Midtown Lunch

Got some crazy new in the old ML inbox yesterday afternoon… Just 4 months after closing down his Hell’s Kitchen sandwich shop Xie Xie, Top Chef Angelo Sosa is returning to Midtown once again- this time in collaboration with ML fave Kati Roll (on 39th btw. 5+6th).  On Monday Thursday (2/3) Kati Roll will debut the all new Shrimp Masala Roll, designed by Sosa himself, featuring shrimp, marinated in coconut milk and chaat masala spices, cooked over a open-flame grill and… topped with sweet and sour marinated red onions and birdseye chilis… and finished with a swath of cilantro sauce. But wait, there’s more! Sosa will personally debut the roll on Monday Thursday from Noon to 2pm at the Midtown location.

Get a sneak peak at his creation, after the jump…

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Photo courtesy of Serious Eats

Chris H. travels to Flushing for some amazing looking Korean BBQ’d pork belly, while Ultraclay was shooting Questlove’s 40th birthday part at Brooklyn Bowl! Blondie and Brownie enjoyed the Shake Shack’s version of the shamrock shake (in honor of the Jets) this past weekend, and want to remind everybody that Choice Eats Early Bird Tickets are on sale today!

Around the rest of the ML Universe… Andrea tries the pozole at Toloache Taqueria downtown,  Jamie enjoys gluten free goodness at Philadelphia Chutney Co., and in Los Angeles I discover the magic that happens when you put shawarma and schnitzel in the same sandwich.

Flex Mussels might be way out of bounds and price range for us, but when we found out that their pastry chef Zac Young was doing a pop-up called Flex Donuts at Zócalo in the Grand Central Dining Concourse, I was all over that like white on rice. Until next Friday, you can get freshly made doughnuts, hopefully from Zac himself, from noon until 6pm at the take-out stand there. For $1.50 each, that doesn’t make this a bargain, it makes it a steal!

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I miss a lot of things from the times I worked over on Sixth Avenue, like frequent trips to the Biryani Cart and Kati Rolls. Yes, we do have some at 44 Curry House (44th btw Lex+3rd), but I’m always on the lookout for cheap others. I had passed the NY Express Biryani cart on 45th Street many times, almost never taking the time to look at the menu and realize I was missing out on some kati roll goodness!

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Earlier this month we got the news that the midtown health food chain, The Pump, has finished renovating their West 55th Street location with a new look and a new local/seasonal menu. While the Pump has their fair share of detractors on ML, I’ve been an occasional customer for almost as many years as I’ve been Midtown Lunching. So I decided to check out the new look and new menu for the ML team.
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Thanks to Lunch’er Steven for sending along this photo and tip yesterday:  “Looks like Food Gallery 32 may be getting some competition soon.  Cafe R is on 32nd bet 6th & 7th.  Next to your favorite burger place Cafe Arome.  The sign says “International Food Court.”  The name sounds like a generic deli, but it could be good.”  Or not.   We’ll keep our fingers crossed (but won’t be holding our breath.)

Last October, Zach, Chris H., and I spent a lovely afternoon stuffing our faces from food trucks at “Carts in the Parc”, one of the highlights of the 2010 New York City Wine & Food Festival. Luckily for Zach, it also meant meeting his idol, Andrew Zimmern, who not only hosted the event but filmed two episodes for his ‘curbside cuisine’ show “Appetite for Life”. (The same show that had him visiting Schnitzel & Things and Jamaican Dutchy last month.) Well, the show’s clips have finally hit the interwebs, and have Zimmern checking out faves like Eddie’s Pizza Truck and the Big Gay Ice Cream Truck (complete with a blurring out of the words ‘salty’ and ‘pimp’.)

Check out the videos after the jump (bonus points if you can spot a certain former Downtown Lunch’er)

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