Midtown Lunch

It’s been a good week for Café China. The hot Szechuan restaurant not only received a Michelin star this week, but they also found themselves included in Time Out’s Annual 100 Best issue, which was released yesterday. Sadly, Cafe China’s $9 spicy diced rabbit dish is TONY’s only real ML option (leaving me to wonder how it stacks up against Lan Sheng’s version.) Other Midtown dishes on Time Out’s list are either past the $10 mark (the cassoulet at Chez Napoleon, the fried pizza at Don Antonio) or are not available for lunch (the Shacked Cheese at Reunion Bar, the Spicy Fries with Wasabi Cream at Mr. Robata). Still, I’ve managed to find some mighty tasty bites from their previous lists, so if you’re feeling like a splurge, these might be worth a look. You can check out their entire list at Time Out’s website.

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The 2011 edition of Time Out New York’s annual 100 Best Dishes and Drinks issue was released today and there were just two inclusions from Midtown Lunch proper – the fried chicken at Bian Dang and the pulled pork sandwich at Num Pang. The others nearby are all slightly out of bounds, including the Dave sandwich at City Sandwich, a Halloween sub from No. 7 Sub Shop, chaat from Dhaba, and two expensive dishes from Eataly. Also, for you splurger vegetarian-types, there’s also the inclusion of Tenpenny’s roasted vegetables. You can check out the entire list at Time Out’s website.

And if you’re wondering whether or not it’s possible to eat through the entire list in a year, it is.  I’ve managed to do it the past two years in a row (here is video proof), and plan on taking it on again this year over on my website Eat This NY if you want to play along.

Don’t be surprised if you see a few familiar names while flipping through the pages of this week’s Time Out New York. It’s the Lunch issue so naturally they came to us for help.  Blondie, Brownie, Andrea from Downtown Lunch and I each chipped in to represent our corners of town, recommending  a quick bite, a business lunch and delivery for each of our neighborhoods. In addition to the familiar Midtown Lunch spots like Trini Paki Boys Cart, Uncle Gussy’s and Kati Roll Company, we covered a few nice places for a splurge, including Becco, The National and Artisana. You can see the whole set of lunch ideas from all over town on the Time Out New York website with bonus recommendations for the Village, Williamsburg, Chinatown and more.

Time Out New York released their annual 100 Best Dishes and Drinks list, and they managed to include a few worthwhile Midtown Lunch’ish options worth pointing out… like the Ma Po Tofu from Szechuan Gourmet (Best Pork), the Hakata kuro ramen at Hide Chan (Best Soups and Stews), the Gujarati thali at the just out of bounds Bhojan (Best Veggies), the Great White Way concrete only available at the Times Square Shake Shack (Best Sweets), and jars of spekuloos from the Wafels and Dinges Truck (Best Condiments). And if you’re into liquid lunches the bars at Ma Peche and the Lambs Club got mentioned in the best cocktail category. Check out the complete list on the Time Out New York website.

Time Out New York’s Cheap Eats issue hits the newsstands today, and in case you weren’t sure that it’s meant to compete with the New York Magazine cheap eats issue it kicks off with this message from the Editor: “A certain other Cheap Eats issue this week features the foods of New York, but comes with a punch line: “all* for under $25.” And then at the asterisk: “*Okay, almost all.” $25? Cheap? Last time we checked, a $16 sandwich from Le Cirque (“as God intended, with a fine glass of the best Meursault”) is not cheap.” (I love how everyone is picking on the sandwich from Le Cirque.) Just like Midtown Lunch, everything in the Time Out NY issue is under $10, and unlike NYMag they’ve listed a decent number of Midtown Lunch options.

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Time Out New York Kids jumps on the street food bandwagon, recommending Midtown favorites The Treats Truck & Wafels and Dinges plus the Ball Field Vendors, and Sammy’s Halal as great places to take your kids this summer. How my kid wasn’t interviewed for this piece, I will never know.  [via Serious Eats: New York]

This is actually kind of cool… Question #29 in Time Out New York’s quiz to determine how much of a food snob you are:

You get your lunch from cheap street carts…

a) as much as you can. Last year you were front row at the Vendys.
b) never. Those things are filthy!
c) only on a Friday when you’re down to your last $5.
d) if Midtown Lunch says you should.

You get maximum food snob points (3) for choosing A or D. Nice.  Take the full quiz here