Midtown Lunch

All that talk about dumplings yesterday has put me in the mood for… well… dumplings. A quick look in the comments proves that there are no truly spectacular dumplings in Midtown. No one place here stands out as the best. (For that you have to head to Chinatown or to the outer bouroughs.) But there are some decent options, like the gyoza at one of the Japanese ramen spots (like Men Kui Tei, or Sapporo), wontons in chili oil from Szechuan Gourmet or Wu Liang Ye, or the new dim sum bar at Yushi. And of course there is the Rickshaw Dumpling Truck, which has its fans (to go along with some very vocal detractors.)

For Korean dumplings (or mandoo) there is the well known “Mandoo Bar” on 32nd btw. B’way+5th . But the other day I read something in the forums about a new mandoo bar in Cafe Charlie, an otherwise generic Midtown deli on 41st btw. Mad+5th. Clearly an investigation was in order.

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The Trini Paki Boys cart is still waiting on the inspection they need to renew their cart’s license, but in the meantime they’ve decided to rent a licensed cart from somebody else so they can get back to work (on 43rd btw. 5+6th).  There is a small chance they might show up late today with this borrowed cart, but more than likely tomorrow will be their first day back.  Their inspection is scheduled for November 17th, so they should be back in their original cart on the 18th.

Related:
Is the Trini Paki Cart Going Away?

It’s not often that the restaurant review in the New York Times intersects with Midtown Lunch. It happened last July when Frank Bruni bestowed two stars on our humble Szechuan Gourmet. And today newcomer Sam Sifton has done it again, giving a single star to Le Relais de Venise L’entrecote (on Lex and 52nd.) A meal at this spot, which has no menus and only one main course (steak frites), costs $24- so technically it’s not a Midtown Lunch at all. But I’ve been kind of obsessed with the place since reading about it on Serious Eats at the beginning of the summer. Now that Sifton, who has quickly become my favorite food reviewer of all time with his rock star review of DBGB and references to General Tso’s chicken, has given it a star I don’t see how I can avoid the lunchtime splurge. (I’m guessing I’m not the only one.)

Related:
Le Relais de Venise L’Entrecote is My Kind of Splurge
Szechuan Gourmet: Day 1 as a NYT 2 Starred Restaurant

Photo courtesy of Nick Solares

For the second time in three weeks Time Out New York’s “Officially Obsessed” column has been dedicated to pretty well known Midtown Lunch’ing spots. Two weeks ago it the braised crispy tofu with chili and sliced pork from the new Szechuan Gourmet (on 56th btw. B’way+8th), and this week it’s the papri chaat from Indus Express.  (This actually marks the second time TONY has called out the latter… it was named one of the Top 100 Bites of 2008.)

Can’t argue with either recommendation (although if push comes to shove I’m still sticking with the twice cooked pork belly with chili and leeks.)

Related:
Snapshots: For Those About to Chaat…
Pork Belly w/ Chili Leeks Still Good at the New Szechuan Gourmet

It’s hard to believe but another Crumbs is opening in Midtown tomorrow on Lexington Ave. btw. 43+44th. You would think we had enough cupcakeries here in Midtown, but clearly the market can take more.  Sadly tomorrow is what is known in the biz as a “soft opening” so there will be no free cupcakes. In other words we freeloaders will have to wait another few weeks for their official grand opening to score some gratis grub. [Blondie and Brownie]