A new study by the NYC Dept. of Health has confirmed that calorie postings have helped consumers make better choices, directly contradicting an earlier study that showed no effect. Not surprisingly the list of chains showing “significant statistical decreases” in the study didn’t include Chipotle. Their calorie counts are complete bullshit. [via Grub Street]
Related:
Basic Math Blows Holes in Chipotle’s Absurd “Calorie Range”
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 Mike, a Financial Panther who hates Brother Jimmy’s and is really pissed at Pampano Taqueria for getting rid of their Agua Fresca combo add-on.
Name: Mike
Age: 24
Occupation: Financial Panther
Where in Midtown do you Work?: My office is at the out of bounds location of 29th and Madison. I used to work on 51st and Park. That’s where I did my serious midtown lunching. I never thought I would miss that area when it came to lunch but now I actually take trips up there to get some of my favorite places that I miss.
Favorite Kind of Food: Wow that’s tough! Does cheap eats count as an answer? I live in the village so I try to bring my midtown lunching rules of nothing over $10 back for dinner and I rarely go over. My favorite type of food has to be Mexican, BBQ, or Bar Food but basically I love anything loaded with starch or carbs (healthy right?). I love all Asian food and have recently been on a soup dumpling and ramen kick (and no not Nissan cup of soup). At a pizza joint I will ALWAYS order a chicken parm sub unless were talking Neapolitan pizza. I grew up on my grandmother’s sauce so anything Italian that is not smothered in red sauce is sacrilege. Finally, a bagel with nova lox and cream cheese is my favorite all time favorite breakfast. I don’t get it that often because I haven’t been able to find a good place in the city that gives me nova with cream-cheese on a bagel for less than 10 bucks.
Least Favorite Kind of Food: It is a tie between Vegetarian and Ethiopian. When I say vegetarian I don’t just mean food with no meat. I am talking about anywhere that serves wheat grass cocktails and tofu burgers. Yuck. Eating raw fatty meaty is disgusting to me. I’m grossed out by Kosher pizza and the other day I heard of Kosher Mexican (I don’t even want to know what that constitutes).
Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Midtown: For this I will stick to my old midtown location of 51st and Park. I still make the trip uptown to go to Pampano Taqueria (on 3rd Ave. btw. 49+50th). 2 or 3 Alambre steak tacos with the combo and the Agua Fresca and I am in the food zone! The Agua Fresca always sealed the deal for me and I was even so bold as to ask them how it was made. They gave me the Heisman and said, “no way” but every time I go I still try to find out that secret recipe. Now the sad news. I went there last Friday with my girlfriend and they got rid of the Agua Fresca as a add on to the combo. I called shenanigans and tried to reason with them that the Agua Fresca made the deal, but I was denied. Even without the Agua Fresca it is one of the best lunches in midtown. My go to pizza place was always La Bellezza (on 49th btw. Lex+3rd) for a chicken or eggplant parm sub. When a chicken parm is made with thin flat pounded chicken that is freshly breaded and spiced just right it is a thing of beauty. Sizzle chicken with extra sauce at Fusion Grills in the food court at 875 3rd Ave is great. Cheap generic chicken teriyaki is one of my favorite food court meals. When I found this I was so excited because I mourned the Sarku that got removed when the heartless JC Penny Corporation moved into the Manhattan Mall.
Posted by Zach Brooks at 11:45 am, October 27th, 2009 under PROFILE: Midtown Lunch'er.
Fishtail Extends $5 Menu: Fresh off trying Fishtail's special $5 Octoberfest menu on Friday (the one where you can get 5 raw oysters and a burger for $10), we've just read that they've decided to extend the deal through November. Nice! [via David Burke's Twitter]
Posted at 11:00 am, October 27th, 2009 | 0 Comments
When I go to Cafe Cello (on 46th btw. 5+6th) I pretty much always order the roast pork (with an occasional fried chicken detour.) But if you’re looking for something different they now have a schedule of their specials hung on their front door. They have roast pork and fried chicken every day, but if you want oxtails you’ll have to go Wednesday, and for tripe (hello!) Thursday is your day. Might have to stop by today though… it’s fried pork day!
