Midtown Lunch

Are all you Lunchers in Midtown East ready for some kale? Well, that’s what you’re getting, because Kale Health Food is moving in on Lexington Ave. (btw 39+40th), formerly the home of Tokyo Japanese Restaurant. We don’t know much about Kale, but judging from their Yelp and Facebook pages, the restaurant will be offering healthy, nutritious meals featuring ingredients like kale and quinoa, along with juices and smoothies. Not exactly the typical Midtown Lunch fare, but everyone’s gotta eat healthy now and then. Hopefully Kale will prove that healthy food can also be delicious food.

Kale Health Food, 342 Lexington Avenue (btw 39th+40th), (212) 867-5252

Back in December, I posted about a LivingSocial deal at Calista Superfoods. Since I hadn’t been yet, I bought it, and promptly forgot about it. Well, I rediscovered my expired deal the other day, and since after they expire you can still redeem them for the amount paid, I headed over to see what I’ve been missing out on. The menu is reminiscent of Energy Kitchen, and consists of ‘healthy’ wraps, burgers, salads, etc. Based on my own experiences and what’s been written on the downtown site about that place, I went in with extremely low expectations and was actually pleasantly surprised.

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We’re not big fans of any commitment that curbs lunchtime eating (or increases visits to the gym), but we do recognize that this is the time of the year that many people look to lose a little bit of weight.  So in the spirit of New Year’s resolutions, here are the healthiest lunches in Midtown we can bring ourselves to eat…

Last year, Chickpea (on 45th btw. Mad+Park) filled Midtown’s “I need a healthy lunch, but not salad” void in my book. Baking their falafel allows for protein-rich chickpeas (read: filling) without greasy added-on calories from frying, and their bulgar wheat is a fiber *and* protein-rich whole grain (read: very filling). Basically, if your New Year’s resolution involves a good deal of exercising, you should probably pick this up for lunch to help your body nourish itself. Just watch out for Chickpea’s add-ons; I heard a horror story over the vacation of a simple platter costing upwards of $15! -Blondie

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Even though the meat lovers on Midtown Lunch outnumber the vegetarians, sometimes we like to shine a light on some of the less offensive meatless options being offered for under $10 (some of you may remember the days of Zen Burger!?) The latest spot is Vegan Hut, a just out of bounds chain that opened a few months ago on 7th btw. 29+30th… and we figured what better to assess it’s awesomeness (or suckiness) then by bringing in Lunch’er “Sarah”, our resident Vegetarian commenter, for a heads up point/counterpoint with me- a bonafied meat eater. In other words, we have something for everyone today. It’s a tale of he said she said. Meat eater vs. vegetarian. Both sides of the story. How will Vegan Hut hold up!

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Unless they’re offering free food, I pretty much have no reason to ever want to step into a location of Pump Energy Food… until now.  Thrillist is reporting that a brand new Pump just opened on 52nd btw. Lex+3rd, and they’re serving “an adobo-marinated bison and yogurt-dill sauce job called the Street Meat” (only available at this new location.)  I’m normally not interested in low fat alternatives to my favorite foods, but it is a new year… and I have to admit I’m kind of curious.  UPDATE: Just got an email from Pump, who clarify that the new street meat special is called the “Spicy Dilligan” and is “a healthy take on the Rafiqi’s street meat”. PLUS “anyone who comes in today gets $5 off any order of $10 or more if they use the password “Midtown Lunch” at the cash register.”

Yes, I ate this salad… two years ago.

This is the most discouraging time of year for Midtown Lunch, because this site is all about finding good food and January is always about people pretending for a month a few weeks a few days that they’re actually going to be healthy.  That’s right… it’s New Year’s Resolution time!  Lucky for me this is my job, so I don’t have to go through the personal charade of signing up for a gym membership (and not using it) or eating salads at lunchtime (but topping those salads with dressing, cheese, and chinese crunchy things.)  Going on a diet for me would be like you deciding that you’re just not going to go to work for a few weeks.  But that doesn’t mean I don’t eat healthy sometimes… in my own special Midtown Lunch way.

So without further ado, I present to you the “healthiest” Midtown Lunches I can stand to swallow.  (Note: I clearly know nothing about eating healthy, and the views expressed in this post are probably completely wrong.  But whatever.  This is how I do “healthy”… so BACK OFF.)

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