Midtown Lunch

We’ve done the big kingpin chains and the aggressors in the 6th Ave Pizza War of 2012 (voted silliest war this side of the War of Jenkins’ Ear by the United Nations Committee on War Naming in recess, eating $1 slices at Roll and Go and wishing they’d gone to NYC Fried Chicken instead). When you think of pizza, if you’re lucky, you think of terrible Italian stereotypes that play off a mix of charming historical quirks and reclamation of blatant ethnic stereotypes that actually serve decent slices. Joey Pepperoni’s, which took over the space, format, and food that was previously known as 2-and-a-Can, sits across the street from the Pizza War battleground, almost above the fray of the 75 cent slice. Is 2-and-a-Can’s loss a pox upon the $1 slice space at this location, or is it just a matter of enough Italian-American colloquialisms to fuel the buck slice turnover? Fugeddaboudit. Let’s siddown, kid.

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Good news for lunchers in the mid-50s – Dainobu Japanese deli is opening an outpost on 56th St between 5th & 6th. Whether its their fried oysters, reasonably priced bento boxes, or their spin on mapo tofu, the original location at 47th & Lex has earned itself a good number of fans. We took a peek inside of the work-in-progress space, and while it doesn’t look close to opening, there’s definitely progress being made.

After a tricky day in Midtown earlier in the week, Mac Truck didn’t give up and returned later in the week, selling mac and cheese on 45th, just east of Fifth Avenue. It appears to be a one-man operation, and the guy running the show was pretty stoked to be in Midtown. Although this was just his first week out, and we all know first weeks can be bumpy, I couldn’t wait to check out the truck. Who doesn’t love mac and cheese?!
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The Tuk Tuk Boy team has certainly been busy over the summer. Not only have they improved their pad thai at their original location, but they’ve expanded Eastward, opening not one, but two new carts along Park Ave. Not only that, I re-sampled their dishes and am happy to report that they’ve made significant strides in improving the overall taste and quality of their food.

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Tabata Ramen Photo courtesy of Fork in the Road

• Tabata is now serving a new black sesame ramen [Fork in the Road]
• You may regret finishing an entire sandwich at Smush [Ramen & Friends]
• So sad!  Bi Lokma has closed [Zagat Buzz]
• Shocker: Guy Fieri’s American Kitchen & Bar isn’t serious eats [SENY]
• Pizza by Cer Te’s pomodoro is a solid slice of pizza [SENY]

f 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 had been eyeing O’Casey’s (41st btw. 5th and Madison) for a while. I had seen it several times near Yagura et al., and I noticed it had been around for a while (since 1974). As as an Irish Pub lover, I was intrigued. Then an O’Casey’s corner touter drew me in with their sign, and I asked if they had happy hour specials. “I’m sure they do” was the reply. I’m usually wary of those super-bored-looking human sign holders; it just shows how dependent the restaurant is on tourists. But Joy Curry does it, where prices aren’t bad and I (and several other Lunch’ers) think the food is good. So I let O’Casey’s have the benefit of the doubt and invited a group of coworkers to for after work bevvies since it’s right around the corner from our office.

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An intrepid ML reader tipped us off about Cafe Metro on 36th and Broadway doing $1 off pasta on Fridays. It’s easy to turn up one’s nose at generic delis so high it achieves escape velocity, but who knows if it’s a must-do? Hell, the tipster noted it was amazing quantity for what you pay. Five toppings for $7.70? Maybe we’re missing something. Maybe it’s worth checking out.  And I was feeling extra confident after Chris H’s positive review of the new Taste of Asia sandwiches. Worst comes to worst,  it’ll just end up being a public service to confirm that it’s still Cafe Metro.

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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.

With so many options in Curry Hill, everyone has their favorite or, really, favorites. Favorite dosas. Favorite buffet to stay and eat. Favorite thali set. Favorite kathi roll. Favorite take out. Favorite all-round (mine is still Bhatti). With such a high density of Indian restaurants in a couple blocks, it is totally reasonable to have a different favorite in every category in just Curry Hill. Curry Express has always been my favorite for buffet-style take-out. It strikes me as a little bit cheaper and more laid back than Curry In A Hurry.

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Notch your belts, take your Pepto, and gird your loins, people. Stating numbers that should surprise absolutely nobody at all, Shake Shack has posted their calorie counts in their restaurants. Attributed to opening their 15th nationwide restaurant, the chain has reached a numerical threshold requiring them to do so thanks to NYC law. The counts have been available online since April 2011, surely being visited frequently by health-conscious mobile device users within Shake Shack’s legendary long lines.

So lets talk hard numbers…

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