Midtown Lunch

Earlier today Eater broke the huuuuuge news that Bill’s Bar & Burger will be moving into the old Tuscan Square space (on 51st btw. 5+6th.)  I sampled their smashed burger craziness in the Meatpacking District a few months ago, and from my one experience fall firmly on the “love it” side. (There has been a vocal backlash since the initial great reviews.)  It doesn’t matter which side of the debate you fall on, when combined with the Shake Shack news from last month 2010 is already shaping up to be a burgerrific year for Midtown!  The new Bill’s is slated to open in “a few months”.

Remember last April when NBCNewYork put David Chang into a street cart downtown to promote their new website? Well, they’re at it again.  We’re hearing from a very good source that on Feburary 8th Daniel Boulud “and friends” will be hijacking a food truck to promote the launch of NBC’s new restaurant site. “It’ll be a bonafide truck, stopping at various unannounced locations through out the city.” And unlike the Chang thing, they are guaranteeing a Midtown stop. (My vote is for charcuterie sandwiches!)

When Lan Sheng first put up their sign up back in September (on 39th btw. 5+6th), I was pretty skeptical. Were these people crazy? Opening a Sichuan restaurant across the street from New York Times 2 starred Szechuan Gourmet seemed like suicide. How could they possibly match up? The regular menu had some tasty looking stuff on it, but their lunch specials seemed a bit Americanized in contrast to S.G.- which offers a good number of their best Sichuan specialties as lunch specials (twice cooked pork belly with chili and leeks I’m looking in your general direction…)

I suppose with S.G. packed every day for lunch they could hope for some spillover, but after trying out the place just before the New Year I think it’s safe to say they’re not hoping for spillover. They have the potential to be doing some major customer poaching from their rivals across the street.

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Man, the Street Sweets Truck just can’t catch a break.  They burst onto the scene back in June, and immediately became embroiled in a turf battle with two restaurants on 55th Street that ended with the fire department being called.  In their next spot, in front of MoMa, they were surrounded by angry hot dog carts.  They’ve finally settled into a solid spot on 50th btw. 6+7th and now they’re being forced to change their name!  They’re not saying exactly why they have to change their name, but i’m guessing it has something to do with this.

Anyway, the good news is they’re holding a naming contest for their fans- and the winner will get a $500 American Express Gift Card, and a $100 gift certificate to the truck. The email from Street Sweets, with all the details, is after the jump…

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Unless they’re offering free food, I pretty much have no reason to ever want to step into a location of Pump Energy Food… until now.  Thrillist is reporting that a brand new Pump just opened on 52nd btw. Lex+3rd, and they’re serving “an adobo-marinated bison and yogurt-dill sauce job called the Street Meat” (only available at this new location.)  I’m normally not interested in low fat alternatives to my favorite foods, but it is a new year… and I have to admit I’m kind of curious.  UPDATE: Just got an email from Pump, who clarify that the new street meat special is called the “Spicy Dilligan” and is “a healthy take on the Rafiqi’s street meat”. PLUS “anyone who comes in today gets $5 off any order of $10 or more if they use the password “Midtown Lunch” at the cash register.”

Apparently when it rains coffee, it pours coffee. Yesterday I posted about Zibetto Espresso Bar, and discovered that Machiatto Espresso Bar is opening a new location on 52nd Street. Today we get word that the Love Truck popped up in Midtown yesterday. Lunch’er Brian spotted it on the corner of 46th & 6th, and sent along this photo. The Love Truck was created when the owners of the Mud Truck (a Downtown mainstay) split back in 2007. No word on if they’ll be back today, but you can track their whereabouts on this website.

The “For Rent” sign in the window of Indus Express has been taken down… so I’m guessing they worked things out with their landlord.  That’s good news.

Related:
Indus Express Might Be On the Move

Speaking of amazing Italian coffee spots, Macchiato Espresso Bar (on 44th btw. Lex+3rd) will be opening a second location on 52nd btw. 5+6th. This is not just great news for coffee lovers, but they also serve a nice menu of made to order sandwiches and salads that are step up from your average Midtown fare. No word on when the new location will open.

Related:
Macchiato Espresso Bar Revisited… For the First Time