Milant Gourmet Deli
Some places you just know are going to be good. It may be rare, but it happens. I trekked over to Milant, a tiny deli on 39th St. btw. 3rd & Lex. after getting a tip from a Midtown Lunch’er named Corey. I’m not usually a big sandwich guy, and I almost never write about “delis”, but when I walked into this tiny take-out only place, something said to me “This is going to be good.” Don’t let the name fool you though. Milant is tiny, and sort of dumpy, but I think that’s part of its charm. Take the same place and dress it up in fancy Midtown duds, and it probably wouldn’t be as good.
I don’t know if it was the crowd (there were about 5 or 6 people cramped in there waiting for their sandwiches), the price ($5 to $6.50 for some pretty sweet sounding sandwiches), the free soup (you get a free cup of soup) or the fridges full of nice cheeses and assorted pates- but I was not leaving this place empty handed. Corey had told me to get the #13. No explanation, or description… just an “Order the #13. It rocks.” When I saw it on the menu, I knew I had found a winner.
The #13, more food porn and a +/-, after the jump…
Posted by Zach Brooks at 8:29 am, February 12th, 2007 under 39th btw. 3rd+Lex, Deli, Milant, Sandwiches, Soups.
Everybody loves falafel! So the second week of Midtown Lunch’s existence was dubbed Falafel Week- and each day I visited and wrote about a different Midtown falafel joint (
Bread & Olive is a Lebanese take out place on 45th btw. 5th & 6th ave. They have both beef and chicken shwarma, kafta, delicious homemade breads, and an array of maza (Lebanese salads and dips). There is a small seating area in the back, but most people take the food to go. Everything is Lebanese style, so the spices are going to be different than the shwarma at an Israeli place, or the gyro from a Greek place.
From the moment I heard that you could get fried chicken served on a waffle, I knew it would be good. How could it not be??? Fried chicken. Good. Waffle. Good. Syrup. Always good. I had heard that Amy Ruth’s in Harlem (116th btw. Lennox & 7th) is one of the best places to go for this amazing treat, but I haven’t found time to make the pilgrimage. Well, I guess they got sick of waiting- and have now decided to bring the Chicken & Waffles to me! The owners of the famous, always a line out the door Amy Ruth’s in Harlem, have opened Ressie Mae’s Soul to Go in Midtown, across from the Port Authority (on 8th Ave. btw. 39th & 40th.).
Nothing gets New Yorkers going like a good Hamburger post. You could argue about the best burger forever, and there would never be consensus. It all comes down to what is most important to you? Size? Value? Quality of meat? Toppings? Fries? Location? I don’t know what is most important to me. I’d like to think it’s value, but the Burger Joint in the Parker Meridien is no deal, yet because of the quality of the meat, and the cool “hidden” location, I seem to ignore the price. Prime Burger is one of the older places in Midtown, makes there burger with quality meat, and has a great atmosphere, yet but because you have to order from a menu, and the burger comes totally plain I didn’t like it as much because the value wasn’t there. When the Prime Burger post went up in September, a lot of people commented on it, pointing me towards “The Blarney Stone”, a place where atmosphere and value come together in a gigantic burger, where the quality may not be good enough for some- but was good enough for me! 
This was the first comment… and at the time, I sort of ignored it because it sounded like an Irish Pub, where you had to sit at a table and order from a menu (not really a Midtown Lunch kind of thing). The Blarney Stone is an Irish Pub, and there are tables- but there are no waiters. You order from a counter, and then take your food to one of the tables in the back.
Two very important details in this comment (aside from the $4 price tag). First, my burger was cooked a noticeably perfect Medium rare. Second, they give you a ridiculous amount of cheese. It’s only 50 cents, and they really don’t skimp. I don’t know if you can tell from the pic, but the thick white layer above the burger is actually cheese. I can’t be sure, but I feel pretty confident in saying there could possibly be an unheard of, 2 to 1 meat to cheese ratio. 
I don’t often eat at (or write about) generic fast food chains, but every once in awhile something will catch my eye, and I just can’t resist. This blog was practically launched on my reporting about the craziness surrounding the opening of Chipotle in my building. I also wrote about the one 
I think it started back in Junior High when Burger King introduced the first and original Bullseye BBQ Burger. Man, that thing was awesome. It seems commonplace now, but doing that cross promotion thing with Bullseye was total genius (I’m pretty sure I forced my mom to buy that sauce for years afterwards). I remember seeing it on the menu and ordering it for the first time. Two bacon cheeseburgers, side by side- covered in Bullseye BBQ sauce. How could it be bad? And then one day it was gone. Oh boy was I pissed. And yet- even now, all these years later I forget that anger, and get suckered in once again; falling in love with these crazy menu items that disappear without warning, leaving you wanting just one more taste… (Has anybody had that fried chicken finger wrapped in a tortilla that McDonald’s has? I really want to try it but I know my wife won’t ever let me live it down)
Who says 4 posts about a mediocre Bulgogi cart is overkill??? (Clearly you didn’t see me the week 
They have Bulgogi (Korean BBQ’d beef) or Chicken, served with rice, & salad for $5. But here’s the real kicker… they throw in a drink for free! (Soda or water) It is a pretty amazing deal. The menu has spicy and non-spicy versions of each of the two dishes posted, but if you order it “spicy” they just give you a cup of red hot sauce to pour over it yourself. They also give you a very small cup of kimchi (fermented cabbage), which is a real nice touch.
Ever since 
But, I am still a little bit desperate- so with no $10 buffets left, I decided to up my price to $10.95 and check out Sukhadia’s, a Vegetarian Indian Buffet on 45th btw. 5th & 6th Ave. Now, I am not an Indian food expert, and I am not exactly sure what kind of Indian food Sukhadia serves- but I can say this… if you are looking for Tandoori Chicken, or some sort of Tikka Masala with Naan- you are going to be very disappointed. In fact, if you are looking for meat at all, or even any of the standard Northern Indian dishes you find at most American Indian restaurants, you are going to be disappointed. I believe the cuisine is mostly from the area of RÄjasthÄn, but you can find Northern and Southern Indian food at the restaurant, in addition to Jain dishes (a religion/philosophy from Ancient India whose followers are vegetarian).
Now, I know what you’re thinking. You show up at an Indian Buffet, and it costs $10.95 and they got no meat, it’s going to make you say 