Midtown Lunch

Got word last week that Urban Lobster Shack has opened a new location in the downstairs food court on 3rd Ave. btw. 49+50th (the one with Sophie’s Cuban and Pampano Taqueria.) Our original Downtown Lunch man Daniel Krieger wrote about their downtown location, where at one time $15 got you a lobster roll, soup, chips, cole slaw, crackers, and a water (although from the looks of their website the combo has gone up to $18.)  $18 is way above the ML price range, but we’re talking about lobster rolls here.  (The one at the very excellent Grand Central Oyster Bar takeout window is $27!)   According to Lunch’er “Andrew”, they were doing a $10 special last week (lobster roll, caesar salad, and cole slaw) but not sure if that’s still going on.  Early adopters, feel free to give us some info in the comments.

Related:
Downtown Lunch: Urban Lobster Shack

Yakitori Totto Lunch Special. Photo by Food in Mouth

• Danny enjoys a quiet lunch at Yakitori Totto [Food in Mouth]
• Courtney Cox & David Arquette are planning some sort of NYC street food sit com? [Eater]
• Looking for a Midtown meat splurge? Get the mutton chop at Keen’s [Me So Hungry]
• Sometimes, Joe the Art of Coffee sells Tumbador ring dings [Blondie and Brownie]
• Nino’s makes some amazing Italian sandwiches [NYC Foodie]
• Chiyoda serves a good bowl of Tokyo style soba [Ramen and Friends]
• The NYC Cravings Truck was originally going to be a giant panda [Taiwanese American]
• James tackles the Go Go Curry Grand Slam [The Eaten Path]
• The roast pork to noodle ratio in Kar Won’s soups is amazing [Eating in Translation]
• Minar makes a great version of chana bhatura [Blondie and Brownie]
• The donburi bowl at Cafe Zaiya is not worth getting again [Tasty Eating]
  

As is customary here on Midtown Lunch, we always end the year with a gigantic photo of every lunch consumed in Midtown that year.  Once again I can’t decide whether or not to be proud or ashamed… but one thing is for sure, the photo is much larger than last year.  (As is my gut.)

So, without further ado… every Midtown Lunch I consumed in 2009 in one gigantic photo.

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I got a couple of lovely Christmas cards this year, and thought I’d share them.  Like this one from Barros Luco, the Chilean sandwich spot on 52nd btw. 1st+2nd.

Lovely!  But kind of tame compared to the kind of NSFW Christmas card I got from Rick’s Cabaret (on 33rd btw. B’way+5th.)

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It’s time for the 3rd Annual Midtown Lunch Readers’ Poll. Your nominations are in, and between now and the end of the year I’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.

As expected 2009 was a tough one, and we lost a lot of great Midtown Lunches. The economy took down old standbys, and new wannabe chains that never got going… and while we’ll never get some of our favorite spots back, we can hope that 2010 will be kinder. Here are the nominations for Saddest Closing of the Year. (I feel like this should be accompanied by a video montage…)

• Cafe Zest (47th btw. Lex+3rd)
• City Burger (39th & Broadway)
• Diamond Dairy (47th btw. 5+6th)
• Empanada Joe’s (43rd & 8th)
• Fashion Soup (41st btw. 6+B’way)
• Milant (39th btw. Lex+3rd)
• Norimaki (35th btw. 7+8th)
• Sahara Grill (7th Ave. & 40th)
• Uncle Marky’s Organics (53rd btw. 2+3rd)

Vote for which one you miss the most, after the jump.

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It’s time for the 3rd Annual Midtown Lunch Readers’ Poll. Your nominations are in, and between now and the end of the year I’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.

I love me some all you can Indian buffets… but sometimes you just don’t feel like stuffing your face until it can’t take anymore. And for those days, you head to these places. Whether it’s chaat, kati rolls, or a combo platter of food from a steam table, these Midtown spots always have you covered. Here are the nominees for Best Indian Fast Food:

• Biriyani Cart (46th btw. 6+7th)
• Indus Express (48th btw. 5+6th)
• Joy Curry & Tandoor (46th btw. Lex+3rd)
• Kati Roll (39th btw. 5+6th)
• Khodiar Lunch Services (6th Ave. btw. 38+39th)
• Maharaja (45th btw. Lex+3rd)
• Minar (46th btw. 6+7th)

Vote for your favorite after the jump…

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It’s time for the 3rd Annual Midtown Lunch Readers’ Poll. Your nominations are in, and between now and the end of the year I’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.

I’m a sucker for the all you can eat Chinese buffet… but there’s only one of those in Midtown (and it’s pretty bad.) So when you want all you can eat, for under $11, there really is only one option… INDIAN! There are so many all you can eat Indian buffets in Midtown, at every price point. But being the cheap bastard I am, I only hit up the ones that are $10.95 or less. Here are the nominees for Best Under $11 ACYE Indian buffet:

• Apna Taj (55th btw. Lex+3rd)
• Curry Dream (39th btw. 5+6th)
• Darbar Grill (55th btw. Lex+3rd)
• Kashmir/Times Restaurant (8th Ave. btw. 39+40th)
• Spice Fusion (8th Ave. btw. 47+48th)
• Sukhadia’s Gokul (45th btw. 5+6th)
• Touch of India (37th btw. 7+8th)

Vote for your favorite after the jump…

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It’s time for the 3rd Annual Midtown Lunch Readers’ Poll. Your nominations are in, and between now and the end of the year I’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.

When I started Midtown Lunch I purposefully set the southern boundaries at 32nd so I could have an excuse to eat in Koreatown… you know… “for work”. But since then, a good number of decent Korean options have popped up north of 35th Street. But are they good enough to beat the K-Town under $10 masters? Only you guys can decide. Here are the nominees for best Korean food in Midtown:

• Cafe Amande (37th btw. 5+6th)
• Cafe Duke (51st btw. 6+7th)
• Mandoo Bar (32nd btw. B’way+5th)
• Pro Hot Korean (56th btw. 5+6th)
• Shilla (32nd btw. B’way+5th)
• Woorijip (on 32nd btw. B’way+5th)

Vote for your favorite after the jump.

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