Midtown Lunch

After doing this site for over a year, I have become the go to guy for lunch recommedations at my work.  And while I’m usually pretty good for a decent suggestion, there is one request that has, and will always stump me.  “Where can I get something healthy?”  I’ve been to a ton of places in Midtown, and they all have one thing in common.  None of them are healthy.  (Look at my flickr page for proof.  It’s not a pretty sight.)

What can I say?  Fat guys don’t eat healthy food.  If we did, we wouldn’t be fat anymore, and then we couldn’t make jokes about how fat we are for the amusement of people who read our websites.  Plus, you’re not going to trust a skinny guy to tell you where good food is.  I guess I wouldn’t mind eating healthy, if it tasted good- and they gave you more of it.  Healthy food is always less filling.  Maybe if they had healthy food, in an all you can eat buffet form, I’d be down with it.

What did you just say?  Buffet form would automatically make it unhealthy?  Oh.  Well, that sucks.

It’s just unhealthy food tastes so much better.  Well, Yushi is trying to change that.  It’s a new “Bento Bar” that opened up on 47th btw. Park & Lex, serving healthy bento boxes.  You know I love a good bento, so last week I headed over to check it out.

What they’ve got, healthy bento porn and the +/- after the jump… Read more »

Two well known cart vendors, Jiannetto’s Pizza Truck (here in Midtown), and Calexico (in Soho) have new carts in production that will be appearing in Midtown in the next month or two.

Jiannetto’s Pizza, which already has two trucks in Midtown (one on Park+52nd, and one on 47+Vanderbilt), has another truck in production that will go somewhere on 6th Ave.  The new location will be perfect for those of you on the West side looking for some Sicilian Grandma style pizza out of a truck (and are too lazy to trek to Park Ave.)

Calexico Cart Photo posted to Flickr by ext212
Read more about it at Writing With my Mouth Full

Even more exciting than that- Calexico, a Vendy Award nominated Mexican cart situated in Soho, are having a new cart manuafactured for them to go in Midtown.  The cart will be burritos only, but will undoutedly feature their famous carne asada.  Should be up and running in the next month. 

More news on both of these new carts as it comes in… Thanks to tipsters Matt & Nancy for passing this info along, and as always, if you have any news, tips or recommendations, email them to zach@midtownlunch.com

I always thought the cheap Chinese place in a food court was untouchable.  Like a hot dog stand in front of the Museum of Natural History- some places don’t need to be good to make money, they just need to show up.  After all, who can resist orange chicken in a food court.

So much for that theory.  Manchu Wok, the terrible Chinese food place in the Rock Center Councourse, has closed.  I never met a cheap chinese food place I didn’t like… until I ate at Manchu Wok- so I’m not too upset.  But you can rest assured there a ton of lazy Chinese food addicts in 30 Rock who are finding it hard to get out of bed these days.  I guess they’ll have to walk a few blocks to Hing Won, Yips or Wo Hop/Ho Yip to fill their urge.

In a related note… this weekend I will be stepping up my praying for Panda Express to move into the now vacant space.  If anybody else would like to join in, feel free.

If you missed the news– today is the last day to enjoy Kati Roll at their 46th St. location.  They will be re-opening on 39th St. btw. 5+6th in a week and a half.  The reaction has been pretty predictable.  If you work near the current Kati Roll, you’re pretty bummed.  If you work near the new location, you’re pretty psyched.  But there’s one thing that there is no denying… come tomorrow there will be a Kati Roll void, waiting to be filled in the 40s between 6+7th.

A few weeks ago I wrote about the Biriyani Cart that started serving Roti Rolls on 46th & 6th.  A perfect replacement for Kati Roll (and half the price!).  Well now it appears that cart will have some competition.  Last week, a new cart quiety opened up between the Biriyani Cart, and Kati Roll- serving their own brand of Kati Rolls.  And there is no mistaking the intentions.  The new cart is looking to be Kati Roll replacement.  Don’t believe me?  Check out the signs they had printed up- after the jump Read more »

After two consecutive Wednesdays on 38th St., the Treats Truck is finally hitting Midtown North.  It will be somewhere in the 50s today (6/27) selling their delicious (and reasonably priced) cookies, brownies and other assorted goodies.  Check back here later in the morning for the exact location.  As soon as they set up shop, I’ll let you know!

