Midtown Lunch

Blondie tipped us all off to the fact that Momofuku Milk Bar makes croissants. Very, very interesting croissants, like Pastrami and Rye. As one of their thousand-some twitter followers (@Momomilkbar), I also got the scoop that they’ve been making special croissants of the Fluffernutter variety. Alas, it’s the early bird that gets the Fluffernutter Croissant. When I swung by at lunch time they were sold out. Bah. The woman behind the counter recommended the Black Sesame Croissant with Cream Cheese and TriStar Strawberry Jam ($6), to me, so I decided to make the best of a lame situation and give it a try. If you have a sweet tooth (or you were geared up for the luscious sugar bomb promise of a Fluffernutter croissant) this might be a bit on the savory side for you on account of the black sesame.

It was no petite croissant, but then for $6, you’d hope to get a decent sized pastry. The pastry itself was a bit dense which is fine for a crosissantwich type situation like the Pastrami and Rye, but might be a bit much for a breakfast or snack. Still, the prospect of Fluffernutter in croissant form continues to intrigue. According to their twitter this morning they have them on the menu today. Anyone tried any of the other croissants here? Is Kimchi and Blue Cheese Croissant as cray cray as it sounds?

Momofuku Milk Bar (inside Ma Peche), 15 W. 56th St. (btw. 5+6th)

In the week and a half since we gave you the first look at the inside of Food Gallery 32, I’ve stopped in over and over again to check out the progress and to sample the food at some of the seven food stalls within. I’m now the FourSquare mayor and was told, ‘see you tomorrow!’ when I left yesterday. The upshot is that I’ve tasted a fair amount of the offerings and ogled some more… you know… for you guys.

Check it all out after the jump.

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45th Street btw Lex+3rd is the home to quite the number of Asian spots: Menchanko Tei, Hop Won, Oms/B, Oriental Noodle Shop. The block’s market may tilt a little too far in that direction, but apparently those are the only food vendors that can stay afloat. Yesterday I saw that we would be getting even more Asian inspiration, this time in the form of Taiwanese teas & juices. Coco Fresh Tea & Juice is opening in the old nail place, right below Midtown Comics. An internet search brought up nothing save the same curiosity concerning their Lex & 24th location. My hope is they sell some delicious snacks on the side.

• Portions at Bian Dang are bigger than the ones from the truck! [Midtown Eating]
• Where can I find chaat in Midtown East?  [Midtown Eating]
• Biryani Cart Wings is just days away [Midtown Eating]
• Cream based soups are the best option at Hale & Hearty [Midtown Eating]

And just like that, Tacos Zen is no more. I wrote about the Korean taco experiment at Pinnacle (3rd Ave. btw. 45+46th) back in October and apparently the generic deli has already pulled the plug. According to Lunch’er Garrett, the tacos are no more, and they’ve “partially restored a hot food section that makes hot sandwiches. They still do offer bibimbap.” I was far from bowled over by Pinnacle Deli’s tacos, but I think with some tinkering they could have been much better. I guess we’ll never know.