Midtown Lunch

After a rough time of it yesterday, Mac Truck returned to Midtown today, parking on 45th, just east of Fifth Avenue. Midtown Lunch’er hungry was on the scene and has been commenting on the buffalo mac n cheese (today’s special) in the comments from yesterday’s post. Anyone else check it out yet? Join the conversation in yesterday’s comments!

Here we stand at Checkpoint Charlie, the literal and physical border between the great antagonists. For too long has their mutual anger stewed across this otherwise bucolic stretch of earth. Here we stand at a time none thought possible: the end of hostilities. The de-escalation of forces. The boys are going back home from their long, lonely watches, each side waiting for the other to perform the unthinkable. The threat of mutually assured destruction is seen by many now as a thing of the past. The Churchillian forboding state is now lifted. Ladies and gentlemen: the Cold War of pizza has come to an official end, not with a bang but a whimper – or a handshake. 2 Bros and Pizza King, next door to each other on 6th Ave just shy of 38th, have ended the 75-cent slice by mutual agreement which some suspect constitutes illegal price-fixing. While consumers may bemoan not having that extra quarter in their pockets, who knows what kind of damage this price drop has done to the pizza ecosystem? Now that the dust has settled, we can see if the damage has persisted back into the new $1 order.

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I’ve been talking up Troy Turkish Grill for a while now in comments on Profiled Lunchers and on the forums, but it’s been high time that it gets the proper ML treatment. Despite them being out of bounds (40th and 9th) I’ve ordered from them in the past, and I’ve been really impressed by their gyro in terms of flavor, quality, and quantity (even though it pains me that a Turkish restaurant doesn’t call a Turkish dish by its Turkish name – doner kebab, people!) Having been to some pretty awesome Middle Eastern restaurants from all over the Islamic world in South Paterson, NJ (not really worth the schlep from Manhattan but good stuff for us Garden Staters) there’s always been decent variations on doner kebab/gyro/etc. Some are crispier, some are juicier, some are forgettable. It’s been a while since my last order, though – does Troy hold its own or is it all Greek to us?

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Do you wonder what the ML contributors do when they’re not eating lunch in Midtown? (We’re actually pretty easy to stalk – Especially if you were at the Vendys!)

Pouring Prosecco for the Kelvin Slushies at The Vendy Awards last weekend. Photo by Brownie.

Rachel had vegan twinkies fron Cinnamon Snail at the Vendys, Blondie is excited for the Village Voice Brooklyn Pour beer festival, Brownie wrote about Kelvin’s boozy slushies they demoed at the Vendys, Brian had his favorite hot dog to date at Dominick’s in Queens and I at my way through…wait for it… The Vendys!

Elsewhere in the ML universe… Andrea gets a first look at the cheap fried chicken downtown at Dirty Bird, Jamie checked out the tortas at Mole Poblano in Philadelphia’s Italian Market and Zach explores the Pakistani options at Zam Zam Market in Los Angeles.

So, this just happened.  Thanks to everyone who nominated their favorite vendors!  Results will be posted in the next week or two…

Men Kui Tei. It’s gotta be.  Just as we suspected last week when we posted about the secret Japanese restaurant he had alluded to in a New York Times article.  Some commenters pointed out that Men Kui Tei (on 56th btw. 5+6th) had too many white customers, was too well known, and didn’t have a good enough bowl of ramen to be the place.  But the actual evidence is just too overwhelming.  The formica tables and the word for word menu items he mentioned in the article were enough for us to suspect, but once we spotted this in the back we knew we had our place.  Sure it’s not a “cash register”, but it’s close enough.  Case closed.

On a beautiful early autumn day last week, I went looking for something I hadn’t tried before. In the mood for something street meat-ish, I headed for Rice the Great on 50th and 6th, and surprisingly, I almost couldn’t find it. That corner has become such a lunch hotspot that the cart seemed engulfed by the throngs of people standing around the many lunch options packed in a very small area. Flanked by Big D’s Grub and Crisp on Wheels, not to mention the other trucks/carts that flanked those trucks, I almost missed Rice the Great’s cart altogether. Luckily for me, I waded through the crowds to order a lunch I would definitely return for again and again.
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Thanks to Wined and Dined for pointing this one out to us via twitter… the “Mac Truck” is parked on 55th btw. Park+Madison today. Nothing on their website yet, so early adopters let us know how it is in the comments.  Also on the Twitter Tracker today, Okadaman is on 47th btw Mad+Park, Toum is on 47th btw. Park+Vanderbilt, Hibachi Heaven is on 46th & 6th, Phil’s Steaks is on 45th & Madison, Cinnamon Snail is on 55th & Broadway, Crisp on Wheels is on 53rd btw. Park+Madison, Domo Taco is on 47th & Park, Kimchi Truck is on 55th btw. 6+7th, Mexicue is on 47th & Lex, and Red Hook Lobster Pound Truck is on 40th & 5th next to the NYPL.  UPDATE: Of course the Mac Truck got kicked out of their spot on 55th. We’ve added them to the ML Twitter Tracker so use that to keep tabs on their new location.

Last week, LT Burger (40th btw. 5th and 6th) opened just outside of Bryant Park last week just two days later than expected. The original LT Burger is in Long Island’s Sag Harbor, and was getting some compliments from Lunch’ers who had tried their burgers there. Although I knew there were only a few choices on the menu under $10, I wanted to see what this place was all about. I thought hell, if Guy Fieri is getting so much attention with a $25 chicken parm, LT Burger deserves a shot too.

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