Midtown Lunch

OMG, you guys… I found another new-to-midtown (possibly entirely new?) cart. Actually, Lunch’er Dave sent in this tip:

“There’s a little “Greek” cart on W 50th, across the street from the other carts, which does grilled meat in its plates and salads. I’ve been once, a couple weeks ago, and it was quite good, but I haven’t checked if they are still coming around regularly.”

I walked over to see if it was parked there today. The menu and more after the jump…

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Earlier this week in the forums, one of our readers tipped us off on a new rice cart hoping to find a spot by the Time Life Building this week (50th + 6th). Rice pilaf you say? With chicken or beef? And whatever sauce you want? I was intrigued, so I headed to the miniature food-city-on-wheels to see what I could find. Dwarfed by its gigantic neighbor, the Nuchas empanadas truck, I found a flashy, unweathered food cart with a sign saying Rice The Great. This must be it. Mighty in name, small in size.

The cart has a very simple menu of a small pilaf platter for $3.00, a large rice pilaf platter for $6.00, or a pilaf burrito for $6.00. With any of these meals, you have a choice of either chicken or beef. Sodas and Dirty chips are $1.00 each. With the platters, you can get salad on the side with oil & vinegar or Italian dressing. As for sauce, you have a choice of house white sauce or house red sauce.

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As promised, the new Korean cart on 50th btw. 6+7th began serving bulgogi topped hot dogs and Korean short rib tacos this week. I stopped by yesterday, not only to check out the two new items but also to ask if they had been getting the same “treatment” that chased the Happy Well Being House Cart from the same spot a few weeks ago. The Korean guy who runs the cart said that they ran into a bit of trouble earlier but that “everything is ok now.”  I don’t know whether to feel happy for them, or sorry for the Happy Well Being House Cart for not sticking it out in the spot longer.

So for now, it looks like these guys are going to be around.  The question is, how is their new bulgogi dog and short rib tacos!?! (The answer, plus photos of the craziness, is after the jump.)

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I’m always hesitant to check out carts when they first open.  So few know exactly what they are going to do from day one, and their list of offerings ends up morphing multiple times before they settle on a set menu.  (Anybody remember those white bread bulgogi sandwiches?)  So when the Happy Well Being House Cart popped up on 50th btw. 6+7th a few weeks ago, I decided to stand back and wait.  Their unconventional fried fish or grilled chicken with rice or potatoes menu seemed destined to be a flash in the pan.  When they added bulgogi a few weeks later, things started to seem a little more promising.  Once I found out they were related to the Downtown bulgogi cart that has been operating for awhile, I felt these guys were probably here to say.

And now that I’ve tried the food… I *know* they are.

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To me there is nothing more exciting than the arrival of a brand new cart… especially when it’s as weird as this one! Meet the “Happy Well Being House” cart, which popped up on 50th street btw. 6+7th for the first time yesterday. Started by a Korean lady, and another girl (who I’m guessing is her daughter), the cart is serving up fried fish and grilled chicken, over rice or home fries for $6. They used to own an “American food” restaurant in Long Island. I don’t know what is “well being” about fried fish and hash browns but this cart is in the early lead for strangest cart of 2009.

I was already on my way to a different lunch destination, but thankfully they offered me a taste!

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Life is all about expectations. Go into a meal expecting greatness, and 9 times out of 10 you’ll probably leave disappointed.  Go into a meal expecting to die, and you’ve got a good chance of walking out feeling like a winner. In those special cases, leaving without feeling sick is a pleasant accomplishment in and of itself. And that is how I felt walking into Tad’s Steaks on Thursday. I was scared. Real scared.

I would call Tad’s a fast food steak place, but that doesn’t really do it justice. It is a Midtown institution- if by institution you mean place everyone knows about.  If a restaurant has to be eaten in to qualify, than maybe institution isn’t the proper term.  In fact, while most people have a very strong (negative) opinion about Tad’s, few people have actually eaten there. See, there are three kinds of people who lunch in Midtown:

1. Those who have braved a meal at Tad’s, and come away sick or disgusted (a few people I know.)
2. Those who have braved a meal at Tad’s, and thought it was good enough to return (uh, only one person I know, and he accompanied me on this trip.) 
3. And everyone else.  The haters who have never been, but will not hesitate to tell you how terrible Tad’s must be.

I’ve always been a card carrying member of that last group. I didn’t need to eat at Tad’s to know it was terrible. Whether it’s the already poured glasses of wine, stacked on the counter, covered in saran wrap; or the interior that hasn’t been changed (or probably cleaned) since 1974, Tad’s is not very welcoming.  Even the $7 steak lunch special, which should be selling point enough (for its cheapness), ends up doing the opposite. Why is this so cheap? How can they make a steak so cheap?  You know what?  Scratch that. I don’t want to know.

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Bento Guy on 50th btw. 6+7th (on a better day) Photo provided by Lunch’er Shauna

In the ML Inbox: “Just to let you know, I saw the 50th st bento guy sitting in back of a police suv and the cops were wheeling around his cart. I wanted to take a snap for your blog, but i didn’t want to risk gettting tazed.” Please tell me somebody got a photo of this.  Email it to zach@midtownlunch.com  Also, somebody may want to go warn the Ecuadorian lady on 46th St.

I try my best not to be too negative on this site, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be able to vent. Every once in awhile I’ll share some of the more angry useful emails I get in a post called “Airing of Grievances”. (If the Eater Complaints Dept. would like royalties, I’ll be happy to pay up…) As a former Los Angelino I can relate to this one (although I don’t know if authentic is the word I’d use for Baja Fresh and Wahoo’s.)

Tried the new Qdoba today. More like Qdon’tbother. Blech! More Mexican food for people who’ve never been west of New Jersey. It’s like a Subway with tortillas and beans instead of lettuce and bread with big knives baked into it. I went for the “hot “ salsa and couldn’t even taste it. Also opted for the “3 Cheese Queso” burrito. I thought it would be three actual cheeses like a real Mexican place might provide… It was pump cheese. Pump cheese! Pump cheese belongs on your 2am, 7-11 nachos not on a friggin burrito!

Upside? The massive, albeit bland, burrito was only 5 bucks and it came with a sweet “I heart Qdoba” t-shirt and a fancy customer loyalty card. I don’t heart Qdoba but I do heart a big-ass, $5 dollar lunch on 50th St. (btw. 6+7th)

But wait, there’s more (not alot, but some things need to go after the jump to protect the children)  Read more »