Midtown Lunch

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 Andrew, an intern who’s on the hunt for some Chicago style pizza.

Name: Andrew

Age: 21

Occupation: Intern

Where in Midtown do you work? Corner of 42nd & 3rd

Favorite Kind of Food: As a tightly budgeted college student, my favorite food has grown to be a quick slice of pizza (preferably with BBQ chicken).

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Gazpacho soup – cold soup is arguably the most outright travesty ever!

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Midtown: By far, my favorite place to grab lunch in Midtown is Crisp (on 43rd & 3rd). The Crisp Mexican is incredible, and a side of French Fries make it the perfect combo. Plus, it’s right across the street from where I work. Second place goes to the Tri-Tip Grill in Grand Central. I got the Border Buck with extra Chipotle Sauce the first day I was in NYC (needless to say, I started off on the right foot). Goodburger is another place that rocks – get the Classic Burger with The Works.

Read more »

I’ve noticed on Twitter for the last few weeks that Wafels & Dinges has been pushing this new Sprussels from Brussels waffle. I assumed it was the latest of their seasonal dessert specials with a creative name. I didn’t know it was actually a waffle made with brussels sprouts. And I don’t mean topped with brussels sprouts, but rather the sprouts are shredded and mixed into the dough before they’re cooked. What the – ?

Read more »

After a rather unlucky attempt to bring their cheese steaks to Midtown, 99 Miles to Philly will be opening a new location just a few blocks up from its failed one on 52nd. Eater reported last week that the new location of the East Village joint will be at 300 East 45th Street at Second Avenue and it will open next month. It’s just out of bounds and since Phil’s Steaks and Shorty’s have been roaming the street, does this one stand a chance?  I guess we’ll find out soon enough…

Last summer, I was dying to try the Grilled Peach and Bacon Sandwich at Num Pang despite Donny’s moderate review. It sold out often and since peach season is limited, it disappeared from the menu before I ever got my hands on the little sucker.  Once I heard they were doing it again this year, I wasted no time in getting over there.

Read more »

I’ve been trying to hit up all the food carts parked at the New York Public Library (40th + 5th) to accompany the Lunch Hour NYC exhibit. Often, the trucks parked there aren’t in my area of Midtown, so I’m trying them out while I can. They have a brick and mortar store (7th btw 29th and 30th) which is just out-of-bounds, but the Mexicue truck doesn’t make its way to midtown too often. So if you would like to try it out without the trek, today is the day you’ll want to hit it up…

Read more »

Homefront, a unique deli loved my many readers, (41st btw. Mad+Park) has had its share of drama over the past few years. It’s been up for sale and reportedly changed hands, gone through closures, and now Midtown Lunchers are worried it might be closed for good. I stopped by last week to investigate, and discovered that the place had been completely gutted and two guys were hard at work on renovations. Although I couldn’t find the owner, according to one of the fellows there, Homefront Deli is undergoing renovations, but it will be under the same ownership. Fans can sleep easy for now…

Burger from the Burger Joint at Le Parker Meridien. Photo by thewanderingeater

• Burger Joint makes one of the 15 burgers you have to eat before you die [Eater]
• The owner of Junior’s is taking over the Outback on 3rd Ave. [DNA Info]
• The Tad’s on 34th is getting replaced by a Crocs store!?! [Crain’s]
• The Seinfeld Food Truck tour hits NYC [NYO]
• Here’s where a SNL writer eats lunch [Grub Street]
• Tous les Jours has replace Koryodang [Food in Mouth]
• The Baconry portion of Books of Wonder has closed [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 love finding good deals in unexpected places. When I say unexpected, this time I’m referring to a Chinese restaurant for happy hour. Yep, that’s right. As I scan Midtown for its best happy hour deals, I continue to find great specials in places where you wouldn’t normally look. But they might not be all that unusual. Mamacita covered Chef Yu’s happy hour back in 2009, so the Chinese restaurant happy hour special is certainly not unheard of. I’ve been eyeing China Sun (39th btw 6th and Broadway) for a few weeks, because I noticed when I walked by one day a sign advertising $3 beer, $5 house wine, and $5 wells from 4-7, and another sign advertising free wifi. The beer and wifi caught my attention, so I thought I’d stop by. Kids, I was glad I did.

Read more »

The Bian Dang Taiwanese food truck’s spinoff, Fun Buns cart, has been parking in Midtown more often lately. They’ve been attracting the attention of Downtown lunchers, and Brian wrote a post about the Taiwanese style buns a few months ago. I kept seeing them pop up on Twitter in that same spot on 48th btw 6th and 7th on a Friday and then again on a Monday (although I later found out Monday is usually at 46th and Park). I was hoping to try the lemongrass chicken that wasn’t available before would be there so I could give it a try, and to see if anything else was new. Here’s what I found out.

Read more »