Midtown Lunch

I never really looked twice at the cart that has been set up for the past several months next to Kwik Meal on 45th & 6th avenue. As a loyal Kwik meal customer for several years and lover of their chicken pitas, I admit it never occurred to me to try whatever carts (and there have been a few over the years) that decided to try their luck nearby. While walking on 45th street the other day, I finally took notice of the Aamir Halah Food cart (sister cart to the one on 46th street), because they were offering Thai sweet chili kati rolls. Yep, like Biryani Cart, they added Kati Rolls to the menu, and not only that, but they’re ripping off Biryani’s popular Chennai rolls.

Read more »

Joy Curry & Tandoor at 46th St. (btw. Lex+3rd) has received praise as a filling and affordable Indian lunch since 2007 when Zach posted a +/- review. Donny visited again earlier this year and thought it was a good deal. I was struck by the loyalty of Midtown Lunch’ers to Joy evidenced by the positive comments in both of their posts. Spotted by Lunch’ers earlier this summer, a sign popped up on 39th btw. 5+6th hinting the arrival of a Joy #2. Although it took a little longer than two weeks as they had originally suggested, Joy Curry’s new location is now open. And, there’s a bonus for early adopters — for the next two months, their combo lunch plates are $2 off.

Read more »

There’s pizza in Omaha?? Photo by Blondie.

Blondie discovered good pizza in Omaha, Brownie went to the Vendys in Philly, Brian wants to know what’s your favorite hot dog?, Rachel went to Nevis and had lobster and I photographed Good Beer for Edible Manhattan.

Elsewhere in the ML universe… Andrea compares the banh mi options at Paris Bakery in Chinatown, Jamie discovers hidden Indonesian food at Java Colonial in Philly, and Zach found Gaju Naengmyeon in Los Angeles, where he can get kimbap without feeling like a sketchy old man.

Obviously you love street meat (why else would you be on this site!?) but if you also love indie hip hop you’ll want to check out this week’s episode of Food is the New Rock, the weekly podcast I do with musicians who like food and chefs who like music.  Previous guests have included Mike D from the Beastie Boys, David Chang, Marcus Samuelsson, Duff Goldman and Henry Rollins.  But this week I was particularly excited to talk to Queens rapper (and former chef) Action Bronson, who shares my love of halal chicken and lamb over rice.  So much so that we spend the first ten minutes of the episode talking about it.  Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or  download the episode for free here>>

Meanderings in Midtown East brought me upon Desi Shack (39th and Lex) last week; it caught my attention because the Indian restaurant I’d planned on going to that day was more expensive than I thought and I had to wing it. Last year, Brian compared Desi Shack to an “Indian Chipotle” where the environment is clean and minimalistic and you craft your ingredients to order. At that time, it had only been open a short while, and I thought it deserved a revisit.

I was inspired to order a paratha roll because a few months ago, my coworkers and I tried out the Kati Roll Company and I thought the rolls were too dry. Then I tried Biriyani Cart’s and they were too greasy. A ML reader poll last year gave Biriyani Cart top honors, so maybe I got them on a bad day… but Desi Shack wasn’t on the list, perhaps because they were so new at the time of the poll.

Read more »

Old time favorite Kwik Meal on 45th and 6th is now offering rewards for their loyal customers. Instead of a paper punchcard, they are giving out plastic cards that they will scan every time you make a purchase. For each transaction, you get a 10% cash credit uploaded to the card. So basically that means after you buy one meal 10 times, you get the next one free. That will certainly help us deal with the rising costs of lamb!

• Anybody know what happened to the Real Good Truck? [Midtown Eating]
• Here’s a website that compiles food truck menus [Midtown Eating]
• The Fishing Shrimp Truck isn’t worth waiting 30 mins for [Midtown Eating]
• The Famous Dal Wagon is back on 39th & 6th and better than ever [Midtown Eating]

The hand that closeth, openeth up. Ming Du, which was closed by the DoH about two weeks ago, is back open for business with a “grade pending” certificate in the window.

Read more »