Midtown Lunch

Hearing about Treehaus’ new Rutgers grease truck sandwich this week gave us a few hunger pangs for the old Papa Perrone truck, which used to park on 55th btw. Madison and 5th. If you miss them too you’ll be happy to know that Papa Perrone has popped up in brick and mortar form in the St. George area ofn Staten Island at 469 St. Marks Place serving flavored riceballs and a variety of dipping sauce as well as other specialty items. Apparently it’s 10 min from the ferry and down the block from where they are building the new court house. I’m not sure if we miss them that much, but if you live on the island or head out there on the weekends you’ll be excited to know you can some riceball love from an old friend.

Papa Perrone’s Riceball Shoppe, 469 Saint Marks Place. Staten Island

Papa Perrone’s has not made a visit to Midtown in at least a year now. He’s found a bit more success downtown and in Williamsburg over the last few months, but word on the street is that owner JohnPaul has sold his truck and the Papa Perrone truck as we know it is sadly no more. Thankfully, his rice balls live on. You can find them at Jianetto’s Pizza truck daily and at certain days on the Valducci’s Pizza truck. Based on his Twitter feed, JohnPaul is hoping to eventually distribute the rice balls across the country. But the truck itself will surely be missed around these parts…

New York Pizzerias are known for their crazy-ass pizza toppings (we’re looking at you baked ziti and buffalo chicken from Little Italy) but this might be the craziest, most carb laden topping of them all. Check out the latest addition to the Papa Perrone Truck… a grandma slice, topped with one of their rice balls. For those of you keeping score, that’s a cheese filled risotto ball, rolled in bread crumbs, deep fried, and pressed down onto a slice of pizza. This monstrosity will set you back $4.75 ($5.75 if you want it topped with parmesan) and will be available as long as they have the pizza and rice balls to make it. The truck has been parking on 55th btw. Mad+5th, but you can double check their twitter account just to be sure.

Thanks to Lunch’er Harry for posting this little tip in the forums… a new burger truck popped up on 55th and Park Ave. on Friday called Wall St. Burgers. All we know is what’s on their website. Grass fed angus burgers, crispy chicken wings, tempura battered onion rings, seasoned curly fries, and it’s called Wall St. Burgers because the owner quit his job on Wall Street to open the truck (a storyline we’re starting to get a little sick of, but we’ll reserve total judgement until we taste the burgers.)

Ironically enough, while this new truck was testing the waters of Midtown East, a few older trucks were getting kicked out of their spots…

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Way back in November, Papa Perrone started testing out panelle sandwiches (chickpea fritters on crusty bread with ricotta cheese, and parm). I braved the rain and cold to seek one out and dutifully wrote it up for a post. I waited to schedule the review until they offered it again. I waited and waited and waited. Finally last night, I noticed via the ML Twitter Tracker that they were planning on serving up panelle today, so without further ado, here’s your first look at the this traditional dish.
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An interesting thing happened on 55th street today that other food truck vendors would be wise to pay attention to.  Because of all the UN madness on the east side, Eddie’s Pizza Truck was forced to find a new spot this morning for their Thursday service. Where did they choose?  55th btw. Park+Mad… right next to the Papa Perrone truck, who also sells pizza.  Naturally, Papa Perrone wasn’t too happy about it, not just because they both sell pizza but because he’s worked hard over the past few years to cultivate a relationship with the building on that block- who in turn have agreed not to complain to the cops, provided that the block doesn’t turn into a food truck parking lot.  So when Eddie’s showed up this morning, Jon Paul (aka “Papa Perrone”) explained the situation, hoping that they would find an alternate spot.  Obviously nobody wants to see a repeat of what happened on 48th Street a few weeks ago.

Eddie’s response?  Kill them with kindness…

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My first thought when George Steinbrenner died two weeks ago wasn’t of Yankee Stadium or championship trophies, it was of Larry David’s voice. I guess I’m a bigger Seinfeld fan than Yankees fan. One of my favorite Steinbrenner episodes of Seinfeld is when he becomes obsessed with George’s lunchtime calzone stuffed with cheese, pepperoni and eggplant, and starts making George bring him one everyday. The spell that calzone casts on Steinbrenner always makes me crave one. So, to honor The Boss, I headed out to some of Midtown’s most notable pizzerias in search of Midtown’s best calzone. See what I found after the jump.

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Remember when the Treats Truck parked next to the Papa Perrone truck (on 55th btw. Park+Mad) a few months back?  They had such a good time they’re making it a permanent Monday thing starting today.  It’s a match made in heaven as far as we’re concerned. (UPDATE: Papa Perrone won’t be out today, but the Treats Truck will still be there! UPDATE #2: According to the ML Twitter Tracker, the Schnitzel & Things Truck is taking Papa Perrone’s spot for the day. Schnitzel + Treats = Happy Lunchers.)