Midtown Lunch

Tomorrow is Jamaica’s Independence Day, and Golden Krust  is celebrating by selling their jerk chicken patties for 99 cents the entire month of August. With the Jamaican Dutchy (on 51st & 7th) readily available, I’ve never given GK their full +/-, but with 4 locations in Midtown- maybe it’s time. Thoughts?

4 Locations in Midtown:

• 33rd btw. Mad+5th
• 8th Ave. btw. 39+40th
• 3rd Ave. btw. 43+44th
• Grand Central Terminal Food Court (although this is just a kiosk, so I’m not positive if they are participating in the August promotion)

The new location of Joe and the Art of Coffee is scheduled to open tomorrow (6/11) in the graybar passage of Grand Central (enter off of Lex).  But according to an email they sent to “regular customers” they’ll be doing a “dress rehearsal” from 4 to 6pm today (Tuesday, 6/10) where they’ll be serving FREE coffee drinks and snacks.” 

Photo courtesy of Blondie and Brownie, the tip came courtesy of Tina “The Wandering Eater“.

The Midtown Yolato location on Park Ave. just south of 42nd St. was supposed to have its Grand Opening yesterday (with free Yolato all day long), but as you can tell from the photo, they weren’t quite ready.  I got an email saying 10 more days, but I can’t imagine how they’ll pull that off.  I will keep you updated…

In the meantime, you’ll have to settle for Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory, which is available (when it’s not raining) from a table next to Pershing Square on 42nd & Park until the end of the month (and in the restaurant on the dessert menu all year long).

Got this message from the Grand Central Partnership this morning:

As of this morning, the city continues to maintain a restricted zone, comprised of the area between East 40th St and East 43rd St and between Vanderbilt Ave and Third Ave. Individuals are not permitted to enter the restricted zone. Individuals who are already in the restricted zone are permitted to stay where they are. As clean-up work progresses, the City will work to shrink the size of the restricted zone.

Additionally, the following streets remain closed to vehicular traffic at this time:

– Lexington Ave from East 34th St to East 57th St
– Third Ave from East 38th St to East 42nd St
– Park Ave from East 34th St to East 54th St
– East 42nd St from Park Ave to Third Ave
– Vanderbilt Ave from East 42nd St to East 47th St

I have confirmed that Oms/b (45th btw. Lex+3rd) opened this morning, but then decided to close. 99 Cent Fresh Pizza on 43rd btw. Lex+3rd and the Sophie’s Cuban on Lexington btw. 40+41st are both closed for the day. The other Sophie’s locations have expanded their delivery radius for the day to make up for it.  Call whichever one is closest to you.  Also, the Treats Truck will not be parking at 38th & 5th today, as previously planned.  Check www.treatstruck.com for updates.

Milant (39th btw. Lex+3rd) is still open, as is the entire Grand Central Concourse Food Court, Blarney Stone (3rd Ave. btw. 44+45th), Famous Chicken Place (3rd btw. 38+39th) &  KushiQ (3rd Ave. btw. 45+46th).  If you have any added info, post it as a comment below or email it to zach@midtownlunch.com

I love New Orleans and it seems to come up a fair amount here on MidtownLunch.com.  My wife and I were married there, I’ve written about it a few times, and 3 of our Profiled: Midtown Lunch’ers mentioned it as a place they’d rather be (Liz, Elizabeth  and Nick).  But for some reason, it didn’t sink in- until recently- that Two Boots was part Cajun.  That’s right.  The NY pizza chain with the strange decor and the weird, slightly overpriced slices of pie is actually half Italian, half Cajun… hence “Two Boots” (Italy & Louisiana).

Now, I’m sure some of you “smart” “observant” people, who don’t walk around with your “head up your ass” might be saying to yourself- “Gee Zach… what are you an idiot?”  And to that I say, “Yes.  Yes I am.”  Alright, so I’m not that quick.  I’ve gotten pizza from many of the various Two Boots locations around the city, and in all that time I never really noticed the Po’Boys or Jambalaya on the menu painted on the wall… just the pizzas in the glass case.

