Midtown Lunch

Photo courtesy of Lunch’er Stephen

Reports poured in from Midtown Lunch’ers trying the Kwik Meal pasta cart for the first time today (on 45th and 6th), and despite early concern that Muhammed wouldn’t be able to pull off pasta from a cart- the reviews seem largely positive!

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Just went, Rahman was there in the pasta cart creating the orders and asking customers to sample before they left so he could get their feedback. Got the chicken w/ vegetables — fairly delicious, no visible sauce but definitely a bit of a kick. I would probably get it again, but if they had other options besides angel hair it would be better.

Pasta photos and more, are after the jump…

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A couple weeks ago I kind of flipped out gushed over the new fried burger being sold at the Schnitzel & Things Truck.  I got pretty excited after eating the grease soaked monstrosity- not just because it tasted really good, but also because its unabashed grossness was quite simply unmatched by any Midtown Lunch I have ever had (and I have had quite a few.)  Well, in a surprising turn, the schnitzel burger’s reign atop the grossest-sandwich-in-Midtown heap was short lived.  Because last week I tried Cer Te’s October entry in the Midtown Lunch Sandwich Challenge, the “Tuscan Cheesesteak” ($8.95), and it is without a doubt the most deliciously gross, out of control gut bomb, I have ever had in Midtown, in sandwich form.

Cer Te (on 55th btw. 5+6th) has had a long history of creating sandwich craziness for the ML Sandwich challenge.  But the “Tuscan Cheesesteak” takes the cake.  So much so I devised a list of reasons why you shouldn’t eat this sandwich.  That list, plus a closer look at the madness is after the jump…

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Just got word that from now until 2pm future Celebrity Apprentice contestants Cyndi Lauper, Sharon Osbourne, and WWE Diva Maria are all working the lunch shift at the Burger Heaven on 62nd and Lexington.  Not sure if you can sit or just take burgers to go, but the lines are already forming and their phone has been re-routed to a different Burger Heaven location where they have they no idea what’s going on.  Thankfully Midtown Lunch’er Scott is sending us updates from the line (including the photo above.)  As soon as he finds out what’s going on, he’ll hopefully let us know… or you can throw caution to the wind and just head over now!

UPDATE: “Cyndi is my waitress!! She just served me.” Photo and live updates from the scene are after the jump…

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A couple of exciting tidbits from the world of Midtown street vending this morning.  First up, I just got word that Kwik Meal’s Muhammed Rahman will open his new pasta cart today.  It will be parked next to the OG Kwik Meal cart on 45th and 6th and will have three options: Angel hair w/ chicken, shrimp, or vegetables in red sauce.  Can’t wait to hear from the early adopters about this one.  Feel free to send photos to zach@midtownlunch.com.  Also going down today… Schnitzel & Things and the Street Sweets truck are parking together today on 52nd btw. 6+7th. Schnitzel burger, followed by fresh oven baked chocolate chip cookies?  Sounds like a plan… (although, as always, you may want to check the ML Twitter Tracker for confirmation before heading out.)

Related:
Famous Street Meat Vendor Branching Out With Italian Food Cart
Schnitzel Burger is Everything That is Fun About Food
The Street Sweets Truck Top 5

On days like today soup will be on the agenda for many lunchers… but for me there is a less obvious choice: Indian buffet! On Friday I tested this theory with a little cold (and rainy) day trip to Spice Fusion (on 8th Ave. btw. 47+48th.) I consider it one of the better buffet options in Midtown, especially in its price range (which at $10.95 pushes me to my buffet price limit.) The tricky thing about most Indian buffets is items will change from day to day, so you never know what you are going to get. But I was excited to discover that Spice Fusion has created a schedule and posts it for everyone to see at the front door. That way you know exactly what you are going to get before heading over.

Check out a close up after the jump…

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Blondie and Brownie discover another reason why Midtown chains suck. Lenny’s, which is not terrible (but should certainly not be at the top of any list for best lunch in Midtown), charges customers an extra 25 cents to have their bagels toasted.  Brownie is rightfully outraged: “WTF?! That’s down right unAmerican. Shouldn’t toasting be the inalienable right of a bagel buyer?” Agreed.

She goes on to ask if there are “other places in midtown where I can get a toasted bagel with olive and pimento cream cheese that won’t charge me to toast?” I don’t know about olive and pimento cream cheese (which could be considered an outrage in and of itself) but I know Times Square Hot Bagels (on 44th btw. 7+8th) is pretty good and has a crapload of different cream cheeses. Ess-a-Bagel (on 3rd btw. 50+51st) is also good, but that’s probably too far east for anybody who works in Rock Center (and they have some overcharging issues of their own.) Anybody else have bagel recommendations for the ladies? Put them in the comments…

Related:
Ess a Bagel and the Ultimate Case of “That’s how they getcha!”

Buckhorn Grill’s Tri Tip,coming soon to Rock Ctr. Photo courtesy of mmmfruit

• It sounds like Stumptown is worth walking to 29th street for [Fork in the Road]
• I am not cool enough to know what Bagatelle is, but one is coming to Midtown [Eater]
• A look at White Castle’s spicy buffalo chicken rings [Me So Hungry]
• HB Burger makes a list of NYC’s best tator tots [Restaurant Girl]

If you like to eat, chances are you like to drink (read: a lot of you are freakin’ lushes), so I thought maybe it was time to introduce a happy hour column to the site. Every week, our Happy Hour Correspondent “Mamacita” posts about a different bar in Midtown that fits the Midtown Lunch mentality: unhealthy food, not lame (unless it’s lame in a cool way), and most importantly… cheap. This week she hits up her second all you can eat happy hour in a row!!! (Very exciting…)

Koreatown has its fair share of fried chicken places. One thing they all have in common is the price. We’re not talking KFC here, and when you factor in drinks not only are you out of the ML price range but you are also putting a dent in your wallet that these days no one can afford. Then I read about Third Floor Café’s unlimited fried chicken and beer special on Tuesdays on Serious Eats. For $18 bucks (and with the right hearty eaters) this could easily be the deal of the year. It took me a while, but I finally made it out this past Tuesday.

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