Midtown Lunch

It’s time for the 2013 Midtown Lunch Readers’ Poll. Your nominations are in, and between now and the end of the year we’ll be asking all of you to vote for the best Midtown Lunches in a whole range of categories. You can only vote once per category (so choose wisely), and official results will be posted after the new year.

The definitive street food/college student luxury of our time, pizza’s as big as ever on the streets and in the suites. We’ve got so much range to cover in our 2013 Reader’s Poll, and the best thing about this poll: you can click and walk at the same time if you fold your tablet to catch the grease! Well, okay, not really – no, please, don’t fold any electronics. But definitely sound off. We’re throwing ’em all in the ring: $1 slice, grandma slice, maybe even one or two gourmet uberpizzas. Toss and roll your favorite ‘za out as we submit to your our Reader’s Poll options for best slice of 2013:

• Bella Napoli
• Lazarra’s
• Little Italy
• Pizza by Cer Te
• Previti
• Savory & Sweet
• Two Bros

Vote for your favorite, after the jump…

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Looking to get into the Christmas spirit? City Harvest has teamed up with Le Parker Meridien for their annual Gingerbread House Extravaganza. Some of the cities top bakeries and pastry chefs have created gingerbread structures which are now on display in the lobby of the the Parker Meridien (on 56th btw 6+7th), and you can help fight hunger by voting for your favorite creations—each $1 donated counts as one vote and benefits City Harvest. The gingerbread houses will be on display until January 6th.

Speaking of holiday cheer, Rick’s Cabaret sent over their annual Christmas card and once again it’s not entirely safe for work.  If you’re into such things, we’ve posted it after jump.  Happy Holidays everyone!

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It’s time for the 2013 Midtown Lunch Readers’ Poll. Your nominations are in, and between now and the end of the year we’ll be asking all of you to vote for the best Midtown Lunches in a whole range of categories. You can only vote once per category (so choose wisely), and official results will be posted after the new year.

It’s been another great year for the Middle Kingdom of Low Delivery Minimums – Chinese food in Midtown continues its strong-as-hell presence. There’s options galore this year as always, along with some newcomers and surprisingly short lives (not to mention a notable collective good-riddance). While there’s no threat from the pan-Asian fast-cas onslaught, competition for the lunch crowd is as hot as decent ma po tofu, steamy as a fresh char shu bao, and as tangled as a good bowl of Shanghai noodle soup.

• Cafe China
• Hing Won/Hop Won
• Land of Plenty
• Main Noodle House
• Shanghai Broadway
• Szechuan Gourmet
• Xi’an Famous Foods

Vote for your favorite after the jump…

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It’s time for the 2013 Midtown Lunch Readers’ Poll. Your nominations are in, and between now and the end of the year we’ll be asking all of you to vote for the best Midtown Lunches in a whole range of categories. You can only vote once per category (so choose wisely), and official results will be posted after the new year.<

New York City is well known for bagels, and you can get them at almost any corner deli. Finding a truly great bagel, on the other hand, is not so easy, especially in Midtown (and we lost two of our best at the end of last year.) But all is not doom and gloom. Midtown still boasts a few top-notch bagel joints, including a newcomer from Downtown that’s helping to fill the hole left by a couple of notable 2012 closures. The nominees for best bagel in Midtown 2013 are:

• Bagel Express
• Daniel’s Bagels (on 3rd btw. 37+38th)
• Ess a Bagel
• Toasties
• Zucker’s

Vote for your favorite after the jump…

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Good news for those of you within walking distance of Bryant Park. The Wall Street Journal reports that Whole Foods is opening a new location at 1095 Sixth Ave. (btw 41st+42nd). Whole Foods typically offers impressive generic deli standards like sandwiches, salads, hot buffet, you name it, and this new location will emphasize prepared foods for the lunch crowd. I’m pretty psyched for this… are you?

Every year, while my goyish friends are at church and rocking around the Christmas tree, I don my chopsticks to explore some serious Chinese food. This year, I decided to visit Café China to taste their refined renditions of classic Szechuan dishes, like mapo tofu and tea-smoked duck. And at the restaurant, I run into a familiar face who is also grubbing on some noodles in celebration of the big holiday. See who it is after the jump…

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It’s time for the 2013 Midtown Lunch Readers’ Poll. Your nominations are in, and between now and the end of the year we’ll be asking all of you to vote for the best Midtown Lunches in a whole range of categories. You can only vote once per category (so choose wisely), and official results will be posted after the new year.

Last year, Taim made a huge comeback, stealing the crown back from 2011 newcomer Pitopia for best falafel in the readers’ poll. Does Pitopia have a chance to win it back, or perhaps will nearby Maoz stand in their way? The competition is steep in the falafel category, especially considering Taim could also be dethroned by the King of Falafel, Crisp, Omar’s or Kosher Deluxe. Here all the nominees for best falafel in Midtown…

• Crisp/Crisp Express
• King of Falafel & Shawarma Express
• Maoz Vegetarian
• Olympic Pita
• Omar’s Kitchen & Bakery
• Pitopia
• Pocketful Truck
• Taim Mobile

Vote for your favorite, after the jump…

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Every Friday we go south of the ML boundaries in search of a delicious lunch. Sometimes it’s Murray Hill south or the Flatiron District, sometimes Gramercy and everything in between- but we just like to call it Flatiron Lunch. This week, Flatiron Lunch is all about opportunity, since several centrally-located large spaces have come available. Also, I was lucky enough to meet a friend’s boyfriend, Jesse, this week, who works half a block from the Flatiron Building. I love having more Flatiron Lunch spies!.

First, we have to cover one closing in the area. Rickshaw Dumpling has closed. This news applies not just to the West 23 Street location, but also, the midtown Lexington Avenue location and the truck. According to their twitter feed, “We’re closing shop after 10 years and parking our truck fleet after 7! Thanks for your <3 in our shops + on the street! We will miss you!” Sad. I am going to really miss those chocolate sesame dessert dumplings.

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It’s time for the 2013 Midtown Lunch Readers’ Poll. Your nominations are in, and between now and the end of the year we’ll be asking all of you to vote for the best Midtown Lunches in a whole range of categories. You can only vote once per category (so choose wisely), and official results will be posted after the new year.

Good coffee has officially found its way to Midtown. The last few years have brought serious coffee shops with everything from French press to cold brew. And regardless of what part of Midtown you work, it’s now not too far of a walk (past numerous Starbucks) to get a legit cup of joe. Some have just popped up this year (Little Collins) and some (like Culture) were the pioneers of good Midtown java. Here are the nominees for the best coffee in Midtown…

• Blue Bottle
• Culture Espresso
• FIKA
• Little Collins
• Ramini
• Simon Sips

Vote for your favorite after the jump…

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It’s time for the 2013 Midtown Lunch Readers’ Poll. Your nominations are in, and between now and the end of the year we’ll be asking all of you to vote for the best Midtown Lunches in a whole range of categories. You can only vote once per category (so choose wisely), and official results will be posted after the new year.

Num Pang stole the show during last year’s reader’s poll, and their recent expansion in Midtown has certainly been a welcome treat to west siders. But this year newcomer Treehaus made a splash by reviving the Midtown Lunch Sandwich Challenge that Certe used to dominate. Will the the three sandwich heavyweights dominate the polls this year, or will someone else upstage them all? Here are the nominees for best sandwich in Midtown…

• Blue Dog Kitchen
• Cer Te
• Melange
• Num Pang
• Potbelly
• Treehaus

Vote for your favorite after the jump…

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