UPDATED 1:06 PM: They are still looking for the perfect spot.  Should be any minute now.  As soon as I know, you will. 

UPDATED 1:42 PM: Finally!!!  The Treats Truck is at 47th & Lexington.  Enjoy!

UPDATED 3:55 PM:  The Treats Truck will be there until at least 5:30pm tonight, possibly longer if there are a ton of people out.  For those in Midtown South who missed out today, don’t worry- The Treats Truck will be back at 38th & 5th tomorrow! (6/28)

Need a reason to get excited for the Treats Truck?  How about a peanut butter sandwich cookie… after the jump Read more »

Having lived in Boston for 9 years, I am very familiar with the lobster roll.  I’m also very familiar with the cheap lobster roll.  That’s because when summer rolled around, cheap lobster rolls would pop up in the unlikeliest of places.  The most well know was probably from the sub chain, D’angelos.  It has become so popular they now offer three different versions.  And then of course there is the McDonald’s lobster roll.  That’s right.  In parts of New England, you can get a lobster roll at McDonald’s for $6.  Scary. (But still better than eating a Big Mac)

Having a lobster roll at a place like McDonald’s for less than $10 can really make you wonder- “What the hell is in this thing?”.  But a real lobster roll is pretty simple.  It’s just lobster meat served in a hot dog roll.  From there, the argument will begin as to what makes the “perfect” lobster roll.  Mayo or no mayo.  Lemon juice or no lemon juice.  Celery is sometimes added, and often a layer of lettuce can be put under the lobster meat or salad.  Grilling the hot dog bun first, and brushing it with melted butter can’t hurt either.  But there is one thing that everybody can agree on- the more lobster (and the bigger the chunks), the better.  Claws always welcome!

Unfortunately, the more meat in the sandwich, the more expensive it’s going to be.  That’s why a good lobster roll will usually run you $14-18 in New England, with many fancy New York restaurants charging upwards of $25+ for their version.  While some purists would never eat a fast food lobster roll, some of us more frugal diners want to be able to experience that taste, without dropping a ton of money.  So when Cosi introduced their limited time only “Lobster Salad Sandwich”, I was pretty excited.

What it looks like, what it tastes like and the mayo filled +/- after the jump… Read more »

That’s right.  Our beloved Kati Roll (on 46th btw. 6+7th), has lost their lease and is moving.  The last day to eat at the current location is Thursday, June 28th.  They will re-open on July 7th on 39th St. btw. 5+6th.  Great news for the folks in Midtown South, who never made it up for a delicious “Indian Burrito”.  Bad news for the local regulars.

Currently they only do delivery after 2:30pm, but I was told that they are hoping to do lunchtime delivery from the new location.  It is also going to be twice as big.  R.I.P. Kati Roll 46…  Long Live Kati Roll 39!

Their apology letter, after the jump… Read more »

I still hold out hope that one day Manhattan will get an IKEA.  It’s probably futile, but a guy can dream, right?  The funny thing is, I don’t even care about the furniture.  I just want an IKEA Cafe!  In my eyes, the cheap furniture shopping world is divided into two seperate groups.  Those who have gotten over the fear at eating in an Ikea, and those who haven’t. 

There are a few stages that every Ikea shopper goes through.  First, denial.  You see the signs for the food and laugh.  “Who the hell would eat at Ikea?  That food looks gross!”.  Then, after a few times of going to Ikea (you never get everything done in one trip), the curiosity starts to seep in.  “Well, it is pretty cheap.  It can’t be that bad, right?  It’s just so damn cheap!”  Finally, you submit.  It helps if you forget to eat before going shopping- in which case you end up being starving after navigating through the gigantic store, with no other food options.

I went through all these stages, and when I came out on the other end, I had discovered a new weakness… swedish meatballs.  Covered in gravy and topped with lingonberries, they are perfect for anybody who loves the sweet and salty combo.  And at around $4 for ten meatballs, it couldn’t be any cheaper.  Awhile back I wrote about a fancy Swedish meatball sandwich at FIKA Swedish Espresso bar.  Super delicious (but expensive), I lamented that there was no equivalent to Ikea in Midtown.

