Midtown Lunch

We somehow missed the opening of a new Thai restaurant, Tom & Toon (241 51st St. between 7th & 8th), which launched with little fanfare in August of 2010. Our oversight may have been appropriate, given the predictable narrative of the restaurant. There’s an un-extraordinary menu akin to its neighboring Thai brethren in the ‘hood, such as Siam Inn two store fronts down, or the overabundance of Thai joints up and down 9th ave. However, Tom & Toon shouldn’t be easily dismissed, for it is the only Thai restaurant that has an all you can eat lunch buffet in Midtown. At $11.95, it’s a bit over our $10 lunch rule, but we’ve always be willing to stretch the price boundaries to $11 for buffets.  So what’s another buck when something as rare as Thai AYCE is involved!?

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A little over a month ago we told you that the Biryani Cart (on 46th btw. 6+7th) had plans to a brand new cart across the street selling their version of hot wings. Well, today is the day!  We got word last night that the Juicy Wings cart will be launching today on the NW corner of 46th and 6th.  According to the menu, they’ll be serving 4 kinds of wings, plus mini philly cheesesteak sandwich. Early adopters, let us know how it is in the comments!

Sad news from Grub Street on Friday… Barros Luco, the great Chilean sandwich and hot dog shop on 52nd and 2nd, has closed.  That makes three places in three years for that seemingly cursed location (99 Miles to Philly and Zip Burger closed in 2008 and 2009 respectively)  but this is definitely the saddest.  Where are we going to go now for our chacareros and completos?

Bombay Deli photo courtesy of Dave Cook from Eating in Translation

• Check out Bombay Deli (a pizza/Indian food combo in the Garment District) [EiT]
• Wichcraft has opened a hot chocolate kiosk in Bryant Park [Grub Street]
• How dare Dean & Deluca run out of romaine lettuce! [Tasty Eating]
• Writer magically stumbles upon our longtime fave the Desi Food Truck [SENY]
• A food truck owner finally admits that a brick and mortars are easier [Zagat via Eater]
• Midtown Lunch week closes with a profile of Zach [Immaculate Infatuation]

If you like to eat, chances are you like to drink (read: a lot of you are freakin’ lushes), so every week 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.

Mamacita’s Journal: Day 1266

My quest for the ultimate NYC burger and beer special carries on. I had received promising intel regarding Van Diemens on 3rd Ave. (btw. 27+28th). Word on the street was VD gives you two for one on Tuesdays, plus two for one drinks as well. This pleased me, for like a bird, Mamacita cannot fly on one wing alone. I called in some back up and we headed over for an in depth investigation.

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For those of you interested in checking out the cupcakes that were voted midtown’s best by your fellow readers as well as the People’s Choice on Serious Eats New York, today’s Robicelli’s delivery at Lily O’Brien’s includes a brand new Pecan Potato Chip cupcake: Pecan & potato chip butter cake, vanilla buttercream, roasted pecans, crushed potato chips, salted butterscotch. They are also packing one of my all time favorite flavors, their Chocolate Orange: Chocolate orange cake & buttercream, hand candied orange peel. They even made a believer out of my normally citrus/chocolate hating husband. Rounding out today’s offerings are The Duckwalk: Vanilla cake, blueberry port mascarpone buttercream, port infused wild Maine blueberries and the Tiramisu: Espresso cake, espresso ganache, mascarpone buttercream, cocoa powder.

Lily O’Brien’s (40th btw 5+6th), 212-575-0631

You nominated the finalists, argued in comments, and voted for your favorites. And now… it’s time for the results. Here are the winners of the 2010 Midtown Lunch Reader’s Poll, complete with Editor’s Pick for each category chosen by our correspondents.

Best Burger: Five Guys

Once Shake Shack opened on 8th Ave. earlier this year you would have thought they would have been a shoe-in for this award.  Not so fast.  One year after being the Editor’s Pick for best burger, Five Guys takes home the big prize- ending a three year Burger Joint winning streak.  Editor’s Pick: Shake Shack “I withstood the Shake Shack hype for years, and finally tried it when the Midtown West branch opened.  I now understand the hype, and am pretty happy to wait in line (within reason) for those burgers.   And c’mon people, Five Guys is a National Chain, and not even from New York!  -Chris H.”  [View Results]

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