Midtown Lunch

How could it be that ML has never covered Ginger’s?! This place sits brightly on 7th Ave, hard to miss but easy to overlook. Between the tourist map hawkers, juice bars, and a handful of generic delis, we find a haven of good stuff. Sure, Shanghai Broadway is bringing it too, but we owe it to ensure that our fine readers know the good from the bad. I’ve been to Ginger’s many times before and never been disappointed – it’s time to give them the Midtown Lunch treatment and put their fare to scrutiny.

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Another fast food Mexican-esque chain is expanding in Midtown. Moe’s Southwest Grill, an Atlanta-based chain that’s pretty popular in the southeast has been serving commuters in Penn Station since 2009. Now they’re opening their second location on Sixth Avenue between 38th and  39th Street. So in case the line is too long at the new Chipotle, this will be just a few blocks away.

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 2013 Midtown Lunch Reader’s Poll, complete with Editor’s Pick for each category chosen by our correspondents.

No question about it, Xi’an Famous Foods was probably one of the hottest topics in newcomers to Midtown in general and Chinese in particular.  Their soft-launch announcement flooded their Facebook page and sent hordes clamoring to their West 45th outpost for lamb burgers and other great stuff.  Szechuan Gourmet and Hing Won/Hop Won with their legendary implementations of duck and pork put forth one hell of a tie for second place, though – it’s going to be interesting to see what next year brings to see if Xi’an and its hype train continue putting forth awesomeness, or if the old standards make a comeback.  Dà jiā chī fàn, baby! Mike’s Pick: Main Noodle House  [View Results]

Ever wonder “where in this big Food Gallery 32-style vertical Blade Runnerized crowded market am I gonna eat today?” as you mull over whether you want curry noodles, Singapore chicken rice, mee goreng, char kuey tiow, or other awesome Asian fare? According to The Post everyone’s favorite badass chef from Jersey, Anthony Bourdain, is exploring this as an option. Hudson Yards could be one of the developments where they want to put it – square at the edge of Midtown! Could this redefine out of bounds in favor of chicken rice? (short answer: IT DAMN WELL BETTER!)

Midtown East is steadily building a good crop of independent coffee houses. Lucid Cafe, Ground Central, Demarco… they all offer an array of great coffee and espresso drinks. Now you can count Pennylane Coffee (45th btw. 1st+2nd) on that list.

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News came over the wire (aka Allison Robicelli’s blog) that Robicelli’s sweets can be found in Midtown again! Those of you in the K-Town area in need of a sweet treat can now head over to the newly opened Grace Street (on 32nd btw 5th+6th) for your fix of not just cupcakes, but also cookies, muffins and more. The rest of us will probably head over to check out the offerings once it’s above freezing.

Grace Street, 17 W. 32nd St (btw. 5+6th) 

The Eggstravaganza Cart is trading up to a truck and it should be hitting the streets this week. Owner, Arturo Macedo, told me that he’s looking forward to expanding his menu in the larger space. The truck is currently being wrapped though it may be on the streets as a generic looking white truck today. Arturo is planning some giveaways (free food!) for the grand opening, which will hopefully be as soon as Wednesday, alas, isn’t going to happen for a few more days now, we’ll keep you posted with any details as we get them! As of now the plan is to remain in their regular spot on the northeast corner of 52nd and Park. Keep tabs on them via twitter @ETRAVAGANZA.

Well over a year ago, Zeytinz received a comprehensive review that did a great job highlighting their deli sandwiches, bibimbap bar, and a few of their grocery offerings. While these are all things I undoubtedly appreciate, I’ve found a few other items at Zeytinz that I enjoy so much, I figured it was worth another spin. If you couldn’t personally find anything in the previous post that got you up, out of your office chair, and on the way to Zeytinz, then maybe I’ll post something that does – let’s find out.

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