Midtown Lunch

While on the quest to find a spot for a good cup of coffee (I know I could just walk into one of the many delis in the area for a cup of $1 coffee but once in awhile you want something better), I discovered Manhattan Espresso Cafe on 49th btw. Lex+3rd. After digging a little further, I realized that besides having coffee, pastries and donuts they have sandwiches as well. I decided to check this place out and see whats up.

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For years we’ve been telling people to look for the logo’d plastic yellow bags as a way of distinguishing the Famous Halal Guys on 53rd & 6th from would be imposters.  Well it looks like they’ve done us one better!  We received an email from Luncher Stacey last week, who received this lovely tote bag along with her order of street meat. It matches the yellow color of their shirts and is given out (usually at night) for big orders. They’ve actually had them for about a year (how did we not know this!?), but will now sell them for a dollar if you ask for them specifically. Not only is it a cheap, environmental way of bringing your food back to the office, but you’ll also be the envy of all your friends.

Food from El Guyaquileno Truck. Photo Courtesy of Jason Lam/Me So Hungry

• Navigating the menu at El Guayaquileno Truck [Me So Hungry]
• Earl of Sandwich plans to open in early August [DNAinfo]
• Bouchon Bakery’s tuna sandwich is very light [Ramen & Friends]
• You can’t use your Groupon at the Maoz on 8th Ave. [Tasty Eating]
• The spicy pork sando at Big D’s Grub Truck is gooood [Skinny Pig]
• Kelvin Slush one year in [Eater]
• Big Gay Ice Cream’s Bryan likes Royal Thai Cuisine 2 on 36th [Grub St]

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 Friday afternoon our Happy Hour Correspondent “Mamacita” will post 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.

A few months after I wrote that McCormick’s was one of the best food happy hours, our long time commenter Adam posted that:

“I went here tonight with a friend. The burger was fantastic for $3.95 (NOTE: Yes, it seems that they raised the price a buck, but it was still damn good). Best $4 burger I’ve ever had, and for $4 I will be back again. The burger was a perfect medium-rare, big, and juicy, and did I mention $4? This could easily become a bad habit. “

There is nothing wrong with a $4 burger, even Blarney Stone can’t beat that. I figured enough time had passed by that I should follow up on McCormick’s burger at the bar special and see what other changes had been made.

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Arepas are something I look forward to eating when I head downtown or when I find myself in Brooklyn or Queens. But I never think about eating them in Midtown. I suppose the reason is that the Venezuelan/Colombian specialities are not easily available in this neck of the woods. That is until Shachi’s Arepas To-Go opened a few weeks ago. The NY Times just reported the opening this week, but the guy working the counter told me they’ve been there for more than a month already. How did we miss this? I guess it was slightly confusing because it seems this is the sister restaurant to one that recently closed in Williamsburg. And the website and Yelp reviews make it sound like this is a sit-down restaurant in Hell’s Kitchen that’s been around for years. Hm.

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It’s been years since the Cubano sandwich hit the lunching scene. The double dose of pork on a pressed sandwich hit all the right pleasure points in the lunching public. Sophie’s and Tina’s rode the call for more porky goodness and the underlying desire for Latin food to a pair of empires that seems to stretch to everywhere there’s an office building in this town. Maybe that’s why, until recently, Cuban food seemed to be entirely left out of the food truck craze… that is until now.

The Bongo Bros. popped up on my radar after Goats posted about the truck in the forums back in May. They typically set up shop on 20th and 5th avenue, 24th and Broadway or somewhere in the general vicinity, yet I could never manage to catch up with them. I finally got a chance to try them out this week. Check it out after the jump.

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We miss you Jamaican Dutchy Cart

This has been a relatively quiet week in Midtown for food carts. We haven’t heard too much commotion because most of them have chosen to set up elsewhere. The Financial District has seen Go Burger, Schnitzel & Things, Cevap Truck and Desi Truck all set up shop on the days they used to come to Midtown. Most of the trucks who have braved the pressure up here have stuck to the 30’s and the far east or west. It seems Comme Ci, Comme Ca has indeed found a non-metered spot on 36th and Broadway and has operated without too much trouble both there and on 55th and Lexington this week.

Sadly, Korilla BBQ has not had the same luck. They were booted from their new Garment District spot yesterday (on Broadway between 35th and 36th) and had some trouble at a dinner spot near Penn Station Wednesday evening when they were told they were not allowed to operate before 7pm.

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• The lobster roll argument continues [Midtown Eating]
• Good sit down lunches near 53rd Street [Midtown Eating]
• 99 Cent Fresh has taken over the old K Pizzacone [Midtown Eating]
• Best halal deal in the FiDi [Downtown Eating]