Midtown Lunch

It would take a lot to get me to eat in the tourist packed hell hole that is 42nd Street btw. 7+8th Avenues… but two full meals for $10 qualifies as a lot right? When the fight broke out last month between The Feedbag and Serious Eats over whether or not Dallas BBQ was good, I wondered whether or not they still did that $10 special I used to see advertised in the subway. Well, it looks like they do. $10 gets you two 1/2 rotisserie chickens (which last time I checked was a whole rotisserie chicken), two orders of soup, two servings of potato or rice, and two pieces of cornbread. The only catch is it’s eat in only, and the deal is only available Monday-Thursday between 11am and Noon or 2pm and 5pm. On Fridays, for some reason, it’s available 11am to 5pm (bonus!) Too much food? (gasp!) Or don’t want to eat in Dallas BBQ? They also have a new $5 bbq chicken sandwich.

Dallas BBQ, 241 W 42nd St (btw. 7+8th), 212-221-9000

A few reports have come in today about police activity in front of the Vendy Award winning Biriyani Cart (on 46th and 6th.) According to Lunch’er Chris it might have had something to do with the crowds of people waiting on line for biriyani in front of Cafe Europa (the generic Midtown deli on the same corner):

“So I was down at Europa (on 6th and 46) grabbing my standard boring salad and on my way out I notice the manager talking to a couple cops. I heard him complaining about the crowds for the Briyani Cart blocking the sidewalk, which is kind of odd considering it doesn’t really effect the entrance at all. Anyways, you might want to ask the Briyani guys if the cops have been bothering them today at all.”

Just confirmed with Meru, the owner of the Biriyani Cart, that the cops did in fact show up earlier today- and have just now returned for a second time to issue tickets.

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Thanks to Lunch’er Robert for sending along this cartoon from Non-Sequitur.

Related:
Own A Print of the Elwood Smith Vendor Wars Cartoon from the New York Times

Back in June of last year we noticed that Printon 56 (on 56th btw. 5+6th) was carrying the same brand of FroYo as the ultra popular 40 Carrots in Bloomingdales, but could only assume that it tasted the same (I’m not much of a froyo connoisseur.) Well, Blondie and Brownie have now confirmed that the stuff they serve as Printon is “comparable” to 40 Carrots. Huzzah!

I was planning on eating at the newly opened Lan Sheng yesterday (on 39th btw. B’way+6th), but found myself drawn instead into Madeline’s- the very good catering company/lunch spot on the same block that I wrote about last April.  I won’t lie, a specials sign touting a steak sandwich probably wouldn’t have registered a reaction;  but a “Korean BBQ Steak Sandwich” and I’m in. (What can I say, it’s not just Asian soups I’m addicted to.  It’s Asian everything.)

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After I proclaimed Aura Thai’s duck soup one of the best in Midtown last week, Lunch’er MikeNYC pointed something out in the comments that is hard for me to deny:

It’s strange: If one were to go by this site alone, one would think soup is pretty much an asian food. Try clicking on that food type “soup” link above. The resulting stories skew about 80% or more to asian soups. (I made up that ratio, but it’s a high number) That is not even close to the asian/non-asian ratio of soup sales or consumption, based solely on casual observation in places I go. Which is my long winded way of bitching about the lack of non-asian soup coverage on ML. BTW, anyone got a good chicken pot pie soup near rock center? Bistro does a good one, but not every day. Also, burning question: Pot pie soup – bits o’crust, or no? Maybe I should take it to the forum….

You are so right.  I’m completely prejudiced again non-Asian soups, and it’s not right.  Although, in my defense, a bowl of ramen or udon seems more like a full meal than anything you could get from Hale & Hearty.  Chicken pot pie soup does sound good…  so, I’ll do it!  My next 5 soup posts will be non Asian.  Got any suggestions for me?

Related:
Lunch’er Grace Reports: The Ultimate Midtown Soup List

39th Street btw. 5+6th is turning into one of the better lunch blocks in Midtown. Already home to Kati Roll, Szechuan Gourmet, Madeline’s Cafe, and Curry Dream, two new spots are now open for business: Lan Sheng and Mangia Organics. It will be tough for Lan Sheng to compete with Szechuan Gourmet, which is one of (if not the) best Chinese restaurant in Manhattan- and when we originally posted about it, they mentioned in the comments they were maybe going to add some of their Szechuan specialties to the lunch menu… but sadly the menu hasn’t changed. If anybody checks it out, let us know what you think. As a Chinese food addict, I’m still interested in trying it (naturally).

Mangia Organics on the other hand…

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