Rats! We Kind of Liked Vinny Vincenz: I'm not sure if Vinny Vincenz still parks their pizza trucks Downtown, or on 40th btw. B'way+6th, but after seeing this video of rats running around in their truck while it was parked in front of a Chelsea nightclub, I probably won't be seeking them out anytime soon.
Posted at 11:00 am, October 9th, 2009 | 3 Comments
Fancy Restaurant Deal: According to Eater, Fishtail (David Burke's restaurant on 62nd btw. Park+Lex) is doing a special lunchtime Oktoberfest menu featuring $5 burgers, tuna burgers, oysters, clams, fries, milkshakes, and more.
Posted at 8:45 am, October 9th, 2009 | 1 Comment
It looks like Financier Patisserie is continuing their Midtown expansion. Lunch’er “cync76” sends word that they will be taking over the Grand Central Terminal location of Oren’s, which closed last week. This new location will be the third Midtown spot this year for Financier (which has three other locations downtown). There’s the one on First Ave. and 54th Street (which opened back in August), and another on 48th Street under the Fox News Building- which they hope to have open in the next two to three weeks. The Grand Central location should open shortly after that…
Related:
Financier Patisserie Open on 1st Ave (6th Ave. Coming Soon)
SVP Answers: Earlier in the week, NYT's City Room blog solicited questions for Sean Basinski from the Street Vendor Project and two posts full of answers are now up. The first one talks about licenses, how vending affects brick and mortar stores, and vending in other cities. (Spoiler: He calls Portland's street food variety "unsurpassed" in the US.) The second discusses cleanliness, fundraising, and veterans.
Posted at 1:30 pm, October 8th, 2009 | 2 Comments
It’s been forever since I’ve been to Utsav, the fancy all you can eat Indian buffet on 46th Street btw. 6+7th. So when I was told by a friend over at Epicurious that they were now serving Biriyani for take out, I was pretty excited! I’ve never tried their buffet (it’s too expensive!) but their take out food, which is available daily just inside the front door, is good (especially for those of you who prefer spending a little extra on slightly fancier Indian food.)
Posted by Zach Brooks at 11:55 am, October 8th, 2009 under 46th btw 6+7th, 47th btw. 6+7th, Indian, Utsav.
It feels like the fervor over street vendors has reached a peak this year, but it didn’t happen overnight. It started more as a slow trickle years ago. Two German brothers selling sausages on 54th Street. A former chef from the Russian Tea Room doing an upscale version of lamb over rice. A couple of SoCal exports selling carne asada in Soho. Street food has slowly been getting a lot better in NYC. And as the newer carts have gotten better, people have started to become more interested in what was being sold on the street. It’s reflected in the media coverage, and the increasing popularity of the Vendy Awards- the annual event put on the Street Vendor Project to reward the hard working food vendors of New York City. Even vendors who had been there for years, like those at the Red Hook Ball Fields were being “discovered” for the first time.
But it wasn’t until 2 years ago that the real explosion started. Kim Ima’s Treats Truck was the first I can remember, followed pretty quickly by the Wafels and Dinges Truck and the Dessert Truck. When these lavishly painted trucks, with cute logos, and internet savvy chefs hit the scene it seemed like something clicked. The coverage of these new trucks was out of control, not just from the food blogs (guilty as charged) but from the traditional media as well. The stories wrote themselves, and the trucks didn’t even have to pay PR companies to make it happen.
Combine that with the proliferation of twitter, the well publicized success of trucks in other cities (like Kogi BBQ in LA), and the recession, and it’s no surprise that every chef and restauranteur in the country has at least thought about opening a food truck. And, as you know, plenty of them have succeeded. So much so that two weeks ago Blackbook Mag coined a new term for this invasion of upscale food trucks: vendrification.
Thursday Specials Reminder: Just a friendly little reminder... if you missed them last Thursday, today is stew peas day at the Jamaican Dutchy (on 51st and 7th) and peking duck day at Yushi (on 47th btw. Park+Lex). I completely forgot about the peking duck last week, so I might have to hit this up today and see how it is.
Posted at 9:30 am, October 8th, 2009 | 1 Comment
A few weeks ago it was the former newsstand on 6th Ave., and now (according to a post in the forums by Lunch’er “copyboy”) Indus Express is the latest Indian joint to be closed by the Department of Health (on 48th btw. 5+6th). If you want to find them on the DOH website, they’re still listed as City Market Cafe, and to me their violations don’t really look too serious. (No rats. No roaches. Who cares about lightbulbs?)
Posted by Zach Brooks at 8:30 am, October 8th, 2009 under Closed by Health Dept., Indus Express.
Thanks to Lunch’er “Rebecca” for the Photo
Bon Chon is returning to Midtown! The Korean fried chicken chain will be opening a new franchise on 38th Street btw. 7+8th in the next few months. Not only will it be exciting to have Bon Chon back (the original Koreatown location became “Mad For Chicken” back in May) but how awesome will it be to have it a bit closer to the heart of Midtown? Now the race is on to see who opens first… the new Bon Chon, or the Kyochon on 32nd and 5th (which has been under construction since the beginning of the year.)
There’s also good news in here for our Downtown Lunch’ers… according to their website Bon Chon will be opening a new Downtown location as well in Mid November. That one will be on John St. near Wall.
Related:
Bon Chon is So Not a Midtown Lunch… But Damn That is Some Good Chicken
32nd Street BonChon Changes Name to “Mad For Chicken”
Posted by Zach Brooks at 3:30 pm, October 7th, 2009 under Bon Chon, Mad For Chicken.
