Midtown Lunch

Thanks to Feisty Foodie & Cheap Ass Food I was tipped off to this pretty cool thing happening at Cafe Zaiya (on 41st btw. Mad+5th). For the past week, they have replaced their Beard Papa station with the NYC debut of “New Matsue Kashi” a very beautiful (and delicious) form of Wagashi, Japanese sweets made from mochi, bean paste and fruit. And for those who like to limit their fat intake (present company excluded obviously), they don’t contain any animal fat, making them low in calories and cholesterol.

The wagashi range in price from $1.75 to $3.50 each, and come in different flavors and shapes (including pumpkin, blueberry, mango and chestnut). Similar sweets can be purchased at Minamoto Kitchoan (on 49th btw. 5+6th), but at Cafe Zaiya you can actually watch them being made (and I’m guessing they’re cheaper).

Tomorrow is the last day they will be available at Cafe Zaiya (and they close at 8pm). More photos, after the jump… Read more »

After a one month “process” of securing a new license for their cart, The Jamaican Dutchy has returned to 51st St. & 7th Ave.  And not a moment too soon (it’s getting freaking cold).  A new line of hot soups, potato pudding and a complete breakfast menu has been added to the old standby lunchtime favorites, like jerk chicken, sweet and sour chicken, oxtails, and curry goat. 

It’s a two year license, so they won’t be going anywhere for awhile.  And for all you weekend warriors, having the Dutchy open on Saturday is in the works…

I have a soft spot in my heart for Cosi.  The bread is just so damn good, and baked fresh right in the middle of the store.  We can make jokes about chains all we want, but a sandwich on fresh, brick oven baked bread is good.  I don’t care what anybody says.  And if you put free pieces in a bowl at the front of your establishment, I’m going to show up.

Pizza?  Now that’s a different story.  I’m sure when Cosi decided to add Flatbread pizzas to their menu, New York was not the market they had in mind.  Anybody who pays $7+ for a Cosi pizza, when there are great slices on every corner of the city, is just nuts.  That being said, if you love Cosi bread, and the idea of having two pieces of it for lunch, topped with mozzarella cheese, and their (too sweet for me) marinara sauce- you just might be into it.  Me?  If I ever move to Oklahoma, I’ll be all over this.  For now, I think I’ll stick with this or this or even this.

Everybody knows how expensive Red Snapper is, and with good reason. Whether being used by seminal rock bands to pleasure groupies, spun on wheels of fish by Long Duck Dong from Sixteen Candles, or eaten at sushi restaurants, it is a very versatile, and delicious fish. Well, apparently some Midtown sushi restaurants are serving tilapia, and calling it Red Snapper. Inside Edition has the story…

Some flat out refute the claim, some claim ignorance, and one lady just clearly doesn’t know how to read a package. Of course, even if the plastic package she brought out said “Red Snapper”, I still don’t think I would want to eat it.

A list of uncovered Midtown East sushi restaurants pulling the tilapia switcheroo, after the jump… Read more »

Park Ave. is quickly becoming the cart/truck capitol of Midtown.  Between Jiannetto’s, Pranzo, The Steak Truck, three Indian Carts, and a number of chicken and rice carts with long lines, you pretty much have everything you could ever want (if only the 2nd Daisy May’s cart would return). Yesterday, on a recommendation from a Midtown Lunch’er, I headed to Park Ave. to partake in a steak & cheese from a cart.

Now, here is the big disclaimer.  If you have ever been to Philadelphia, and had a philly cheesesteak, then you are aware of what a “real” cheesesteak is.  If you have ever lived in New England, you have disputed the Philadelphia claim to having the best steak & cheese (after all, provolone is far superior cheez whiz, right?).  Maybe you have even been to the Tony Luke’s (now Shorty’s) on 9th Ave., and feel like you have had a decent cheesesteak  here in New York City.  Steak & Cheese from a cart in Midtown is not going to live up to any of those standards.  It costs $4.  It’s from a cart.  That being said, the steak & cheese I had yesterday from Magdy’s on Park & 46th was pretty damn tasty.

Continue reading after the jump… Read more »

With all the delis in the heart of Midtown adding Korean food to their repertoire, it makes it a little harder to motivate myself all the way to Koreatown at lunchtime.   That being said, as much as I enjoy some bulgogi from Cafe Duke, or Bi Bim Bap from Ambrosia, neither can hold a candle to Woorijip, the king of cheap Korean eats, situated on 32nd btw. B’way+5th, the bloodline of New York City’s Koreatown.

If you’ve never been to Woorijip (which has been mentioned here many times, but never officially written up), it is essentially a Korean version of Cafe Zaiya– which itself is a Japanese version of Cafe Metro.  Loads of pre-packaged hot and cold Korean food plus a by the lb buffet of hot and cold Korean treats, for those who can’t settle on one or two of the pre-packaged goodies.  Recently Woorijip underwent a little makeover, so I decided to head down to 32nd street and check it out.

What I got, the “improvements” to the set up and a +/- after the jump… Read more »

_{The H1 at Lenny’s.  Fresh oven roasted turkey, with stuffing, cranberry sauce & turkey gravy.}

Another sandwich that probably won’t see much action today, after the jump… Read more »

These photos were recently posted to the Midtown Lunch Flickr Photo Group.  Post your lunch photos now, by going here

_{“Gujarati food from the back of a newsstand” on 6th Ave. btw. 37+38th
Posted by joshwand}

_{Chapati Rolls from the Cart on 46th & 6th Ave.
Posted by Mollie}

More Indian food porn, after the jump… Read more »

I hate over-priced food, but there is a soft spot in my heart for Dean & Deluca.  Probably because I could spend hours roaming the big one in Soho (even though I’ve never actually buy anything), just staring at the meats and cheeses and flavored salts and meats and fruit and bread and cheeses and seafood and meats and cheeses and desserts.  Did I mention the mention the meats & cheeses?

Anyway, Dean & Deluca opened their third spinoff in Midtown yesterday, on 48th btw. 5+6th (on the North side of the street).  Unlike the “Cafes” in the Paramount Hotel, or the one next to the Rock Center skating rink (which is right around corner), this location is pretty spacious and will have a much larger focus on lunch.  The normal array of baked goods and sweets are there, but the prepared foods section is much larger, and they even have a station where you can order a custom made sandwich (the other two only sell pre-made sandwiches).

More Dean & Deluca porn after the jump… Read more »

No offense to the sombrero cart on 50th St. btw. 6+7th, but for the most part the Mexican Food in Midtown sucks.  For the best Mexican food in the U.S., the closer you get to the source, like L.A. or Texas, the better the food is going to be.  So it should be no surprise that the best Mexican food in Midtown can be found right in front of the Mexican Embassy, on 39th St. btw. Park + Madison.

 Just like the ballfields in Red Hook, supply follows demand.  Want to serve pupusas from El Salvador?  Go to where the Salvadoreans play futbol on the weekends.  Homemade tamales?  Head to the Mexican Embassy, where a lady sits out front all day long selling tamales and hot drinks (cold in the summertime) to those waiting outside.

A big bag o tamales, and a +/- after the jump… Read more »