Midtown Lunch

House of Pita was the first falafel I had when I started working in Midtown.  One Avenue away from my office, on the most visited food street for my building.  (46th between 5th and 6th is also home to Hing Won, Variety Cafe, Lenny’s, Cosi, City Market Cafe, Pronto Pizza & Wu Liang Ye- among others)  What better place to start then the original…

I really liked the House of Pita falafel the first time I had it… and there are some good qualities to it- but as I’ve tried more and more falafel’s in this area I realized there a few areas where it falters.  First off, if you’re not looking you could easily walk by this place.  It’s not a cart, or a restaurant, but more of a counter where you order, and they prepare your meal.  There’s no door, or seats, and the entrance is in a “knick knack store” filled hallway that connects 48th street with 47th Street.  There is usually a line/crowd of people in front of the counter, but it moves pretty quickly.

A description of the falafel, and the +/- after the jump… Read more »

That’s right… it’s Falafel Week.  I’m guessing I don’t have to explain what a Falafel is… if you work in Midtown I can’t imagine you’ve never tried one.  But nevertheless, if you haven’t- it’s a fried ball of ground up chickpeas (although it can be fava beans as well).  As a sandwich, it usually comes wrapped in Pita bread with tahini (sesame seed paste) or Hummus (chickpea spread) or both.  Often there will be vegetables in the sandwich as well, ranging from lettuce and tomato, to cucumber salad to pickles or cabbage.  It usually depends on the region of the Middle East it is coming from.  Sometimes the balls will be green on the inside, which happens when an herb (usually parsley I think) is added to the ground up chickpeas. Many places will offer a hot sauce as well.

Every Falafel place in the city is different… and there are plenty of them.  So, every day this week I will go to a different Falafel place and write about it- here on MidtownLunch.com.  With the help of past experience and the good folks on Chowhound.com, I’ve chosen 5 places to go to (one each day).  Since taste can be very subjective, everyone has their favorite place- so I’ll try not to talk about what I think is the best or worst.  I’ll just tell what variation of this delicious treat they’re serving, and you can decide which one sounds best to you.  If you have any other suggestions, feel free to post comments.  Here’s the Plan:  

• Monday – House of Pita – 48th btw. 5th & 6th Avenue
• Tuesday – Moshe’s Falafel – SE Corner of 46th & 6th Avenue.
• Wednesday – Kwik Meal Cart – SW Corner of 45th & 6th Avenue.
• Thursday – Miriam’s Falafel – West side of 6th Avenue on 46th St.
• Friday – Bread and Olive – 45th between 5th & 6th Avenue.

 Thanks to everyone for their suggestions…

HELPFUL LINKS:

• Post and Suggestions for Places to Go [Chowhound]
• Description of Falafel [Wikipedia]

So we're only a few weeks away from McBurrito (I mean Chipotle) opening it's doors on the bottom floor of my building… but to hold me over, I discovered a burrito in the most unlikely of places.  Europa Cafe.  And you know what?  It's not that bad.

After knocking Chipotle for it's lack of authenticity, I feel bad endorsing a burrito that a) comes from a place with Europa in the title, and b) specializes in salads and sandwiches.  Clearly the "burrito bar" (another embarassing detail), would be a mere afterthought.  If you have never been to Europa Cafe, it is another one of those chain deli type places that litter the city where you can make your own sandwiches, wraps, and salads, or choose from a ton of pre-made options.   With the exception of Variety Cafe, I tend to steer clear of these places- but I was intrigued by the Burrito Bar.

What I got after the jump… Read more »

There seems to be a big split among ramen eaters in this city.  Those who love Momofuku Noodle Bar in the East Village, and those who crave a more “authentic” experience.  In many of the anti-Momofuku posts there are lists of authentic Japanese ramen bars in the city… and lucky for us one of them is right here in Midtown.

Now let me just say in advance, I am big fan of Momofuku, but I’m also up for trying new and more authentic places… and Sapporo is definetely worthy of a trip.  The first tip off is the crowd.  They are always crowded during peak lunch hours, and it’s a sit down place- so be prepared to wait. There was a line of about 8 people ahead of us, and we only waited about 5 minutes- so don’t worry too much if you only have an hour for lunch.  The food comes out pretty quick.  If you are a party of one, you should be able to get seated right away at the bar.

