Out of Bounds: Uncle Marky’s Organics & Spoons in a Tale of Two Wraps
When I was in Bali, I fell in love with a little thing called tempeh. A cousin of tofu, tempeh is a “cake” made of whole soybeans that has been fermented. Sounds delicious right? Well in Bali, where they sliced it thin, fried it and then sauteed it in Indonesian sauces- it was! (Photo to the left posted to Flickr by rheanna2) Now I don’t think I have to tell anyone who reads this site, that I am far from a vegetarian (unless somebody decides to classify roast pork as a vegetable)- but I can appreciate good vegetarian food, and when I saw that the Organic Harvest Cafe on 53rd btw. 2+3rd had an “Indonesian Wrap” made with tempeh, I decided it was worth the extra half an avenue walk outside of Midtown Lunch boundaries to check it out.
The Indonesian Wrap (PLUS a bonus Bulgogi Wrap at a little place called “Spoons”) after the jump… Read more »
Posted by Zach Brooks at 12:30 pm, November 7th, 2007 under 53rd & 3rd, Korean, Sandwiches, Vegetarian.
This is not a typo people. You are not seeing things. This week I made an amazing discovery, that adds Del Frisco’s (the enormous, upscale and extremely expensive steakhouse in the middle of Midtown Manhattan) to the list of official Midtown Lunches. THE Del Frisco’s. If you work in Midtown you have been to or know someone who has eaten, or more than likely work for someone who has eaten, at Del Frisco’s. All on the company dime, of course… after all, nobody pays for Del Frisco’s themselves!
Searching for good, cheap sushi in Midtown has always been a difficult proposition. It is not hard to find since every single deli now has a sushi bar. But how cheap is too cheap? At some point, when raw fish costs too little, you have to wonder whether eating this food that makes no financial sense for the people selling it, is going to make you sick (or taste just plain terrible). Now, some people can’t or won’t eat cheap sushi, and I can totally appreciate that mentality. After a meal at Sushi Seki or Soto, it’s easy to understand why there is a group of people (usually with a ton of money) who would never eat cheap sushi. I’m not one of those people. I can appreciate both ends of the sushi spectrum- in the same way I can enjoy a fast food hamburger while still appreciating the greatness of a steak from Peter Luger’s. Similar ingredients, of very different quality, with different preparations.
There are two kinds of Chinese steam table places in Midtown. The kind that’s made for people who like “Americanized” Chinese food (i.e. 
But what if you are in the opposite corner of Midtown? Well, I found your place. For those of you working in the Northeast corner of Midtown, there is East Ocean on 55th btw. Lex+3rd. On the outside it looks like your average Midtown cheap Chinese place… but at lunchtime they put a steam-table that is not quite for everyone. Let’s put it this way, if you’re looking for Chinese food, where you have to ask what each item is (and General Tso’s chicken is a rarity), than this is your new favorite place.
