Midtown Lunch

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 »