Back in December, I visited Bon Chon’s Turtle Bay location to check out their lunch specials. While I loved the chicken, I also tried the LaFrieda Korean Bulgogi Burger ($9), and wasn’t the biggest fan. But in light of recent comments in the ML Forums claiming that the burger was vastly improved, I had to go for a second look.
Photo courtesy of the New York Daily News
Thanks to Lunch’er Matthew for sending over this one. It looks like the Menchanko Tei on 45th Street (btw. Lex+3rd) has been closed by the Department of Health. Hopefully they’ll be able to fix things and re-open soon, but looking at their record on the DOH website isn’t exactly reassuring. Back in August they scored a 65, before addressing the issues and getting a re-score of 16. That didn’t last long though. In December they were back up to 52, before scoring a 5 on the re-grade two days later. Flash forward to Monday, and their pre-Valentine’s Day score was a whopping 83! It doesn’t say how they got the score, but hopefully it isn’t anything too gross…
Last month, we announced that Cafe Today was moving in next to Chipotle on 52nd between Lex and 3rd Ave. I erroneously thought it was a Portland chain (thanks, commenters, for your diligence), but it turns out it’s actually a huge generic-ish deli serving, well, basically everything under the sun. We’ve got (deep breath): a hot sandwich station, a cold sandwich station, a salad bar, panini counter, soups, hot buffet, cold buffet, custom teriyaki bowls, stir fry, udon noodle soup, sushi, bibimbap, dessert, and probably much more. It was extremely crowded for its grand opening, but can a place with this many options do everything well?
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.
I took the opening of Lillie’s in Midtown as I sign that I should head to the original Lillie’s on 17th Street to try their $10 lunch special- the same special that’s $13 at the location on 49th btw. B’way+8th. (Sorry, Midtown Lunch’ers!) Did I also mention that the special includes a beer? Who isn’t a fan of a greasy pub lunch with a beer?
This week, I got sucked in by Hale & Hearty’s advertising. They started serving Thai chicken soup, and in theory it sounded pretty good. They described it as “hot, spicy, smooth and sweet – it’s a just like a vacation on the beaches of Thailand.” I love Thai food … I love chicken soup … maybe, just maybe Hale & Hearty could pull off this combination?! (I’m sure most of you know where this is going.)
Posted by Rachel Goldner at 8:30 am, February 17th, 2012 under Hale & Hearty, Soups.
Changes at Bon Chon & Yagura?: Word has come in the forums about a couple of changes to two of our more popular Midtown Lunches. The latest raves about the 2nd Ave. Bon Chon's bulgogi burger w/ LaFrieda meat has caused us to wonder if they have changed it since we first tried it. And apparently Yagura (on 41st btw. Mad+5th) has undergone a moderate makeover, coupled with a small price hike.
Posted at 3:15 pm, February 16th, 2012 | 0 Comments
Thanks to Lunch’er Mike for sending over this one…
“On my way to B&H I passed by this new looking establishment, Zoob Zib (on 9th Ave. btw. 36+37th), which made me think either it was Ewok cuisine or Bill Cosby might be the executive chef. No web presence yet, but it had tables and chairs on the inside and looks very close to launch. It’s literally right next door to Aura Thai, whose previous reviews speak very true about their noodle soups but mediocre to good for their Thai food.”
Just what 9th Ave. needs… another Thai restaurant! Although we guess the “noodle bar” part is intriguing? As soon as we know more, we’ll let you know- and if any early adopters manage to make it there before we do when it opens, feel free to let us know how it is in the comments.
In a sea of overpriced gourmet grilled cheeses (see: Exhibit A, Exhibit B, and Exhibit C), it’s easy for us to roll our eyes at a new contender. But here’s the thing: a girl still gets a craving for a good grilled cheese and tomato soup combo every now and then, and she’s gotta get it somewhere. On a recent dreary day, I noticed that Pret has a new Grilled Cheese Toastie on the menu, and when I saw that one of the rotating daily soups that day was Tomato & Basil, I knew what I was having for lunch.
Mexico Blvd, the truck we told you about last month, is attempting to park in Midtown today. As of 20 minutes ago they were parked on 40th & 6th. Also, Gorilla Cheese is on 55th & 6th, Crisp on Wheels and Big D’s are on 50th btw. 6+7th, Morris Grilled Cheese is on Park btw. 51+52nd, Valducci’s is on 52nd & Park, Seoul Food is on 50th btw. Park+Mad, Wafels & Dinges is on 46th btw. 5+6th, lunch is free at 4Food if you download the Level Up app, and Cer Te has chubby chinese girl sandwiches. As always you’ll want to check the ML Twitter Tracker before heading out.
Posted by The ML Team at 11:00 am, February 16th, 2012 under Mexico Blvd., Twitter.
