Chiyoda Brings Bento Boxes to You
It is not often I will write about food delivery. I admit, it is probably something everyone would be interested in reading about (whether or not your favorite place delivers), but I don’t write about it because I never order delivery. I don’t believe in it. I am a staunch advocate of taking time to get out of the office for a little bit. You’re supposed to get a lunch break. You need a lunch break. Use your lunch break. (Even it’s just to walk around for 20 minutes.)
But like all rules, there are some exceptions. For example, when delivery is made to be fun! Like in the case of Chiyoda Sushi. Chiyoda is a place I’ve written about a few times. Along with Yagura & Cafe Zaiya, it makes up the Japanese Trinity on 41st btw. Mad+5th., my favorite block for Midtown Lunch’ing. Unfortunately it’s a little too far for me to make it down there too often- but last week, I discovered (thanks to an email tipster), that they have delivery- and it’s fun!
Chiyoda has a special online delivery menu that is really fun to look at, even if you don’t want to order. Each day they offer three different lunch boxes, and the schedule for the entire week is posted here (http://www.chiyodasushiny.com/bento_en.html). But it gets better. Not sure what one of the items is? Each morning, you can click on the box and it will show you a picture of the item. How cool is that?
The boxes range in price from $6 to $8 and there is no delivery charge, or tax- the only requirement is that your office orders a minimum of 3 boxes. Don’t have two friends who want to order weird Japanese boxed lunches… there is still one more way to get your bento fix- and it’s the best part of the whole story.
The Chiyoda guy on the street with Bento boxes, after the jump… Read more »
Posted by Zach Brooks at 7:49 am, June 18th, 2007 under 50th btw. 6+7th, Chiyoda, Delivery, Japanese.
“The Arepa Lady”. “The Dosa Man”. “The Dragon”. New Yorkers love their street food… and while most carts toil away in anonymity, there are a few street food vendors that have achieved legendary status. Singled out by magazines, posters on Chowhound and the Vendy Awards, these “destination” carts draw people across borough lines for some of the best food the city has to offer. Like most of the great food in New York, most of these special carts are outside of Midtown, but there are a few we can brag about. Hallo Berlin, Daisy May’s BBQ, and of course the Famous Chicken & Rice Cart on 53rd St. & 6th. (The one with the line at 2 in the morning.)
Now, we have one more to add to that list. The Jamaican Cart. While it may take a lot of time for most carts to build up a following, there was a line 15 people long on the 
Tomorrow is the big day. It is the One Year Anniversary of Midtown Lunch. On June 7th, 2006, 
But more than the good food, Hing Won showed me there was a better way to Midtown Lunch. While other people I knew were eating crappy Chinese food (Manchu Wok, I’m looking at you), my wife had showed me a place that most people in Midtown would ignore (because of the crappy exterior), if they even noticed it at all. So with much excitement (I’m so busy looking for new places I don’t usually get to have lunch at some of my favorite old places), I returned to Hing Won- the place that one year ago was worthy of being the very first Midtown Lunch.
Next Thursday (6/7), Midtown Lunch turns 1 year old- and I can honestly say no restaurant, no article, no food or news has has been bigger on this site than 
Well- it took a year, but finally Kati Roll has got some competition. And it comes in the form of a cart! For a long time this cart toiled annonymously in Midtown, serving up the typical lamb or chicken and rice- just like countless other carts not really worth mentioning. I first noticed it a little while back, when they hung a hand-made sign on the front that said “Chicken Biriyani Special”. I made a mental note, but never found time to go back.
Apparently, it has gotten popular- because now the Chicken Biriyani sign is professionally printed, and takes up most of the front of the cart. In the past few weeks I had started to get emails telling me how good the Wednesday & Friday Chicken Biriyani (or Biryani if you prefer)special is- so this past Friday I headed over to check it out. Imagine my surprise and delight, when I discovered the even newer sign selling “Chapati Rolls”, clearly a Kati Roll knock off, just a few hundred yards away from the crowd of people waiting for their Kati Rolls to be ready.
Damn you “Midtown version” of banh mi! Why have you foresaken us??? In the 10 months I’ve been doing this blog, no food item has been requested more than the Banh Mi. Usually it’s dreaming of working in a place where banh mi is plentiful, but more often than not, it’s people asking for banh mi to come to Midtown. Well, Boi to Go has answered our calls… but maybe we should have been more specific. We wanted super cheap, Chinatown style Banh Mi- not overpriced, fancy pants “Midtown Style” banh mi!
If you don’t know what banh mi is, but have still managed to get this far (confusion and all), let me try to break it down for you. Banh mi is a Vietnamese sandwich, served on a crusty french bread style baguette. In its most basic form, it comes with some sort of meat (pork, vietnamese “salami”, chicken and/or pate), covered in any combination of shredded carrots, daikon radish, cucumber, cilantro and some sort of sauce (sweet, spicy or both.) There are tons of variations- with many different ingredients, including vegetarian versions for people who don’t want meat.
