Midtown Lunch

Sad sad news from Lunch’er “Cecil” yesterday…

“My coworkers and I were grouping together to order some Indian Pizza from Bombay Eats on 52nd Street. Sadly, when we called, the owner picked up and said they lost their lease and are no longer in business. You could hear the construction workers breaking down the restaurant in the background. A sad day for Midtown Lunch.”

That’s upsetting. Their saag and tandoori chicken topped pizzas were one of a kind. (And nothing at all like what passes for “Indian Pizza” in Queens.) There is a rumor floating around that the spot is going to be turned into a ramen joint, but nothing has been confirmed…

Related:
Saag Paneer Pizza? Bombay Eats Has Got You Covered
Indian Pizza Meetup Unlocks the Mysteries of Bombay Eats

I guess there is something about today’s gorgeous weather that screams lobster roll! (Well, that and the fact that it’s Lent.)  Both Cer Te (on 55th btw. 5+6th) and the Urban Lobster Shack (in the basement food court on 3rd btw. 49+50th) are reporting (via twitter) a larger than normal number of advance orders this morning.  In other words, if you want a lobster roll today you might want to get on it now…

Related:
Other Lenten Lunch Options on Midtown Lunch
Urban Lobster Shack’s $10 Lobster Roll Is Worth the $$

Now that Downtown has its very own section of the site, what are we going to post on Fridays at 10am? Answer… how about a new column devoted to those lunches just south of the ML boundaries. Please give a warm welcome to Jason Lam from the blog Me So Hungry. Every Friday at 10am he’ll post about lunches in Murray Hill south, Grammercy, Flatiron, and everything in between… or as we’ll call it from now on: Flatiron Lunch.

Midtown Lunch has been all chicken wings, all the time this week.  And all this talk about Kyochon and Cravings and Woorjip really had me craving some Asian fried chicken. I had almost all but forgotten about Tebaya in our hood. It’s not Korean, but Japanese and their signature chicken wings are tasty… but their fried chicken sandwiches are even more awesome.

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Thanks to Lunch’er “Nick” for passing along this one.  He was walking by Rock Center yesterday, where they were handing out flyers asking people to audition for a new show called “America’s Top Restaurant.  It’s from the producers of Top Chef, and the show is going to pay to turn somebody’s idea for a restaurant into a franchise. They’ll be at the NBC Experience store today (Friday) and tomorrow (Saturday) from 10am to 2pm scouting for people and apparently you don’t even have to cook or anything… you just have to have one good idea.  Maybe Lunch’er “Jim” will pitch his Thai food cart idea. What do you say Jim?! We’re behind you…  You can get more details about the auditions here.

• Would you eat a shrimp and mayo taco? [Midtown Eating]
• Help ML contributor Brownie win a contest, and she’ll give you pie [Miscellaneous]
• If you had read the forums yesterday, you would have gotten a free burrito [Midtown Eating]
• Are Happy Meal’s so stuffed with preservatives that they equal Twinkies?!? [Miscellaneous]
• Saturday March 20th is Macaron Day! [Eating in Other Areas of NYC]

“Here’s a menu… come back on Saturday”

From Lunch’er Alyssa in the ML Inbox: “Just went out to get Kyochon (on 5th btw. 32+33rd) today and was informed that they’re closed for the next two days to retrain all of the employees due to the poor reviews they’ve received. Further proof that all those too-early reviews just ruined it for everyone else.” Clearly, your voices have been heard.

Related:
The Really Early Word on Kyochon
Cast Your Judgements on Kyochon Now That It’s Open For Lunch (That’s Right… You Read That Correctly)

I’m sure it sounded brilliant coming out of the mouth of some overpaid marketing consultant (“what better way to cure a post St. Paddy’s day hangover”) but a 7-9:30am free food alert!  What were you guys thinking?  Those who did manage to stumble into work on time today were treated to a delicious free breakfast (and virgin bloody mary) courtesy of Tabasco on 48th St., but according to neenabee there was absolutely no line (a stark contrast to the NBC free food trucks back in February.)  I wonder how the downtown location fared… they got a far better Noon time slot!

Grill 44 (on 44th btw. Lex+3rd) joined the kati roll revolution back in 2008 by adding ‘Indian burritos’ to their usual stream tray assortment of samosas, curries, lamb vindaloo and tikka masala. Now 44G is packing even more into their tiny storefront by serving a South Indian menu. It’s always dubious when a restaurant adds too many different items to one menu, but 44G seem to be pulling it off. I’m not a dosa expert by any means, but my taste buds know flavorful delicious food… so I set forth to expand my horizons.

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Going off a tip from Tuesday’s obligatory Kyochon (5th Ave. btw. 32nd+33rd) post, I popped into the newly renovated Woorijip (32nd St. btw. 5th+6th Ave.) and indeed found some great fried chicken wings on the hot bar. Though they weren’t covered in a sweet hot glaze, said sauce could be found on the side for self-spoonage, which allowed the skin to stay crispy longer (there’s an audible crackle on these despite sitting out on the buffet). Woorijip’s buffet selections rotate, so you won’t be guaranteed wings everyday, but you’ll be sure to find an array of other fried goods to satisfy and with the new renovations, there’s no more gauntlet of buffet-related death. As for Kyochon? Girrl, I don’t need your fancy egg table and high maintenance lines.

Related:
Woorijip Reorganizes, Shuts Down Noodle Bar?