Midtown Lunch

More news from Khodiar Lunch Services (aka Newsstand Indian) on 6th Ave. btw. 37+38th.  They’ve introduced pizza to the “food court” which already includes vegetarian Gujarati food, regular Indian food with meat, a chaat counter, and the latin food that used to be in the Blimpie next door.  The chaat counter moved to the back awhile ago, along with everything else, and now the pizza is in the front right hand corner where the chaat used to be. They’re having a “Grand Opening” special, with slices for $1.50- so I felt compelled to see what pizza from an Indian newsstand would taste like (it doesn’t appear as if they have outsourced the pizza to an Italian family.)

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This might be the only day of the year that I would actually recommend staying in your office for lunch (it’s rough out there on St. Paddy’s Day), but if you must go out to lunch, and you must have some corned beef (I don’t care if technically it’s not Irish, as some have pointed out) here are a few places you can hit up in Midtown.  My usual St. Paddy’s day lunch spot is the Blarney Stone (on 3rd Ave. btw. 43+44th) but you can also get good corned beef sandwiches at the Homefront Deli (on 41st btw. Mad+Park) and Cafe Edison (on 47th btw. B’way+8th).  If you don’t mind sharing, there is always the Carnegie Deli mitosis idea, and Serious Eats New York says the new corned beef sandwich at Bouchon Bakery is good (although at $10.75 it is outside the ML price range.)  What are you doing to celebrate St. Paddy’s Day?

I think I’m finally ready to go out on a limb here, and say that Crisp is one of the best falafel places in the city.  That’s right.  The yuppie-fied, way overpriced, unconventional falafel place (on 3rd Ave. btw. 43+44th) is serving up some of my favorite falafel in New York City.  Is their bread as good as Olympic Pita (on 38th btw. 5+6th)?  No.  Is their menu as authentically Israeli as Azuri Cafe (on 10th Ave. and 51st). Uh… definitely not.  And yet, each time I go there I really enjoy trying the strange flavor combinations they create.  Sandwiches you cannot find anywhere else in NYC.  And for that they deserve some recognition.

Last week, they introduced their entry into the Midtown Lunch Sandwich Challenge. The Taj: Falafel with mango chutney, lime chili pickles, greens, cherry tomatoes, poppadums, and a cold curry sauce inside a traditional Israeli pita. I tried it on Friday, and it solidified my feeling that Crisp may be one of the best Falafel places in New York City.

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If you have ever dreamed of watching a video of Josh Ozerksy eating 7 hamburgers, your prayers have been answered. The editor of The Feedbag did a blind burger taste test, and Five Guys (on 55th btw. 5+6th) beat out P.J. Clarke’s and the Burger Joint at the Parker Meridien. Veselka came in first place.  Surprisingly City Burger (on 39th just East of B’way), which Ozersky is a big fan of, wasn’t included in the taste test. [Always Hungry]

There was a time when the $9 Indian buffet was the norm in Midtown (remember Rangole?).  Those times have long gone, but it looks like the economy may be reversing the trend. Kashmir Buffet (on 8th Ave. btw 39+40th), which closed a few months ago to become the “Cave Lounge”, has reopened for lunch only.  The all you can eat Pakistani/Indian buffet is $8.99, and just before Noon yesterday looked tasty and fresh (unlike the upstairs, pay-by-the-pound Kashmir Express, which always looks like it’s been sitting out for hours).  They had at least three or four choices of meat, plus some interesting looking sweets (that are usually featured in the upstairs window) plus bread is included. I think originally the buffet may have been $8, but whatever. Considering that most buffets in Midtown are $10 and above, I’m all for it! Welcome back…

Photo of the inside is after the jump.

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Both Grub Street and TONY’s Feed Blog give you a first look at the newly opened HB Burger (on 43rd btw. B’way+6th) in the old Spanky’s BBQ space.  The owner brags that “nothing on the menu tops $9″ (good, I guess), and they have sauteed onions (for free), tator tots, homemade sodas, and milkshakes with liquor in them (also good).  But I just can’t get excited about a burger place that is owned by the Heartland Brewery. Is that wrong?  (Admittedly I’m still mad about the onion ring incident.) Plus, items individually may cost under $9, but a burger, fries, and a drink will altogether cost you quite a bit more.  Any ML early adopters willing to take one for the team, and let us know how this place is?  Either that, or we’ll just wait for A Hamburger Today to weigh in. (I’m pretty sure they are legally obligated to go to all of these places…)

HB Burger, 127 W 43rd St. (btw. B’way+6th), 212-575-5848

As much as we complain about Midtown as a “culinary wasteland”, the cart scene is probably the best in the city (rivaled only by Jackson Heights, perhaps?) When it comes to variety, we pretty much have everything- with few exceptions.  2 1/2 years ago, we even had a Japanese teriyaki cart (on 50th btw. 6+7th)- which disappeared as quickly as it popped up. Well, I’m excited to report that teriyaki has returned to the Midtown cart scene (on the NW corner of 49th & 3rd), and it is a huge improvement on the original.

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Just in time for St. Patty’s day, Food in Mouth brings the news that a branch of Lily O’Brien’s Chocolate Cafe has opened near Bryant Park (on 40th btw. 5+6th). I don’t know if the fact that this is an “Irish” chocolate company means anything (maybe everything is filled with liquor?), but Danny tried the hot chocolate and seemed pretty pleased. Apparently it goes pretty well with a cinnamon bun from Cafe Zaiya. 36 W 40th St. New York, NY 10018. 212-575-0631‎ [Food in Mouth]

Photo courtesy of Ultraclay

I took a little bit of heat for saying there was no good Vietnamese food in Manhattan (banh mi excluded, obviously), but that doesn’t mean I don’t keep trying to prove myself wrong. Next stop: Golden City (on 33rd btw. Mad+5th) which has a $6.50 pork chop special that Ultraclay calls the “star of the show”. I’m sure this isn’t the Vietnamese goldmine I’ve been searching for (after all it’s a Chinese/Vietnamese combo in Koreatown), but those pork chops are delicious looking enough to get me to check it out! Anybody else been? Post your comments below.

It’s the second Friday of Lent, so I’m sure a lot of you will be looking for some seafood options a little better than the fish filet from McDonalds… although at 2 for $3, it’s almost worth it. (Through April 12th according to Page 13 of today’s AMNY). Most of the recommendations from 2 years ago are still around, but there are a few new ones to be strongly considered… most notably, the new catfish sandwich from Certe (on 55th btw. 5+6th), and the fried catfish sandwich from out of bounds Baoguette (Lexington btw. 25+26th).  Anybody else have any Lent recommendations?  Put them in the comments…

Baoguette’s Catfish Photo Courtesy of Robyn Lee/Serious Eats: New York