Midtown Lunch

Every Tuesday I turn over the site to a different Midtown Lunch’er for his or her recommendations for the best lunch in Midtown. This week it’s Anita, an avid bike rider who wishes she lived in India.

Name: Anita

Age: 26

Occupation: Digital Strategist, Bike Blogger

Where in Midtown do you Work?: 34th and 5th Ave but I used be on 42nd and 3rd when I discovered Midtown Lunch

Favorite Kind of Food: Noodles and dumplings from pretty much from any ethnic cuisine. I love ramen but also love those hand pulled noodles in Chinatown. There are great places in Sunset Park Brooklyn. One gave me food poisoning but I love it so much I keep going back. I also love homemade pastas, Chinese dumplings, polish dumplings, ect. I like my carbs.

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Generic American or in Midtown things found inside my building like Europa Cafe and Big Apple Cafe

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Midtown: Kati Roll (on 39th btw. 5+6th), the Aloo Unda and Chicken are my staples. Menchanko-Tei (on 45th btw. Lex+3rd), though it’s pretty far from me now. Woorijip (on 32nd btw. B’way+5th) and Saravanaas- though I guess that’s technically outside Midtown

Read more »

I’m kind of embarrassed that it took me this long to post about Zibetto Espresso Bar. Every time coffee gets mentioned on the site, somebody posts about it in the comments. And it was nominated for Best Coffee in the 2009 Readers’ Choice Poll. It would be forgivable if Zibetto was just about good coffee, since this is a lunch site. But Zibetto is not your average Midtown coffee spot. It’s a nod to the coffee culture in Italy, where your morning pick me up is enjoyed standing up at a bar (ideally) alongside a cornetto (think croissant, but better because it’s Italian.) And most importantly for our purposes, they serve sandwiches.

Read more »

Just before the new year Time Out New York reported that a new Japanese restaurant called Haru Hana had opened on the main strip in Koreatown (on 32nd btw. B’way+5th), serving up “sushi, yakitori and hot pots”. They also have udon, ramen, and katsu, plus a lunch menu in which most of the items are under $10. Ultraclay gets the first taste, and seemed to enjoy his eel over rice and yakitori– although he noted how unusual it is to see a Japanese restaurant in Midtown that does everything, rather than focus on doing one thing well.

Check out the lunch menu after the jump…

Read more »

Fresh off their “Best Sandwiches in Midtown” victory in the 2009 Reader’s poll, Cer Te (on 55th btw. 5+6th) has decided to up the ante by turning over their sandwich of the month to you… the ML readers.  They sent over the details in an email this afternoon:

We’re happy to announce that we’re taking the Midtown Lunch Sandwich Challenge in a new direction, this year we want to challenge YOU! Starting this week, we will be accepting sandwich ideas sent to sandwich@certenyc.com. Starting February (which is actually our one year anniversary creating sandwiches for Midtown Lunch) we will choose one sandwich per month to be featured- the sandwich will of course be named for its creator. In some circumstances, if we see fit to quality of the sandwich, we will modify it to Cer te standards- but ultimately it will fit the vision of it’s creator. We will meet with the creator and give them a tasting of their sandwich before we debut it to the public, and at that time we will ask for their recommended changes and perfect the sandwich!

So there it is. Got a dream sandwich you want to see Cer Te tackle? Email it to sandwich@certenyc.com

As is customary here on Midtown Lunch, I turn the site over to you at the end of the year to vote for your favorite Midtown Lunches. So… you voted… and here are the results, along with my picks. Some are were expected… some are surprises were mildly surprising… and a few were clearly influenced by Twitter. Here are the results of the 2009 Midtown Lunch Readers’ Poll:

Best Fast Food Hamburger: Burger Joint

After complete domination by Burger Joint in this category over the past few years I thought this might be the year that Five Guys take the crown.  They jumped out to an early lead- but then twitter took over, and pushed the Burger Joint to the victory.  Both are undeniably good burgers, and which one you prefer says a lot about your personal taste. If you want to eat a medium rare burger that tastes like it was grilled in your backyard on a summer day, Burger Joint is your spot.  If you prefer a thin patty, covered in cheese and toppings (like grilled onions, and mushrooms, and jalapenos), Five Guys is where you’ll be found.  I like the toppings.  Zach’s Pick: Five Guys [view full results]

Best Coffee: Joe the Art of Coffee

Photo Courtesy of Kathy YL Chan

I fully admit that I don’t drink coffee every morning (I’m a PG Tips kind of guy), but those of you who did have a clear favorite.  Joe the Art of Coffee in Grand Central.  For me though, the most exciting Midtown coffee news was the arrival of Intelligentsia- which you can now get at Culture Espresso Bar, a great new spot on 38th btw. 5+6th.  Their sandwiches aren’t too bad either.  I may not drink it ever day, but when I’m in the mood for some coffee that’s where I end up. Zach’s Pick: Culture Espresso Bar [view full results]

Read more »

Yes, I ate this salad… two years ago.

This is the most discouraging time of year for Midtown Lunch, because this site is all about finding good food and January is always about people pretending for a month a few weeks a few days that they’re actually going to be healthy.  That’s right… it’s New Year’s Resolution time!  Lucky for me this is my job, so I don’t have to go through the personal charade of signing up for a gym membership (and not using it) or eating salads at lunchtime (but topping those salads with dressing, cheese, and chinese crunchy things.)  Going on a diet for me would be like you deciding that you’re just not going to go to work for a few weeks.  But that doesn’t mean I don’t eat healthy sometimes… in my own special Midtown Lunch way.

So without further ado, I present to you the “healthiest” Midtown Lunches I can stand to swallow.  (Note: I clearly know nothing about eating healthy, and the views expressed in this post are probably completely wrong.  But whatever.  This is how I do “healthy”… so BACK OFF.)

Read more »