It might have sold out on Tuesday, but I finally got my chance to try out the “Chubby Chinese Girl” February Midtown Lunch special sandwich from Cer Te (on 55th btw. 5+6th), submitted by the Chubby Chinese Girl herself. Duck and hoisin sauce. I don’t need to say more, but I will. Marinated duck, chili sauce, hoisin sauce, cilantro, cucumber, and pickled radishes on a baguette for $8.95. Yes, please.
I’ll admit it, I’m a sucker for a 99 cent slice of pizza. To my way of thinking most slices in Midtown are frankly mediocre, so I’d rather not pay $2.75-$3.00 for a sub par piece of pizza when I could pay 99 cents instead. Alas working in the Rock Center area, I’m a little cut off from the sub $1 slice love (at least until the new branch of 2 Bros rolls into the Diamond District later this spring). When I heard that there was a deli in K-Town serving up 99 cent slices on 33rd street, just two subway stops away, I knew that I had to check it out.
Posted by Brownie at 11:45 am, February 4th, 2010 under K Food Pizza, Pizza, Review.
Some people take their medical advice from oh, I don’t know, a doctor, but when I have a cold I know the only things that are going to help me kick it are rest and plenty of fluids. And by plenty of fluids I mean a giant bowl of spicy soup. And when I need a giant bowl of spicy soup recommendation in Midtown, I head straight for the ML forums.
Lunch’er “Shivery McPickles” found herself in a similar predicament last fall. When I saw that she had commended the cold curing properties of the Hakata Ramen from Menchanko-Tei, I knew I finally had to give the reigning ML Reader’s Choice for Best Japanese Soup a try.
Posted by Brownie at 11:45 am, February 3rd, 2010 under Menchanko Tei, Review.
By now it’s no secret that the Godfather of Midtown is leaving us for the left coast. Like you could somehow find a pocket of deliciousness in L.A. that rivals Midtown Manhattan. As if! The one thing that we should all remember about the Godfather is that he has a penchant for cheap Chinese food. Those crunchy, left coast, salad eaters won’t ever convert him. He’ll always be a fat man at heart. There’s plenty of evidence pointing to Zach’s love of cheap Chinese food, so when an email from Lunch’er “Ethan” recently recommended the General Tso’s chicken from Alpha Fusion I knew it would make the perfect jealousy inducing post for Zach’s first day away from Midtown.
Posted by Danny at 11:45 am, February 1st, 2010 under Alpha Fusion, Out of Bounds, Review.
So as painful as it is to say, this is my last week of full time Midtown Lunching. Don’t worry… the site isn’t going anywhere, but I’m moving to L.A. so this week I’m making sure to hit all the places I’ll miss the most. A “Farewell Lunch Tour” if you will. Here’s where I’ll be today…
For me this day is bittersweet. I’m excited to move to the west coast and start Midtown Lunch: Los Angeles, but I’m also sad to leave Midtown. That’s right. Next week I won’t be working in Midtown anymore, and I’m SAD about it. When I first started this site it was about “Finding Lunch in the Food Wasteland of Midtown Manhattan.” Well, after almost four years of eating lunch here I can tell you… this is no wasteland. In fact, I would venture to say there is no better 400 block area to eat lunch in the entire country. The amount of variety crammed into such a small place, there for the taking- provided you’re willing to walk more than 2 blocks away from your office.
And isn’t that what separates us from them? A willingness to walk somewhere (an activity that is good for you) to stuff our faces with amazingly tasty lunches (an activity that is decidedly not good for you.) This week was especially tough because I couldn’t fit all my favorites into one week. Margon, Cafe Cello, Cafe Zaiya, Woorijip, Newsstand Indian, XPL, all the new school carts (Cravings, Schnitzel & Things, Treats Truck, etc.), Hallo Berlin, Cer Te, Yakitori Totto, all the ramen spots (Sapporo, Menchanko Tei, Men Kui Tei), Crisp, Olympic Pita, El Sabroso in the freight elevator hallway… the list could go on and on.
It was tough choosing my final week of lunches… with one notable exception. There was never a question as to where I was going to end the week.
Posted by Zach Brooks at 11:45 am, January 29th, 2010 under Farewell Lunch Tour, Review.
So as painful as it is to say, this is my last week of full time Midtown Lunching. Don’t worry… the site isn’t going anywhere, but I’m moving to L.A. so this week I’m making sure to hit all the places I’ll miss the most. A “Farewell Lunch Tour” if you will. Here’s where I’ll be today…
It’s no secret that I’ve always been down with the Jamaican Dutchy cart (on 51st and 7th Ave.) Since the very first day they opened, almost 3 years ago, I’ve been a fan of their jerk chicken, sweet and sour chicken, oxtails, and curried goat- despite the long waits. But it wasn’t until a lunch back in October that my feelings for the Dutchy went from schoolboy crush, to complete and total adulation. It was the first day I tried their stew peas.