What we ate, and the +/- after the jump… Read more »

Everyone's prayers have been answered… but mine.  They started construction on a new Chipotle right in my building (49th between 6th & 7th), and the office is abuzz.  After all, burritos could possibly be the perfect lunch food.  A self contained, all inclusive pocket of goodness, that you can eat with your hands… no side dishes necessary (except for some chips to handle the overflow). 

Everyone seems pretty excited about the prospect of burritos being just an elevator ride away- but I can't fall into that trap.  For me, Chipotle is like a bad Chinese Buffet.  I have to go back once every three months, and feel sick, to remind myself why I only go once every three months.  See, I distinctly remember what my brain told me the last time I ate Chiptole… "Never eat here again".  But that was three months ago, and my burrito starved body is wondering, "Maybe this time it will be different…everyone seems pretty excited… maybe I was wrong about Chipotle." 

And of course three months ago was actually a relapse of it's own.  A few months before that, I had just moved here from Los Angeles, and tried Chiptole for the first time.  My thought… "Never eat here again…"  That lasted about two months.  Why can't they make a decent burrito in this city!

I'm not saying Chiptole is a terrible burrito… but compared to the Burritos in L.A., they definetely fall short (no one would dispute that).  But I'm not even talking about the authentic Burrito shacks… I'm talking about the chains too.  Now if a Baja Fresh or Sharky's opened at the bottom of my building, then you'd see some excitement.  But alas, there is no Baja Fresh, and we'll just have to settle for Chipotle.

The +/- after the jump… Read more »

The last thing NYC needs is another Deli (especially a chain!) but Lenny’s continues to open up new locations- with one of the newer ones being right in Midtown on 48th between 5th and 6th Avenue.  I feel like eating at a chain deli in NYC is like eating at Taco Bell while you’re in Mexico.  With so many sandwich choices already in midtown, when I walked by the sign the first time, I wondered why anyone would get a sandwich at a seemingly yuppified, over-priced chain like this.

Well, after eating there a few times, the answer is simple… it’s pretty damn good.  As for it not being authentic or home-grown, apparently the chain is an offshoot of a place opened in 1989 on the Upper West Side by Sei Hoon Lenny Chu, possibly the most unlikely named “Lenny” to ever open up a New York style deli in the history of the city.  They’ve recently begun franchising with plans to open 80-100 stores in the Northeast over the next 5 years.

As for the food, I’m sure everyone has their favorite deli to get a sandwich in Midtown- but it’s ok to branch out every once in awhile, and Lenny’s is definetely worthwhile.  The ingredients are fresh, every sandwich is made to order (unlike a lot of the Midtown delis) and the choices are endless.  You can order your ingredients ala carte, or choose one of their TONS of pre designed choices like Lenny’s All Time Favorites, Cold Cut Combos, Grilled Combos, Homestyle Combos and Lite Sandwiches.

The place is not without it’s problems, but alot of those can be solved with a few easy suggestions… more on that, and the +/- after the jump. Read more »

I am a huge fan of chinese food, in all its forms.  Dim Sum, Chinatown, cheap, upscale, authentic or american style, mall food court, street fair and of course- the almighty chinese buffet (my personal favorite).  Cheap chinese is one of my favorite lunch choices.  You might say it's a disease.  If given the choice between Chinese, or anything else under the sun, I find it hard to turn down the chinese.  Sometimes my mind and my stomach might be saying something else (sandwich, salad, Italian, Indian) but if god forbid, there's a cheap chinese place (one where you point to what you want) from here to there, the chinese will probably win out. 

You can't deny the genius of the cheap chinese food place.  You get to see all your choices before selecting and it's great if you like variety (most places give you 2 or 3 choices).  Further proof is the fact that every mall food court has one of these places, and even the non-chinese places have started serving some sort of "chinese" style chicken, in those little metal steamer compartments, that you point at to order … my favorite being Bourbon chicken at the Cajun Grille.  Is there really a difference between that and teriyaki? Don't get me wrong, I love authentic chinese food too.  I love Dim Sum and am a big fan of Chinatown (not just NYC, but Boston, San Fran, and L.A) and the more authentic chinese areas outside of big metropolitan cities, like Monterrey Park (the real L.A. chinatown)… and this is the beauty of Hing Won.  It's got both.

More on Hing Won, Pictures and the +/- after the jump… Read more »