Midtown Lunch

It was only a matter of time before the peculiarly named dollar slice joint “In N Out Pizza” changed their name to something… well, less copyright infringe-y. And leave it to the proprietor, who seems to enjoy skirting the outer limits of branding, to name his new joint, “Two-N-A-Can”, which while practical and descriptive, could recall a whole lot of double entendres. Cease and desist order aside, I’ve been back to this joint multiple times since my original assessment, and found that it’s still a pretty good bang for the buck.

Two N A Can Pizza, 1032 6th Ave., 212-398-3288

To celebrate the sale of their 10,000th bibimbap burger, Social Eatz (on 53rd btw. 2+3rd) is giving away a free bibimbap burger to the first 30 customers, starting at 2:30pm sharp. So for all you free loaders who can take a late lunch (or will just save a bit of extra room) prepare to engage!

Related:
Social Eatz’s Burger is a Splurge Worthy Lunch

• Get 50% off Tina’s Cuban through Scoutmob [Midtown Eating]
• The Tacos y Quesadillas cart is practically open 24 hours [Midtown Eating]
• Little Morocco might be back in 2 weeks [Midtown Eating]
• Meru is finally back from Bangladesh! [Midtown Eating]

This just in from Lunch’er Masto:

While I was at Comme Ci Comme Ca, a truck pulled up and a bunch of angry guys shoved barricades on the sidewalk
blocking the truck. They got into a bit of a verbal altercation with some of the customers. At the same time, Food Network was there filming something, and they apparently didn’t like the barricades either. I think they used it as an angle to talk to Chef Samir about trucks being hassled.

Could be a UN road closure thingy? Or Fashion Week holdover? Either way, it looks like they’re still out there so if you want to check it out (and maybe get on that Food Network/Cooking Channel food truck show) now would be the time.

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 Lawrence, a software engineer who hates vegetarians and wishes sushi was cheaper.

Name: Lawrence

Age: 26

Occupation: Technical analyst / software engineer for JPMorgan

Where in Midtown do you Work?: 46th & Madison

Favorite Kind of Food: Sushi (but it’s too expensive)!

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Vegetarian

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Midtown: Oxtail noodle soup at Oriental Noodle Shop (on 45th btw. Lex+3rd), Chicken at Bian Dang truck, Anything with lamb at Bi Lokma (on 45th btw. 2+3rd), Ramen at Hide Chan (on 52nd btw. 2+3rd)

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We’re less than a week away from New York’s biggest street food event of the year, and the last piece of the puzzle is finally in place! Vendy Award Dessert finalists, Rookie finalists, and the New Jersey participants were all announced over the past few weeks, and earlier this morning NYT’s City Room blog posted the finalists for the ultimate prize- the 2011 Vendy Cup. And they are…

• The Eggstravaganza Cart – Mexican & American cart on 52nd & Park that specializes in mexican wraps and egg sandwiches.
• Chimichury El Malecon – Inwood vendor that has been selling Dominican hamburgers known as “chimis” for 25 years
• Souvlaki GR – Last year’s Rookie winner, this truck serves up Greek pita sandwiches downtown
• Tamales Guadalupe – Brooklyn tamale vendor
• Trini Paki Boys Halal Food – A Midtown Lunchmainstay, this cart has been parked on 43rd and 6th serving up street meat with an island twist for over 20 years
• Sam’s Falafel – A FiDi lunch legend, this was one of the first carts we covered on the Downtown section of Midtown Lunch
• Solber Pupusas – Now a 2 time Vendy Award finalists, this pupusa truck was nominated back in 2008 when it was known as Soler Dominican

We can’t help but feel especially excited for the Trini Paki Boys Cart, Eggstravaganza, and Sam’s Falafel, but a huge congrats to all the deserving finalists! This is going to be a great year, and a super tough decision for the judges. You’ll be able to read more about all the finalists on the Vendy Awards website, and while General Admission tickets are completely sold out there are a limited number of early admission and VIP tickets available (as well as sponsorship packages, which come with tickets.) The awards take place this Saturday, on Governor’s Island from 12:30-5pm.

In this week’s New York Magazine the Robs take note of how ubiquitous and eclectic falafel has become here in NYC, pointing out 12 different takes on the fried chickpea balls. Olympic Pita (on 38th btw. 5+6th) got singled out for its delicious laffa, Maoz got the nod for its DIY set up, and Taim for its different flavors. But we couldn’t help but notice that Crisp was left off the list entirely. Love ’em or hate ’em, how can you have a “unique falafels of NYC” list, and leave off the place that is responsible for these monstrosities! We’ll chalk it up to harmless oversight…

Thanks to Lunch’er Tom for sending in this great report…

Across the street from Taam Tov, and one floor down from El Rincon Del Sabor, there’s a new Glatt Kosher Uzbek restaurant on 47th (in the space where Dougie’s BBQ used to be.) It’s $2 cheaper than its neighbor, the staff outnumbers the patrons, and the kicker? Mukpatz!

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