You know who else has started putting a schedule up? The Trini Paki Boys cart (on 43rd btw. 5+6th).
Posted by Zach Brooks at 10:00 am, October 27th, 2009 under Cafe Cello, Trini Paki Boys Cart.
88 Cent Burger Reminder: Don't forget today you can get two Pop Burgers (on 58th btw. Mad+5th) for 88 Cents courtesy of 8Coupons. You have to have the coupon texted to your phone, and it's kind of lame that you can only use it between 2-5pm, but whatever. Beggars can't be choosers.
Posted at 9:15 am, October 27th, 2009 | 1 Comment
I love how Bobby Flay continues to champion the New York City street cart scene. Since his original, widely publicized Throwdown with the Dessert Truck, he’s gotten Throwdown help from the Jamaican Dutchy and Kwik Meal, plus visited the Biriyani Cart, the Dutchy, and Wafels and Dinges for a pre-Vendy award spot on CBS. The latest visit comes courtesy of Serious Eats, who reported yesterday that Flay returned to the Wafels and Dinges Truck yesterday for a full fledged Throwdown! Owner Thomas confirmed the news on Twitter, and posted photos to Facebook. It also appears that the producers have gotten far better at lying to the contestants. Dessert Truck figured things out immediately, but Thomas said he was completely “fooled into believing that it was a pilot about food trucks.”
Related:
Dessert Truck Bests Flay; Throwdown Blamed on the “Internet”
Kwik Meal Helps Bobby Flay Beat Taim in Falafel Throwdown
Jamaican Dutchy to Help Bobby Flay Throwdown
Posted by Zach Brooks at 8:30 am, October 27th, 2009 under Bobby Flay, Wafels and Dinges.
If you’re a fan of Dan Delaney and his weekly street food videos on VendrTV than this week might be a good time for some old fashion stalking. On Wednesday they’ll be filming with the Schnitzel & Things Truck in Dumbo, and on Thursday they’ll be involved in some way with the This is Why Your Fat Eat N Tweet Challenge (the thing we posted about here). But the most interesting VendrTV episode in the works might be with Fancy Fast Food (the blog that turns fast food into beautifully fancy dishes). From their twitter: “Got approached by vendr.tv to do a fancification with NYC street meat. Thoughts on what to make?” I like the sound of this… anybody have any ideas?
Related:
Fancy Fast Food Makes Mousse Out of Miss Softee
VendrTV Visits the 53rd St. & 6th Ave. Halal Guys
Vendr TV Launches With Midtown Treats Truck Video (Do You See Yourself?)
Boston Market Tries to One-Up KFC: In response to today's KFC free piece of grilled chicken giveaway, Boston Market has hit back with a deal of their own. Get a whole chicken meal for just $1 with this coupon (good through the end of the week). The only Midtown location is on 58th and 10th (too far for me!), but I'm sure some of you cheapos will think it's worth it. Enjoy!
Posted at 2:30 pm, October 26th, 2009 | 7 Comments
I guess the past two weeks were just the prelims, because Barros Luco (the new Chilean sandwich shop over on 2nd Ave. and 52nd Street) is celebrating its “official” grand opening today. So if you were turned off by an earlier visit, or were forced to wait 28 minutes for your food, maybe this means they’ve worked all the issues out. I was a fan from day one.
Related:
Barros Luco Is Just What New York’s Chilean Food Fans Have Been Waiting For
Sit down restaurants are not really what Midtown Lunch is all about. Sure, the $10 price cap disqualifies most of them, but even so… ML is about adventure, and value, and finding something different. Everybody knows that if you are willing to shell out the cash, and have a couple hours to spare, there are tons of delicious lunches to be had in New York City. This site is about finding the less expensive options that save you from eating boring turkey sandwiches and build your own salad every day for lunch.
But every so often, a deal comes along from a fancy sit down restaurant that is just too good to ignore (like Del Frisco’s $9.95 steak tips bar menu loophole- since closed.) So when I read about Fishtail’s new October $5 menu, I had to go check it out.
