Midtown Lunch

Earlier this week we put a call out for new lunchers. Here’s an early report from one of our potential new contributors, Kaitlin…

There’s another Roast Kitchen outpost opening between 48th and 49th street on Madison Avenue. The initial review of the original location on 7th and 49th seemed to think that the meat was the worst part of the meal but here’s hoping things have gotten better since then. Either way, I’m excited to have more meat and veggie options for lunch!

Roast Kitchen

• 740 Seventh Ave (at 49th St.), 212-399-9100
• Coming soon to Madison Ave btw. 48+49th

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.

We are in trouble. As the regular readers already know, I love Indian food (and Pakistani and Bangladeshi and Nepalese…really, anything from that region of the world.) The problem is that over Thanksgiving I visited India!!! And as crazy as it seems, I am now more obsessed with Indian food. In the past, I tried to limit my Curry Hill posts to once a month, but it will be hard moving forward after eating Indian food for breakfast, lunch and dinner for 9 days. Did you know that dosas make an amazing breakfast?

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Ground Central Coffee Company, a small coffee shop that opened on 52nd St. (btw Lex+3rd) last month, boasts a lunch menu with sandwiches that sound really good. And with price tags just below and sometimes above the ML limit, you’d expect them to be really good. But before we get to that, let me just say that Ground Central is a really cool coffee shop. It’s got a nice drink menu of coffees and teas and a nicely decorated interior with plenty of seating. It’s definitely somewhere I’d go to relax over a hot drink. They’ve also got a bunch of tasty-looking baked goods like madeleines, chocolate chip cookies, and financiers. And when you buy a sandwich or salad, you get a free drink.

But is it a good lunch option?

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It’s been a while since they’ve done one of these, but Num Pang just launched their new “Chefs Give Back” sandwich, this time in collaboration with Chef Michael Anthony of Gramercy Tavern. The Gramercy Tavern Pang will be available until the end of the month, but considering how tasty the Cardoz Pang was and the fact that I’ve never had a disappointing lunch at Num Pang, I couldn’t wait to try this one. Luckily there was no line at the new Times Square location (on 48th btw. 6+7th), so I was able to check it out on the very first day.

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Have you always read Midtown Lunch and thought “I could do that!” Was that thought immediately replaced by “I really *want* to do that!” Well, we’re looking for a few more lunch contributors and it could be you.  Ideal candidate will be familiar with the Midtown Lunch brand of under $10 lunches, with a likeminded aversion to boring sandwiches and salads from generic Midtown delis. None of us really make any money doing this (i.e. compensation is minimal) so ideal candidate will also already have a job in Midtown that pays well, and preferably that job will not have a boss that keeps you from going out to lunch every day.  To apply please send an email to zach@midtownlunch.com detailing exactly why you should be the next member of our team (and be sure to include what area of Midtown you work in.)

Got this tip from a Lunch’er who wishes to remain annonymous, but it seemed worth passing along…

Big fan of the site for several years, but unfortunately a passive consumer as commenting and whatnot isn’t an option with internet security settings at work. I prefer to remain anonymous if you don’t mind, but I want to recommend a favorite spot of mine. I have been eating at the Hyderabad cart on 50th and 6th pretty regularly (~1-2x week) since it popped up across from my office about 7 or 8 months ago, and I’ve got to tell you I think this place is under recognized. You guys did a nice enough piece on them back last April, but I think they have really hit their stride since. I’ve lived smack in the middle of Curry Hill for about 3 years so I think I have a pretty good handle on Indian, and aside from that have spent all 8 of my NYC years vigorously consuming all other variances of “street meat”. The family who runs it are an incredibly cheerful bunch, and although I don’t know their names or anything about them really I’ve developed enough of a relationship with them to feel like endorsing their work.

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There have been a lot of new trucks and carts that hit the road this year, but I have to admit that this one has me very excited. The guys from Uncle Gussy’s are opening a coffee cart today and their menu looks awesome. Read more »

Clarke’s Standard Thanksgiving Combo, available thru Nov 30th

• Clarke’s Standard and Carnegie Deli both have Thanksgiving specials [Eater]
• ‘wichcraft’s Bryant Park soup and grilled cheese kiosk is now open [Grub Street]
• Sietsema’s Secrets: Katsu-hama’s Pork Cutlets [Eater]
• Splurges: Your First look at Butter Midtown [Grub Street;Eater]
• Sietseam’s first impressions of Ivan Ramen [Eater]
• A look at Paris Baguette’s new Midtown location [SENY]
• Larb Ubol is the best restaurant in Hell’s Kitchen [Fork in the Road]

You have to be living under a rock (Plymouth?) if you haven’t heard that this year Thanksgiving and the first day of Hanukkah fall on the same day. While people are at home cooking potentially awful dishes like Manischewitz-brined turkey and cranberry latkes, I decided to head over to Ess-a-Bagel to see if I could put together a hybrid holiday meal. Too bad we have to wait another 80,000 years to officially celebrate Thanksgivukkah again. But it’ll be here before you know it. Check out the video after the jump.

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