I’m not sure who clued me into the whole “Two Boots” thing, or the fact that they have things other than pizza… but as someone who is constantly on the lookout for quality New Orleans style food, I figured it was time to give the non pizza boot a try.

What I ordered, a run down of the pizzas and the +/- after the jump…

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I remember when my wife was deciding where to go to Law School.  She had been accepted into a few different schools, and it was between Tulane and some other places.  I can’t remember the other ones, because the choice seemed pretty clear to me-  go to New Orleans.  I remember saying “When are you going to have another opportunity to go, and live somewhere as cool as New Orleans for three years of your life”.  The truth is, I had no idea what I was talking about.  I had never been there, and didn’t really know anything about the place… but as luck would have it, I ended up being right. 

We both ended up falling in love with the city, and got married there when she graduated in May of last year.  I’d like to say it was the rich culture and history of the city, the awesome music, the great people, or the beautiful scenery that made us want to get married there.  But everyone who knows us, knows the truth… it was the food.  I visited as often as I could, and when I did, we ate our way across the amazing city like there was no tomorrow. 

Raw oysters and boiled crawfish at Harbor Seafood (in Kenner) , The Roast Duck Po’Boy at Crabby Jack’s, Fried Chicken at Dunbar’s (the greatest fried chicken I’ve ever eaten), Raw Oysters at Casamento’s, the unbelievable Bread Pudding Souffle at Commander’s Palace (that you have to order at the beginning of the meal), Beignets at Cafe Du Monde, Coffee at Rue de la Course, a muffallatta at the Central Grocery, Chocolate Pecan Pie at Camellia Grill, great meals at Dick & Jenny’s, Clancy’s, Upperline, Lilette, Emeril’s, Bayona, and the awesome Valentine’s Day Dinner 2003 at Jacques-Imo’s.

I mention that one last because when we moved to NYC, we were incredibly excited to hear that there was a Jacques-Imo’s on the Upper West Side.  And while the restaurant isn’t owned by Jacques (according to the website they “licensed the concept”), they serve his famous fried chicken.   The food is not terrible, but it’s more like a frat boy sports bar then anything that resembles the culinary destination that is the real Jacques-Imo’s.  Despite being disappointed by the dinner at the UWS restaurant, we still decided to try Jacques-Imo’s To Geaux (get it?) in the Grand Central Terminal Food Court.  We figured, how hard can it be to make fried chicken and a decent po’boy? (Especially when you don’t have to worry about losing points because of the decor…)

What we got, pictures, and the +/- after the jump…

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I think I’ve said this before, but I’m going to say it again.  I love food courts.  What’s there not to like?  It’s like 20 cheap restaurants, all under the same roof.  Sure I always get the Chinese food, or the Chinese food knock off (bourbon chicken I’m looking at you)… but having the options (whether you use them or not) is great- because if you go with other people, everyone can get what they want.  So when I want Chinese food (which I always do), my wife and I can go to a food court even if she doesn’t want Chinese food, because there’s other things for her to get!  It’s a fool proof scheme…

There aren’t many food courts in Manhattan (you’ve gotta go to a mall in the suburbs for that), but there are a few.  And one, that seems like it should be amazing, is the Grand Central Terminal Food Court.  One walk through this place, and you’ll think you’ve died and gone to food court heaven.  No wasted space on generic fast food joints like McDonalds or BK, and they have all the requisite food options (Chinese, Sushi, Indian, Cajun, Caribbean, BBQ, Pizza, and more.) 

And yet, for a food court- with a ton of options- right in the middle of Midtown, it’s not nearly as crowded as you would think.  None of the places have lines, and we didn’t have too much trouble finding a place to sit.  To top it off, I get emails all the time recommending places to eat in Midtown.  Very few “good” (a relative term of course) or popular places have gone unrecommended.  And yet, nobody has ever recommended the food court, or singled out any of the choices in an email.

A superficial look at the options, more pictures, and a call to arms… after the jump.

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