Midtown Lunch

So the news broke on Weds, and was confirmed yesterday that Rupert Murdoch plans on moving the Wall St. Journal from their Downtown offices to the News Corp. building on 6th Ave. & 48th St., smack dab in the middle of Midtown.  Well, let me be the first to say welcome!  We’re actually neighbors (I work in the McGraw Hill Building across the street), and there are plenty of great lunch options within walking distance of our block.

According to the NY Observer, you guys are leaving behind PJ Clarke’s.  Well don’t you worry, the original one is here in Midtown- although 3rd Ave. is a pretty long walk away. 

Some much closer options, after the jump… Read more »

In Midtown there is no shortage of fancy Indian all you can eat Buffets.  I’d love to try them, but I can’t justify shelling out $13, $15 or $18 for all you can eat Indian food when there’s Sukhadia for $10.95 and my new favorite Spice Fusion for $9.95 available.  Sure, the quality of the food at some of these super expensive *may* be better (that is not totally confirmed), but it’s just not worth the extra money.

Utsav, a fancy Indian buffet on 47th btw. 6+7th, solves that problem with a little take out section in the bar area of their $17.95 all you can eat buffet.  For $7.95 or $9.95 you get a lunch size sampling of what the fat cats upstairs are shelling out $18 for- and it’s pretty damn good.

What you get, and a +/- after the jump… Read more »

Ramadan, the holiest month of the Muslim calendar, begins today and the Chicken Briyani Cart on 46th & 6th is offering special “Iftar Boxes” for those who are observing (pronounced “if-tar” or “fitoor”).  Muslims all around the world will fast from sunrise to sunset for the next 30 days, abstaining from food and drinks of any kind.  At sunset, a special meal known as “Iftar” (which literally means breakfast or break fast) is enjoyed, usually as a communal event.

The box from the Briyani Cart will include a scoop of Chicken Biriyani, 1 Kati Roll, a samosa and what the guys in the cart described to me as a potato kebab.  It costs $5 and will be available from 4:30pm to 6:30pm every night for the next 30 days (starting on Friday).

If you missed the news– today is the last day to enjoy Kati Roll at their 46th St. location.  They will be re-opening on 39th St. btw. 5+6th in a week and a half.  The reaction has been pretty predictable.  If you work near the current Kati Roll, you’re pretty bummed.  If you work near the new location, you’re pretty psyched.  But there’s one thing that there is no denying… come tomorrow there will be a Kati Roll void, waiting to be filled in the 40s between 6+7th.

A few weeks ago I wrote about the Biriyani Cart that started serving Roti Rolls on 46th & 6th.  A perfect replacement for Kati Roll (and half the price!).  Well now it appears that cart will have some competition.  Last week, a new cart quiety opened up between the Biriyani Cart, and Kati Roll- serving their own brand of Kati Rolls.  And there is no mistaking the intentions.  The new cart is looking to be Kati Roll replacement.  Don’t believe me?  Check out the signs they had printed up- after the jump Read more »

That’s right.  Our beloved Kati Roll (on 46th btw. 6+7th), has lost their lease and is moving.  The last day to eat at the current location is Thursday, June 28th.  They will re-open on July 7th on 39th St. btw. 5+6th.  Great news for the folks in Midtown South, who never made it up for a delicious “Indian Burrito”.  Bad news for the local regulars.

Currently they only do delivery after 2:30pm, but I was told that they are hoping to do lunchtime delivery from the new location.  It is also going to be twice as big.  R.I.P. Kati Roll 46…  Long Live Kati Roll 39!

Their apology letter, after the jump… Read more »

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 Kati Roll.  I wrote about the “Indian Burritos” the first month of the blog, and that page has been read more times than any other piece on this site. 

In a lot of ways Kati Roll sums up the Midtown Lunch experience.  It’s interesting, delicious (obviously), not too expensive, and most importantly it’s only two blocks away from my work, next to one of the more popular places in Midtown (Margon), and yet most of the people I worked with, had never heard of it.  Kati Roll was and still is a testament to the laziness of most Midtown Lunch’ers.  Every day, on the way to boring soups and sandwiches Midtown workers walk blindly past some of the best food in Midtown, without even noticing.

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.

Pics of the new Kati Rolls on the block, and a +/- after the jump… Read more »

What can I say about this place that hasn’t already been said… Margon is a Midtown institution.  When I started this blog (and wrote about Margon neighbors Minar & Kati Roll) I got tons of emails from people telling me I should go to Margon.  For those who have been there- you know the deal.  For those who haven’t… here’s your introduction.

Margon is a “Cuban” “Restaurant”.  I put “restaurant” in quotes because it’s not really a restaurant.  It’s more of a diner with cafeteria style ordering.  On the left is where you point to the food you want, on the right are a few cramped tables that at peak lunch hours, are always packed.  Moving from left to right along the counter… the first third is where you order the sandwiches.  If you don’t want a sandwich, ignore the crowd that gathers at the door.  Bypass the line and head inside.  The second third of the counter is for people who are ordering food to stay, and if you want to take your food to go, go to the line that forms all the way in the back- after the final third of the counter.  

I put the “Cuban” in quotes because even though the sign outside says “Cuban”, it’s actually more Dominican.  The first giveaway is the poster of the Juan Pablo Duarte in the back (one of the founders of the Dominican Republic)… but the real proof is in the Cuban Sandwich.  A delicious pressed sandwich of pork, ham, cheese, mustard and pickles- the Margon version also has salami, a strictly Dominican preparation.  While some complain that it’s not authentic, it is no less delicious!

I could write on and on… but Margon is better enjoyed by the eyes:

The sandwich press

The finished product

More food porn… and the +/- after the jump:

Read more »

The complaints against eating in Midtown are many… but the one thing you can’t complain about is a lack of good Indian food.  There are tons of Indian places for every appetite and price range.  Expensive sit down restaurants, expensive buffets, cheap buffets, cheap take out, and even an Indian food cart.  When you look at the cheap options, it seems as if there is one for every neighborhood.  If you work on Park in the 50s, there’s the super cheap Indian food cart on 53rd.  If you work on the East side of Midtown in the 40s, there’s Hurry & Tasty Curry.  If you work on the west side there’s Minar.

Everyone who reads this blog knows how much I love Kati Roll (the “Indian Burrito” place)… but sometimes you just want the real thing.  And when that urge hits, Minar is right next store to feed my Indian food fix.  The one thing I’ve realized about these Indian food places is, you get what you pay for.  You pay $4 for Indian food out of a cart, it’s going to taste like $4 Indian food (it’s good, but not the best).  Minar costs a little more then that, and it’s a little better.  Not as good as a nice Indian restaurant where you are going to pay $10+ an entree, but if you are looking for some quick and tasty Indian food for lunch- and you work in this area of Midtown, you can’t do better then Minar.

What I got, pictures of the food, and the +/- after the jump…

Read more »