Midtown Lunch

I have no doubt that this review is going to be laden with double entendres. And if I don’t point them out as we go, I’m sure all our commenters will. The snickers can start with the name of Certé’s October sandwich, Two Balls. It’s actually two sandwiches for the price of one. You get a parmesan meatball slider and a spinach knish meatball slider. The word “slider” had me concerned that I wouldn’t get my fill of balls. I was anticipating two small bites, but I should have known better.

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If you haven’t had a chance to listen to Food is the New Rock, Zach’s podcast featuring bands talking about food and food people talking about music, this week is a good week to start.  Seminal noise rock band Deerhoof is the guest, and their lead singer Satomi Matsuzaki recommends Totto Ramen as her favorite ramen in NYC.  She also talks about her first visit to Chuck E Cheese, and her favorite places to eat in Japan (if such things interest you.)  Past guests include Mike D from the Beastie Boys, David Chang, Marcus Samuelsson, Henry Rollins, Amateur Gourmet Adam Roberts, My Morning Jacket and Michael Voltaggio.  And all the episodes are available for free in iTunes>>>

The brand spanking new Crif Dogs food truck has been stirring up conversation on Twitter this weekend. The truck launched two days ago and according to a source at the East Village restaurant, has been parking in the Soho area. Plan seems to be to start down there and then explore other neighborhoods soon. This truck needs to come to Midtown and stat! Let’s all get on their Twitter feed and beg them for some deep-fried bacon wrapped hot dogs!!!

The ML Team noticed the The Tamale Lady has been missing quite a bit from outside of the Mexican Embassy (39th btw. Madison & Park) since we (re)visited her in August. A reader was also wondering where she went, and emailed to inquire if she is still selling tamales in this location. Speculation arose that the new (and licensed) Antojitos Mexicanos cart might have something to do with her disappearance. We asked the folks at Antojitos Mexicanos if they had seen her, and they said she had come earlier in the day for only a few hours. Have you seen her around these past few weeks in front of the Mexican Embassy? If so… what time and day?  We’re all for new Mexican carts… but not if it chases away our beloved tamales.

We took a quick visit to Ramini Espresso Bar a while back, run by the team that brought the neighborhood-deli Artichoke Cafe, whose only major outlier was being an awesome supplier of macarons. Since their soft open followed by a less-soft, more-actual opening, not much food has yet to materialize. That’s probably because they left out anything that wasn’t a pastry. Artichoke’s savory offerings weren’t much to write home about, but it sure was always a good excuse to get a macaron for dessert with your create-your-own salad.

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Starting today, you may notice a void on 53rd and Park Avenue. The Midtown cart of Vendy Award-winning King of Falafel and Schwarma will be off the streets for the next few weeks for a much needed vacation. The original Astoria location will still be open, but you’ll have to get your falafel fill somewhere else in Midtown until they return on November 5. Even the King deserves a break!

So Close to Javits Center. Photo courtesy of Eataku

• 2012 Guide to Eating Near Comic-Con from a Marvel talent scout [Eataku via GS]
• Noodies Thai Kitchen has a solid soup lunch special [Chubby Chinese Girl]
• The Rachel Ray Dog Food Truck is coming to Columbus Circle [Eater]
• Glaze Teriyaki gets caught shilling [Eater]
• 4Food is expanding into Japan [Eater]

If you like to eat, chances are you like to drink (read: a lot of you are freakin’ lushes), so I thought maybe it was time to introduce a happy hour column to the site. Every week, our Happy Hour Correspondent posts about a different bar in Midtown that fits the Midtown Lunch mentality: unhealthy food, not lame (unless it’s lame in a cool way), and most importantly… cheap.

I’ve been both pleased and surprised at the last two Happy Hours I’ve tried in Midtown. Boomer Esiason’s had great appetizer deals, and Vander Bar had the best wing deal I’ve seen in Midtown. I had looked for past reviews for Figaro (44th btw 5th+6th), and I found a blurb in 2009 about a Halloween open bar, saying it was the sister bar to Judge Roy Bean, which got an OK review. I thought I would give it a try and hope that I could go three for three.

I went with a buddy and we had a lot to talk about, so Figaro ended up being great for that. The music wasn’t too bad: think Ben Harper and Billy Joel… and nothing you had to scream over.

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If the enigma of eating empanadas from an anonymous cart hasn’t yet faded, you’ve got another option. While the loss of Shachi’s on 35th (which is being replaced by what appears to be another generic deli, albeit a tiny one) leaves us without permanent empanada options in southwest Midtown, the Nameless Empanada Cart has a second cart located on 37th, right next to 8th. On a crisp October day when nerds converge on Manhattan in greater numbers than normal, what better way to celebrate by seeing what differences four blocks can make to the empanadaverse?

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