Midtown Lunch

What do you think about when you hear “Fish and dumplings”? For an Asian guy, my mind automatically veers toward dumplings like jiaozi or mandoo or gyoza. But having lived in the South for a little bit, I know that the dumplings you find in a “Chicken and dumplings” dish is not quite the same… Googling tells me that dumplings are simple boiled dough of some sorts, and some variations of dumplings have fillings. Basically all the awesome versions have fillings… As for eating fish from a street cart?  I generally view it as a test of character. Sure, you can eat all the street meat you want, but at this point, it’s not even that crazy to be a street meat lover. You only show your true colors when you’re willing to fish from a cart. So, when the Trini Paki Cart mentioned their new Friday special of fish and dumplings last week, I knew that it was time to test my worth as a street meat eater.

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Today’s lunch spot has to be credited entirely to Blondie. As soon as it started getting warm she emailed me about meeting up to check out the outdoor cart in front of Tabla (on Madison and 24th.) Every summer since 2008, the otherwise well out of ML price range Tabla opens up a “cart” in front of the restaurant selling ‘Bombay-style’ street food for take out. Being directly across the street from Madison Square Park, it’s remarkably convenient for a quick and easy quality meal in the park without having to hit the Shake Shack line.

The other day, Blondie and I met up to see what it’s all about. Check out the food and some dessert after the jump.

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Falafel fans near Times Square have reason to be happy today… the Maoz Vegetarian on 40th and 7th (which was closed because of an electrical fire last week) reopened yesterday. Enjoy!

Related:
Maoz Tastes Good, But Proves That The Best Falafel Pita is Built By Professionals
Maoz Closed By Electrical Fire

• The Famous Halal Guys gave me a rash! [Midtown Eating]
• Anybody know if Maoz reopened today? [Midtown Eating]
• Looking for the Green Taste Truck… [Midtown Eating]
• Who wants to start up the Downtown meetup? [Downtown Connections]

Serious Eats New York launched a new “street food” column this week, and first up is the Mia Dona Meatball Cart, set up in front of the restaurant on 58th just East of 3rd Ave. I don’t know if we’d really call the Meatball Wagon “street food”, but that spicy meatball sandwich is pretty amazing. They also tried the afternoon gelato sandwiches, and discovered that you can get two flavors of gelato in a single sandwich. Brilliant!

Related:
Your First Look at the Food Trend Collision That is Donatella’s Meatball Wagon
Mia Dona’s Gelato Sandwich Might Be the Best Take Away Dessert in the Area

Today’s the big day – the ‘new concept’ Bon Chon Chicken is opening on 5th btw. 32+33rd Street and we’ve got a few more details on exactly how different it’s all going to be. According to Simon Lee, the owner and manager of the new location (as well as an employee of Bon Chon the corporation), the idea was to move beyond the fast food model that most of the Korean fried chicken shops have followed. Instead, it’s going to juggle fast food and bar duties in a way that might lead to a few tipsy lunches.

Details on the new Bon Chon and photos of the space after the jump.

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Back in May we were offered a free “blogger” tasting dinner at Shilla, to try out their new dinner menu. Instead of keeping for ourselves (which would be wrong), we gave it away to you guys in a contest. The lucky winner was Lunch’er “Olivia”, and today she sent us a report. It’s dinner, not lunch, and obviously the food was free (free always tastes better, right?) But we figured we’d post it anyway. First, because she took the time to do it. And second, to show that it really does pay to read Midtown Lunch!

Thanks to Midtownlunch’s May 18th contest, I am able to bring to you my first ever food review. Shilla Korean Barbecue House is located in the middle of K-Town, otherwise known as 32nd Street. The restaurant has three floors, and we were invited to eat on the third floor. We started off with the complimentary side dishes typically served in a Korean BBQ Restaurant – Kim Chee, Potato Salad, Egg food omelette, etc.

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