Midtown Lunch

I’m always up for trying a street meat cart that comes recommended by a reader, so when Lunch’er “Matt” sent in that account of Kebab Express (on 55th and 6th) I knew eventually I would have to try it (at the very least, as part of Street Meat Palooza 3!) But once I saw the YouTube video, I decided I couldn’t wait any longer. If these guys spent half as much time on their food as they did making that video (it’s 7 minutes and 20 seconds worth of photos) it couldn’t be bad, right!?

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As much I love meat on a stick, I admit I haven’t been back to Kushi Q (on 3rd Ave. btw. 45+46th) since they first opened almost 3 years ago. I liked it enough, for a fast food-under $10 yakitori spot, but it’s always tough for me to revisit a place. What can I say? Midtown lunch is a tough a gig. :-)

But when I heard they had opened a new location in the CitiGroup Center basement food court (on 53rd btw. Lex+3rd), I figured it was a good excuse for some fast food meat on a stick action… and it turns out they’ve made some positive changes in two years (go figure!)

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A few weeks ago Dave Cook from Eating in Translation posted about a meal he had at Gan Eden by Jacob, a (kind of) new Glatt Kosher restaurant on 47th btw. 5+6th. He actually discovered that the restaurant isn’t exactly new… it used to be run by Jacob’s father, before closing about 4 years ago. It reopened a month ago, and we hit the place up together (two guys can eat more than one) to sample the menu.  I don’t actually know much about Bukharian food- my experience is limited to Taam Tov (also on 47th btw. 5+6th) and some manty I had at the Choice Eats last year.  But I was eager to stuff my face learn, and Dave proved to be a great tour guide.

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I was beyond excited when Chicken House (the dirty fried chicken joint on 36th btw. 7+8th) reopened post renovation with a whole new Vietnamese section of their menu.  The ownership, which is Vietnamese (natch), hasn’t changed… they just decided to take advantage of our complete lack of decent Vietnamese options in Midtown by adding pho, bun, and banh mi to their menu of fried everything.  I finally made it over there a few days ago to sample the menu… and while I wish I could say everything was amazing (it most certainly wasn’t) there was some worthwhile goodness.

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As much I hate Chipotle, there is no denying that their model has proven to be incredibly successful. The chose your protein, carrying method, and toppings, assembly line structure allows for the high volume, quick service that a popular lunch destination in Midtown needs to be profitable. Meze Grill (on 8th Ave. btw. 55th+56th) opened their “Middle Eastern Chipotle” back in August, and it looks like Pump Energy Food is moving in that direction as well. But my favorite new ode to Chipotle has got to be Naya Express- the new quick service Lebanese spot on 3rd Ave. btw. 43+44th. It’s got the same assembly set up, and customizable menu… but with one noticeable difference. The food is really tasty.

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Photo courtesy of @UrbanLobster

The Urban Lobster Shack’s Twitter account has been pretty active since they opened their new Midtown location. Just before New Year’s they took over the little take out space in the basement food court on 3rd Ave. btw. 49+50th, that used to be occupied by Yorganic, and since then they’ve been sending out messages about mascots, shrimp & mussels lunch specials, and of course the $10 lobster roll. In this world you always get you pay for, but the under $10 lobster roll has a special place in my heart. I wrote about the one at Fairway for Serious Eats, and always dreamed that eventually Midtown would get its own.

Did I expect beautiful big lumps of lobster meat, no filler, and a fully intact claw adorning the top? Of course not. I’d settle for a decent size sandwich, that tastes somewhat like lobster. (What can I say… for $10 you have to lower your standards.) Thankfully Urban Lobster Shack doesn’t disappoint.

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When Lan Sheng first put up their sign up back in September (on 39th btw. 5+6th), I was pretty skeptical. Were these people crazy? Opening a Sichuan restaurant across the street from New York Times 2 starred Szechuan Gourmet seemed like suicide. How could they possibly match up? The regular menu had some tasty looking stuff on it, but their lunch specials seemed a bit Americanized in contrast to S.G.- which offers a good number of their best Sichuan specialties as lunch specials (twice cooked pork belly with chili and leeks I’m looking in your general direction…)

I suppose with S.G. packed every day for lunch they could hope for some spillover, but after trying out the place just before the New Year I think it’s safe to say they’re not hoping for spillover. They have the potential to be doing some major customer poaching from their rivals across the street.

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I’m kind of embarrassed that it took me this long to post about Zibetto Espresso Bar. Every time coffee gets mentioned on the site, somebody posts about it in the comments. And it was nominated for Best Coffee in the 2009 Readers’ Choice Poll. It would be forgivable if Zibetto was just about good coffee, since this is a lunch site. But Zibetto is not your average Midtown coffee spot. It’s a nod to the coffee culture in Italy, where your morning pick me up is enjoyed standing up at a bar (ideally) alongside a cornetto (think croissant, but better because it’s Italian.) And most importantly for our purposes, they serve sandwiches.

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Considering how burger obsessed NYC is, it still amazing to me that Black Shack (the new burger spot on Lexington btw. 37+38th) managed to fly under the radar all this time. Fork in the Road broke the news on Wednesday, and yesterday I headed over to check the place out. The whole thing is less surprising once you see the joint.  With only a paper “Black Shack” sign in the window, it would be real easy to walk right by this place and not notice it. Black Shack is owned by the same folks that opened 67 Burger in Fort Greene- but unlike that place, which has 14 different toppings and a “beer milkshake”, Black Shack is a completely pared-down old-school fast-food burger joint.

Check out what they’re serving, after the jump.

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After my out–of-control delicious tongue taco experience in San Francisco a few weeks ago, I was ready to get back on the lengua train here in Midtown.  Easiest place for that? The El Rey del Sabor cart.  If you haven’t been yet (there are now three of them in Midtown), what the hell are you waiting for? There’s one on 60th and 3rd Ave., 49th and 3rd, and 43rd and 6th.  I decided to hit up the one on 49th, because it gets the least amount of love! (And yet the highfalutin, more expensive Pampano Taqueria across the street, is a mob scene. Figures.)

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