Posted by Zach Brooks at 11:45 am, January 28th, 2010 under Farewell Lunch Tour, Review.
So as painful as it is to say, this is my last week of full time Midtown Lunching. Don’t worry… the site isn’t going anywhere, but I’m moving to L.A. so this week I’m making sure to hit all the places I’ll miss the most. A “Farewell Lunch Tour” if you will. Here’s where I’ll be today…
How could I leave Midtown without hitting up the winners of Street Meat Palooza and Street Meat Palooza 2. I had a platter from the Famous Halal Guys on 53rd and 6th recently, so I feel pretty satiated on that front… but it’s been awhile since I hit up Kwik Meal (on 45th and 6th.) And how could I leave Midtown without saying goodbye to the legend that is Muhammed Rahman.
Posted by Zach Brooks at 11:50 am, January 27th, 2010 under Farewell Lunch Tour, Review.
So as painful as it is to say, this is my last week of full time Midtown Lunching. Don’t worry… the site isn’t going anywhere, but I’m moving to L.A. so this week I’m making sure to hit all the places I’ll miss the most. A “Farewell Lunch Tour” if you will. Here’s where I’ll be today…
The Original “Biriyani Cart”, circa 2007
I still remember the day that the Biriyani Cart went from being just another chicken and rice cart with a few Indian dishes tossed in, to the media superstars you now know and love. Kati Roll had just been forced to move their extremely popular operation from 46th btw. 6+7th, to 39th btw. 5+6th. And it was in that moment that Meru, the owner of the Biriyani Cart, had the greatest idea of all time. He threw up a sign on his cart for “kati rolls”, and a legend was born.
I still think of Kati Roll as the industry standard (their freshly fried paratha is out of control good), and my original post about Kati Roll was the most read post on Midtown Lunch for a long long time. But the Biriyani Cart is one of my favorite carts in Midtown… and they’ve had their share of accolades as well. It would be impossible to choose a favorite… so, I guess I’ll have to go both!
Posted by Zach Brooks at 10:15 am, January 26th, 2010 under Farewell Lunch Tour, Review.
So as painful as it is to say, this is my last week of full time Midtown Lunching. Don’t worry… the site isn’t going anywhere, but I’m moving to L.A. so this week I’m making sure to hit all the places I’ll miss the most. A “Farewell Lunch Tour” if you will. Here’s where I’ll be today…
Since Noodle Bar opened Momofuku has always been synonymous with the East Village. The food, the style, the attitude, the music… nobody would mistake any of the Momofukus for uptown restaurants. But that didn’t stop me from occasionally mentioning my favorite New York City empire on Midtown Lunch. The first time was in June of 2006, in a post about Sapporo (on 49th btw. 6+7th), and on many other occasions I practically begged David Chang to bring his pork buns to Midtown- both on this site and on other sites.
Well this year my dream finally came true when Momofuku started serving a limited menu in the mezzanine of the Chambers Hotel on 56th btw. 5+6th (a preview of Ma Peche, their new Vietnamese influenced restaurant opening sometime this year.) And in a move that practically made my head explode in disbelief, even offered a $10 “Midtown Lunch” menu of specials for those of us who are financially challenged (aka cheap bastards.)
How could I leave without stopping by one last time…
Posted by Zach Brooks at 11:55 am, January 25th, 2010 under Farewell Lunch Tour, Review.
Now that Downtown has its very own section of the site, what are we going to post on Fridays at 10am? Answer… how about a new column devoted to those lunches just south of the ML boundaries. Please give a warm welcome to Jason Lam from the blog Me So Hungry. Every Friday at 10am he’ll post about lunches in Murray Hill south, Grammercy, Flatiron, and everything in between… or as we’ll call it from now on: Flatiron Lunch.
First off, I’d like to thank Zach for this opportunity to share my lunch eating experience with you guys. I hope to share some of my favorite spots, try new things, learn some stuff and eat good food. Enjoy and salivate. Recently I stopped in at Curry in a Hurry in Murray (Curry) Hill (that’s a mouthful.) Amongst the many other Indian restaurants in this area, this place has a wackier facade. Slanted blue wall and a neon sign with twisty Bauhaus-style font. On the inside, you’ll see a steam tray counter with a full array of curries. To the side, a tandoor oven and tava (griddle) in plain view where you can watch them cook naan and other breads to order. I was pretty confident I did the right thing by getting just a dosa, but I was dead wrong.
Posted by Zach Brooks at 10:00 am, January 22nd, 2010 under Flatiron Lunch, Review.
