Midtown Lunch

TS Ma, which hasn’t gotten much notice from us in the past, has shuttered and is changing things up a bit. An anonymous tipster (who may be my boss’ boss’ boss, so if this article doesn’t get published I’m out of a job – no pressure) got word to me that the new sign was put up just about yesterday. Now renamed Fusion 9th, it looks like they’ve moved from Chinese and sushi probably not worth eating to pan-Asian. I’m sure we can safely replace “Fusion” with “Multiple cuisine hodgepodge” in our minds, though, given the window.
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Every Tuesday we turn over the site to a different Midtown Lunch’er for his or her recommendations for the best lunch in Midtown. This week it’s Enoch, a Finanacial technology analyst who- and I’m not sure about this, but I’m willing to go out on a limb and say- I think likes bacon.

Name: Enoch

Age: 27

Occupation: Financial Technology Analyst (and Blogger)

Where in Midtown do you work? Midtown East (45th and Lex)

Favorite Kind of Food: Bacon. Bacon. Bacon. Oh, and steak.

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Anything green

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Midtown: A slice of Chicken Chipotle and a Grandma’s at Little Italy Pizza (on 43rd btw. Mad+5th). Lamb burger with Belgian fries at The Bistro Truck. Spicy Hakata Ramen with an egg at Hide-Chan (on 52nd btw. 2+3rd)

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If your food-based retail establishment has windows clouded with steam and ten or fifteen people in line, it’s probably a safe bet that you’re doing soup en masse and tres proper. I’ve waxed romantic about Soup Spot and its souperiority (I swear, this is the only time in the column I’ll use that word) and how great it is during a heat wave. To me, though, the real measure of soup is how well it works in the cold. How well does the Spot stack up against its big-name chain competition and the generic deli onslaught? Dip the ladle below the jump to find out more.
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We here at Midtown Lunch are fans of buffets and gaming the by-the-lb buffet system. But every now and then, a by-the-lb comes along with something special, and there are those of us who have been waiting for the inevitable: a super fancy steam table buffet. And that has happened with Treehaus (3rd Ave+51st St). Opening two weeks ago, Treehaus features everything you get from the other places: two steam tables, noodle bar, salad bar, drinks section, snack section, along with an odd cleaning supply area stocked with Mrs. Meyers (in case you need to do laundry in the office?) But look closer and you’ll notice these aren’t your regular steam table options.

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Since the launch of NYPL’s Lunch Hour exhibit back in June, some of the city’s best gourmet food trucks have alternated parking at the library’s public plaza along Fifth Avenue during the lunch hour (11-3). The rotation will continue into the winter with some new trucks on the roster, including Souvlaki GR, Nuchas, Chinese Mirch, Mexicue, and Milk Truck. One of the truck owners told us they will be here until at least April. One more excuse to head to the library’s free must-see exhibit before it ends on February 17. Check out the food truck schedule here>>

• Get 50% off Bonchon in Midtown [Scoutmob]
• The Mac Truck has potential [Tasty Eating]
• Shake Shack has introduced a new hot dog and a new drink [Eater]
• There are a lot of failed food trucks for sale on Ebay [HuffPo]

A new kiosk has opened in the Gray Bar passageway of Grand Central Station – just outside Beer Table Pantry and Joe’s Coffee. If you ever crave a taste of the artisanal food being produced in King’s County and don’t feel like transferring to the L train, this is the spot for you.

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You may have heard rumors floating around that Wafels & Dinges will be opening up a brick and mortar café sometime in the near future. Well, we spoke to waffle master himself Thomas DeGeest, who confirms that the store will be downtown and is targeted to open in the spring of this year. He’s given us some more details, including that the 30-something seat shop will be designed by Belgian architect D+DSAO and will feature lots of neon! On the food side of things, the usual sweet and savory waffles will be on offer in addition to some new menu items, like grab ‘n’ go options, coffee from Brooklyn Roasting Company, and ice cream and shakes (like speculoos and Belgian chocolate).

If you just can’t wait until the spring, the truck will be testing out one of their new menu items today. The “Das Guten Wafel” is similar to the chewy and sweet liege waffle, but cooked with farmer’s ham and Raclette cheese inside and topped with scallions. They’ll only be available today at the Kastaar truck on 32nd and Park from 1-3pm, or while supplies last. Remember, this is a menu item that will only be available in the café, so today could potentially be your only chance to try this savory waffle in Midtown.

Every Friday we go south of the ML boundaries in search of a delicious lunch. Sometimes it’s Murray Hill south or the Flatiron District, sometimes Gramercy and everything in between- but we just like to call it Flatiron Lunch.

Recently, a friend who works in the northern boundaries of Flatiron Lunch asked me for udon recommendations. From her location, I would probably recommend she head to K-town, but it made me think of Ennju which I passed many months ago.

What can I say about Ennju? They manage to cover most of the bases of Japanese food with a mix of premade and made to order dishes. While the online menu will give you an idea of all they have, but I tried to take photos of most of the stations to try to illustrate how many options they have. Before you even walk in, you will see several photo menus in the front window.

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Certe (55th btw 5th+6th) and Pizza by Certe (56th btw Park+Lex) are great go-to for savory options, but they aren’t slacking when it comes to picking up an afternoon treat. Their latest sweet is a Chocolate Cherry Pecan Lizardi and what’s wonderful about it is that your gluten-free coworkers can get in on the action!

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