After writing that, a tipster recommended that I check out F&B Gudtfood, a “European Street Food” chain on 52nd btw. Lex+3rd.  Founded by one guy from Germany and one from England, they wanted to start a place where you could get all the street food they enjoyed in their travels around Europe  Fancy hot dogs, fish and chips, frites with different dipping sauces, and of course- Swedish meatballs.

I finally made it over to F&B to see if I had found an Ikea replacement.  What they’ve got, pictures and a +/- after the jump Read more »

For anyone who loves street eating, NY Mag had a great feature in this week issue.  If you missed it, be sure to check out the day in the life of a hot dog vendor, a great interview with Sean Basinski from The Street Vendor Project, plus a lot of great cart facts, and the NY Mag list of the Top 20 Food Carts in all of New York City.  The biggest news- Midtown will be getting a Sammy’s Halal soon (the #3 cart on the top 20).

Midtown faired pretty well, despite the entire Top 5 being in Queens, and four of the top 5 being in Jackson Heights.  There were those you expected, like Hallo Berlin (54th & 5th) at #6, Kwik Meal (45th & 6th) at #14, and the nighttime Chicken & Rice Cart (53rd & 6th) at #17.  Kim’s Aunt Kitchen Cart (46th & 6th), which I wrote about their for bulgogi, came in at #18 for their fried fish sandwich.  And our beloved Jamaican Dutchy, got their first accolades by coming in at #12.

The biggest surprise was Carnegie John’s at #8, an offshoot of Tony Dragonas’ cart on 62nd near Madison (which came in at #7).  “The Dragon” Tony Dragonas is pretty famous, but I’ve never made it up to his cart on 62nd, since it is just outside of my Midtown Lunch’ing range.  Carnegie John’s, however is not (56th & 7th Ave).  And NY Mag went so far as to say that their burgers may be better than the ones at the Burger Joint in the Parker Meridien!

I headed over to the Carnegie John’s cart yesterday to see what the hype was about, and found this:

The regulars seemed pretty pissed by the crowd, one guy saying in all the time he’s been coming to the cart there has never been a line like this.  By 12:45, they were out of burgers.

There’s always a line at Hallo Berlin, but yesterday it was extra long.

The same story at Kwik Meal.

And Kim’s Aunt Kitchen Cart never has a line… so this was a relative mob scene for them:

But the biggest surprise of the day was the Jamaican Dutchy.  The shocking picture… after the jump. Read more »

Every Tuesday I turn over Midtown Lunch to a random Midtown worker, for their favorite places to eat lunch in Midtown.  Normally when I get a picture like this, I’ll ask for a replacement… something “Midtown’ish” and more zoomed in.  Unfortunately, Vivian told me this is the only picture of herself she had at work.  I’m assuming she meant on her computer at work, and not- this was a picture of her “at work”.  Either way, if this is the pic she wants posted, who am I to stop her. 

***PICTURE REMOVED***

Name: Vivian

Age: 29

Occupation: Education Coordinator

Where in Midtown do you Work?: Vanderbilt* btw. 44+45th  (Oooh!  You work on Vanderbilt. That’s exciting. -zach) 

Favorite Kind of Food: Thai

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Eel.  I love Japanese food, however I tried eel once and I didn’t like it.

Favorite Place to Eat Lunch in Midtown: For sit-down, Park Italian Gourmet on 45th btw. 5+6th. They make the best Italian heros, but also offer hot Italian fare. For take-away, a falafel sandwich from Moshe’s cart on 46th & 5th or the Golden Krust kiosk in Grand Central.  (Another vote for Park Italian.  I will get around to writing about this place eventually… -zach)

The “go-to” lunch place you and your co-workers eat at too often: Cucina & Co., but only because it’s across the street!

Place you discovered on MidtownLunch.com: Hing Won. Finally, authentic Chinese in Midtown!

If you could work anywhere (just because of the lunch) where would it be and why? Chinatown- fresh, quality ingredients prepared super fast at amazing prices, what more could a ‘luncher’ ask for!

*Vanderbilt is that little street that runs between 42nd & 47th between Madison and Park… next to Grand Central, and home to Jiannetto’s Pizza Truck (47th & Vanderbilt).  Speaking of Jiannetto’s, I’ve got some news for you- after the jump… Read more »