Midtown Lunch

Finally… truck visits the underappreciated wasteland of the 30s! Even better, a midtown first-timer! As welcoming as I am towards options in this southern tier of midtown, many ML Lunch’ers and contributors have been less than impressed by the steadily-more-frequent visitor, Domo Taco (I for one really liked ’em back when I was just a wee Lunch’er, so long as you order the right things off their admittedly limited menu). Taco Bite, which made mention of coming to Midtown last month, finally made good on their word today. Alas, though, when Taco Bite and Domo Taco literally square off back-to-back against each other – no, really – is this newcomer’s promise of authenticity and options going to help give the truck better midtown roots? Is Domo Taco still the king of the tortillas (but only if you get the chicken tacos)? Dive in to this Jets vs. Sharks-esque taco-off and let’s take a bite.

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The TV show Smash is filming in Midtown today, taking up quite a bit of parking space around 44th and 6th… which could wreak havoc on food truck parking. Show your support! Cinnamon Snail is at 55th and Broadway, and Kimchi Taco 55th St. b/w 6th & 7th. Valduccis is at 52nd and Park, Crisp on Wheels is on 53rd btw Park and Madison, and Comme Ci Comme Ca is at 57th and Park. In the 40s, Okadamon is at 48th and Park, Domo Taco is at 47th and Park, and the Red Hook Lobster Truck is at the New York Public Library on 40th and 5th. Wafels & Dinges is slightly out of bounds at Columbus Circle, 60th & 5th.  As always you’ll want to check the ML Twitter Tracker before heading out.

The Vendys are T-minus four days away. We’re already pumped for the Dessert and Vendy Cup categories and today we have the official announcement of the Rookie of the Year nominees. This year one of these will go down in history with previous winners Korilla BBQ and Souvlaki GR. And three of the five nominated vendors are Midtown regulars.

Phil’s Steaks and Okadaman have found a dedicated following in just the last few months with their philly cheesesteaks and Japanese bar food, respectively. Chinese Mirch has taken Chinese-Indian fusion to the street and scored with their Tibetan momos. The final two nominees hang downtown on a regular basis, but maybe we can soon convince them to re-locate to above 32nd Street. Morocho specializes in Peruvian-fusion food like lomo saltado tacos and Latin American burgers, while Cambobian Cuisine Torsu has appeared in the Flatiron and is rather self-explanatory. UPDATE: We just found out that there was one more nominee!  Congrats to Fun Buns, Bian Dang’s new Asian buns cart.  They too will compete for the Rookie prize this weekend.  So I guess that makes 4 of 6 that spend time in Midtown!

If you haven’t yet purchased your tickets, maybe the promise of tastings from these five vendors will seal the deal. Not to mention special events for Early Entry ticket holders featuring the likes of Zach, Blondie, Brownie, and myself. What are you waiting for? Click here now.

Kabab & Grill, perhaps the best known Spanish/Bengali joint in the Garment District (or anywhere else, correct me if I’m wrong) has closed down. Their storefront shuttered, their sign dark, and according to a helpful superintendent for the building next door, in the process of being gutted.  The Midtown Lunch reader who sent us the tip reported that they were reportedly closed for health violations, but there’s no entry for them in the DoH database. The on-site source we encountered did confirm that a large-scale renovation was in place, although there’s no word on what’s going in. As far as we could tell, no restaurant equipment like stoves, fridges, etc. has been removed – yet.

While they somehow slipped under the Midtown Lunch radar, I do remember them doing decent business whenever I walked past. You can always hit up the not-too-far-off Salt & Pepper for your Hispano-Indian fusion fix if you’re craving chicken tandoor a la plancha or just want to eat excellent cabbie fare.

Yesterday afternoon the doors swung open to Flavortown Guy’s American Bar & Grill in Times Square (on 44th btw. 7+8th), but not in time for lunch. Which makes today their very first lunch service. How could we not? Our intrepid reporter @samkimsamkim is on the scene reporting live…

12:02pm – Ready for Flavortown!

12:03pm – Yes, that is a electronic menu outside of the restaurant… complete with Guy Fieri clips. Mesmerizing.

12:05pm – There are a surprising number of solo diners in suits. Surprised there aren’t more tourists. Not surprised that Guy Fieri fans who have to go opening day have no friends.  (This will surprise nobody, but I too found it difficult to find somebody to go with me.)

Alright… let’s take a look at the menu.

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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 Christian, a Marketing Director who hates bodega sandwiches but might be eating a horsemeat sandwich in this photo.

Name: Christian

Age: 34

Occupation: Marketing Director

Where in Midtown do you work? Near Bryant Park

Favorite Kind of Food: Oh man, where to start! I’m a Southerner by raisin’, and I’ve always been partial to fried chicken with hot sauce. But I could also eat Thai food at just about every meal. Cheeseburger with jalepenos are a perpetual favorite. And who doesn’t love a good taco slathered in salsa verde? I guess my favorite food is spicy and calorie-laden.

Least Favorite Kind of Food: I actually like sandwiches a lot. But crappy, generic bodega sandwiches? They are the worst.

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Midtown: The twice cooked pork from Szechuan Gourmet (on 39th btw. 5+6th) is awesome. I eat the Zach combo from Biryani Cart (on 46th & 6th) once a week. But the pernil from Sophie’s on 45th between 5th and 6th avenues may be my #1 choice.

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2012 Vendy’s Finalist, Uncle Gussy’s, has made a name for themselves doing traditional Greek dishes–homemade loukaniko (Greek sausage), pastistio, and of course, pork chops with lemon potatoes. And of course they do the typical Queens style greek souvlaki on a stick with salt and lemon juice. But did you know they also do a shrimp souvlaki as a lunch special!?  And it’s anything but typical Greek food… Read more »

Last week Mark Bittman took on white table cloth restaurants in the New York Times, an article that wouldn’t normally catch our attention. Except for the fact that he spent the entire second half off the article extolling a Japanese hole in the wall in Midtown that he loves so much he refused to tell anybody what it was called. Thankfully he leaves enough clues that we should be able to figure it out…

My place right now is a Japanese hole in the wall. (I’m keeping it that way by not naming it. Sorry.) There’s no celebrity chef, no publicity, no hipness other than that exuded by the young servers. It couldn’t be less trendy and to prove it, I’ll tell you that: a) it’s in Midtown, and b) it’s populated almost exclusively by expat and visiting Japanese. I suspect it’s in a Japanese guidebook to New York.

How did I find it? It’s across the street from the back door of what was once my building. It’s ugly: the tables are Formica, with standard cafe chairs; the napkins are paper; and the cash register, which is at the back of the kitchen, is wrapped in plastic to keep the grease off the keys.

More, after the jump…

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If you were hoping to be one of the first ones to eat lunch at Guy Fieri’s new Times Square T-Shirt shop (which also happens to serve food) you were very disappointed today… they’re not open yet. Our man @samkimsamkim was on the scene during lunch hoping to score some grub, but all he got was photos of tourists taking photos in front of the restaurant. It has begun…

Between watching groups of out-of-towners do their best Guy Fieri poses in front of the restaurant, Sam  found out that they plan on opening at 4pm today.