimble full.)  As you can see from the flier above, they’ll have another free yogurt day on May 27th from 11am to 3pm, exclusively for the tenants of the building- but it’s unclear exactly how they are going to differentiate from the average freeloaders (check building IDs perhaps?)  Might be worth a shot on the 27th if you work in the building next door- but if you don’t want to chance it, tomorrow is the day.

Thanks to Gracenotes NYC for the orginal heads up…

UPDATE: Plus I totally forgot to mention that our Downtown Lunch Correspondent Daniel Krieger took some sweet ass yogurt photos, and forwarded them along (did we mention he does weddings too?).  Check out the yogurt w/ topping porn, after the jump   Read more »

My search for decent (but cheap) sushi in Midtown has been well documented, and while I think Aoki on 48th btw. 7+8th is probably the best quality to price ratio (even with their recent increase), it still isn’t truly a Midtown Lunch. You have to sit in a pretty nice restaurant and order from a waiter, or order in advance, and take the food to go. I still haven’t found a true take out sushi place to fully get behind, and it’s that quest, which took me to Norimaki on Monday.

Situated in a long and thin, oddly antiseptic storefront on 35th btw. 7+8th, there is still a lot to like about Norimaki. You order from a counter, but they have a number of tables, and a long bar with stools for you to eat your sushi at. They have pre-made rolls, or you can order your food to be assembled fresh, and everything is sold in very small portions (mostly 3 pieces) so you can mix and match for optimum variety.    Read more »

My love of the kati roll (or kathi roll, as I believe it may be officially spelled) is pretty well documented. The original Kati Roll on 46th btw. 6+7th is probably the most viewed Midtown Lunch post of all time, and I have always felt it embodied what this site was all about. Cheap (although prices have gone up recently), unique, and most importantly, delicious. When they moved to 39th btw. 5+6th, it opened up a void in the area which was quickly filled by the cart on 46th & 6th, who began selling chapati rolls, a similar creation with a few unique twists. Their “kati rolls” were on a slightly thinner chapati bread, and they offered both sweet and spicy toppings, give their offerings a broader range of flavors. (Everything at the original Kati Roll is just spicy.)

Indus Express took the kati roll and tweaked it again when they opened up on 48th btw. 5+6th, serving up a more burrito’ish, larger creation filled with sauteed veggies and a fried egg. For those working on the west side, there was no shortage of these Indian wraps. But what about the folks on the east side who don’t have time to make the walk? Well, Grill 44 has stepped in to fill the East side void. Originally a Mediterranean take out place, specializing in falafel and shawarma, Grill 44 (on 44th btw. Lex+3rd) has now added Indian food to their menu- and one of the options now available is- you guessed it- Kathi Rolls. Read more »

Lunch’er Shauna (who we have to thank for yesterday’s McD’s photo), also sent along this photo of the “Crepe Cafe” cart parked on 50th btw. 6+7th yesterday. Not to be confused with the Crepe Cart on 53rd btw. 5+6th, I know I’ve seen this cart somewhere- but it definitely wasn’t on 50th btw. 6+7th. Anybody eaten from it yet? The one on 53rd btw. 5+6th is ok, but nothing to write home about- and I’m sure no cart could be better than the crepe lady in the Cyber Cafe on 49th btw. 7+8th, but I’d still be curious. If you’ve tried it, feel free to post in the comments… and if you have news, recommendations or a photo to share, send it to zach@midtownlunch.com

I love free food, but not enough to eat at McDonalds (notice how I got Andre Mika to blog about their chicken sandwich for me), and even posting about their southern style fried chicken sandwich promotion this morning made me feel dirty.  Luckily I get to redeem myself by posting this email from Midtown Lunch’er “Shauna“:

I saw the slightly tantalizing image you posted when McD’s first announced the Southern Style Chicken Sandwich, but lookie here at what my coworker returned to the office with today [from the McDonalds on Broadway & 51st]…

Are they KIDDING?!?!?! Maybe that’s how they’re saving $$ during the giveaway today.  Pretty pathetic.

I didn’t hear too many complaints from commenters, so I’m guessing this was just one stray breakfast biscuit patty, served as a lunch sandwich… but even so, it makes me feel good to post it.

Photo by Kayoko from Umamimart

The plywood has come down at Crisp, the- not as generic as I expected it to be– sandwich/salad place, on 3rd Ave. & 43rd, and they are open for business.  Far from being another Chop’t or Just Salads, the all vegetarian menu (which can be seen on their now live website) consists of salads (of course), pita pocket sandwiches, hummus bowls, and a nice selection of homemade teas.  It’s typical Midtown prices, with everything on the menu ranging from $6 to $10.75, but a few things on their website stand out enough for me to want to check it out:

• Their pita breads are baked from scratch every few hours on premises
• Their fresh made teas sound really good (with flavors like lychee, ginger/peach, & apple mango)
• Some of the ingredients they use in the sandwiches I could be down with… like mango curry, eggplant, goat cheese, and pomegranate dressing
• I won’t eat salads, but a hummus bowl with mango curry or roasted eggplant sounds pretty damn good
• Everything they serve is organic, when possible, and always delivered fresh daily.  Plus they change their oil every 24 hours, and they only use eco-friendly, recycled materials

Is there potential for anger and disappointment?  Of course, but I can’t help but get excited when new places open in Midtown, and this one looks alot more promising than we initially gave it credit for.  Full +/- coming soon… and for you early adopters who can’t wait to check it out, please post your thoughts in the comments.

Crisp, 684 3rd Ave. (btw. 43+44th), 212-661-0000

Official Website: http://www.eatatcrisp.com/

Photo by Dave Cook from Eating in Translation

The Pranzo Pizza Truck, which popped up on 55th btw. Park+Lex last October, and then disappeared, has been found (sort of) by Eating in Translation! This sign was spotted yesterday in Washington Heights. Lesson learned: if you copy a concept from a really popular vendor (in this case the much loved Jiannetto’s Pizza Truck), you may want to park your truck a little more than 6 blocks away from the original. Carribean Spice Cart (on 46th St btw. 6+7th)… you’ve been warned.

Related:
Midtown Links (Pizza Truck is M.I.A. & the Treats Truck is Sick Edition)
The Pranzo Pizza Truck Attempts to Replace Jiannetto’s as Best Grandma Slice