Midtown Lunch

On my way to Koreatown today I noticed that Chicken House (on 36th just East of 8th Ave.) was boarded up.  Apparently they are going to be closed for renovations for a few months.  There’s no question the tiny fried chicken counter could be “cleaned up” a bit… but hopefully not too much.  The dinginess was part of the charm! Luckily there is no shortage of fried chicken options in that part of Midtown.

Related:
Chicken House is the Garment District Version of a Fish & Chip Shop
8th Avenue is the Fried Chicken Corridor of NYC

With baby and the wife in tow (she got the day off today!), I headed down to Koreatown for a leisurely today.  Normally I am a $10 and under kind of a guy, but I think if you have to work on a holiday you should be allowed a little bit of a splurge.  So, with that new rule guiding me I decided to hit up Gahm Mi Oak- one of the nicer (and more unique) Korean food options on 32nd btw. B’way+5th Ave.  The menu is pretty small, and almost everything on it is over $10, but if you’re looking for something completely offal- this is your place.  Gelatin of cow knee? A soup made with ox bones?  Raw oysters and pork belly?  It all sounded great to me… but I was there for one thing and one thing only.  Soon dae! (Korean blood sausage.)  Ever since I had Woorijip’s version, I’ve been craving a solid hot version from a restaurant- and all the Midtown Lunch commenters seem to agree, Gahm Mi Oak’s is the best in K-Town.

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A quick look at the ML Twitter Tracker to see who’s working today:  Street Sweets, Cupcake Stop, and Schnitzel are out.  Rickshaw and Wafels are in, but not working in Midtown. And NYC Cravings is on 48th btw. 6+7th. As for the old school trucks, Biriyani Cart (on 46th and 6th) and Jamaican Dutchy (on 51st and 7th) are both working, and Kwik Meal is open on 45th & 6th, and 47th and Park- but their 3rd Avenue location is closed today.  How about you? Are you working?  And if you are, did you notice any lunches of note open or closed today?

The sidewalk battle between Kwik Meal’s Muhammed Rahman and his brother (also Muhammed Rahman) got picked up by the New York Post on Sunday.  The article tells the brother’s side of the story (“I’m working for him a long time. He make money, and not give it to me”) and adds that he plans to “become a permanent fixture” on 45th and 6th in a few weeks. We’ll see if there is any room on that corner, once Kwik Meal opens their Italian food cart!

Related:
Kwik Meal Kin Stirs Up Weekend Vendor War

Photo added to the ML Flickr Pool by Blondie and Brownie

• It’s not in Midtown, but tonight is the end of the season party for the Big Gay Ice Cream Truck [Blondie and Brownie]
• There are some great looking daily specials at Tsushima [Chubby Chinese Girl]
• The pistachio croissant at Petrossian is a winner [Serious Eats: NY]
• A very serious look at Crumbs’ Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup cupcake [Always Eating]
• Dave Cook finds that Kolache Mama bears “some resemblance” to an authentic Czech koláč [Eating in Translation]
• Gourmet Mag should have been more like Midtown Lunch!?! [HuffPo]

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.

International Food House recently began promoting its $5 happy hour drinks and evening all-you-can-eat buffet for $5.95. There are many doubts that come to mind when a lunch buffet transforms into an all you can eat feast after 5pm. Are they just trying to get rid of leftovers? Are there different or cheaper food offerings at night? Do they really have a full bar, or am I getting a can of Coke here? I was determined to find out… so I rounded up a few victims volunteers to check it out.

IFH was mostly empty when I arrived and the bright front seating contrasted starkly against the darkening street at sunset. In the far back was a dimly lit section that hosted a full bar loaded with liquor and there was techno-dance music playing. That’s where our troops settled in before laying siege to the buffet.

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Looking for something new and different for lunch today? The Jerk Pan cart (on Park Ave. and 48th Street) is now doing red snapper on Fridays.

Related:
Jamaican Me Crazy: New Jerk Pan Cart Hits Park Ave.; Caribbean Spice Changes Name