Midtown Lunch

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’s midtown lunch’er is Dana, who actually sent this profile in a month ago- so she is now a full fledged law student.  But we couldn’t let her leave Midtown without her moment in the sun!  (Plus she sent in two photos, which you know we love. The “risque” one, which she was afraid made her look naked, is after the jump natch.)

Name: Dana

Age: 29

Occupation: Nonprofiteer (for two more weeks)

Where in Midtown do you Work?: 48th & 5th

Favorite Kind of Food: Ramen. Lobster rolls. Japanese pickled things. Dosa. Bacon. Dan dan noodles. Beets. Cured meats in general. Pizza (I’m currently eating my way through the New York Magazine top 20 pizza list). Dumplings (especially soup dumplings). Burgers. Side bar: I was raised as a vegetarian, and then I ate a burger 6 years ago and it was all over. Since then it has been my personal mission to eat as many burgers as possible. Five Guys is my reining Midtown favorite, although I still need to try the black label burger at City Burger (ed note: sorry Dana.  City Burger closed!) Mmmm…burgers.

Least Favorite Kind of Food: I’m not sure I understand the question.

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Midtown: Pampano Taqueria (on 3rd btw. 49+50th) for the pescado and carne asada tacos (with the combo). Menchanko Tei (on 45th btw. Lex+3rd) for shoyu ramen. Katsuhama for chicken meatball udon soup. Spicy miso soup from Chiyoda Sushi (on 41st btw. Mad+5th) …that soup has changed my life. The prepackaged meats from Murray’s Salami (I love the Magical Animal). Chicken katsu with sauce at Café Zaiya (on 41st btw. Mad+5th). Everything at Bombay Bistro’s all-you-can-eat buffet (on 52nd btw. Lex+3rd). And I love the bacon / white bean soup from ‘wichcraft.

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Lunch’er Brian sends word that the new Katsuhama (on 55th btw. 5+6th) is now open.  He had lunch there yesterday, and was nice enough to send along this report:

I really like Katsu-Hama and have been waiting impatiently for the one on 55th to open ever since I saw the notice on midtownlunch as it is much closer to my office. I used to walk down to the one on 47th to eat their katsu lunch special, but it’s a bit of a trek. Even though they promised to open at the beginning of August, it took them until the very last day of the month to open, which made it more of a September opening, but it’s finally here!

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If you haven’t been following the battle going on between the new El Rey del Sabor Cart and the Greek hot dog vendor on 44th 43rd btw. 6+7th, here’s a quick recap.  El Rey del Sabor moves their third cart to 44th 43rd and 6th.  Hot dog vendor gets very angry.  The fight is caught on video. A few days later the cops show up and get involved. Numerous reports come in from Lunchers observing a noticeably angry looking hot dog vendor every single time anybody buys anything from the new Mexican cart.  And now, there’s the latest…  two planters have been placed on the part of the sidewalk that El Rey del Sabor was using.

But here’s the crazy thing, the building denies doing it…

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• The Eggstravaganza Cart is better than Qdoba [Midtown Eating]
• The schnitzel and falafel at Kosher Oasis are great [Midtown Eating]
• Who wants to go in on a whole Indian pizza? [Connections]
• Peking Duck House on 53rd has a crispy szechuan beef dish [Midtown Eating]
• The original Kwik Meal is better than the one on 47th & Park [Midtown Eating]
• Where can I find eel?  The animal, not the dish… [Miscellaneous]

All the votes have been tabulated and the Colonel’s Heart Attack has been crowned the winner of Cer Te’s August sandwich challenge. The sandwich will be sold every day for the entire month of September (starting tomorrow, natch.) Also, they’ve sent word that “some improvements” have been made to the sandwich based on feedback from Midtown Lunchers.

Improvements to a “winning” sandwich?

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I love it when Midtown Lunch brings people together. So in that spirit I was hoping somebody out there could help this tourist out. She ate a sausage while visiting NYC a few weeks ago, and hasn’t been able to get it out of her head since.

Hi Zach,

I have an unusual request. I returned from New York City a few weeks back. I was there from July 23 – Aug 1. While there I dined at a street vendor I believe was on 50th Street and 7th Avenue. It was just down the street from the Sheraton NY on 53rd. I think that it is one street down from the Jamaican Dutchy but I am not positive. It is just off to the left from the corner of 7th Avenue. I had the chicken served over rice with salad on July 31st. The food was amazing, however, this is not the reason for my email. A few nights prior to that I had a sausage on a bun and that is when I first met the gentleman that was working for the vendor.

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Whether or not you think the Garment District is an amazing area for lunch or not can probably be determined by a single factor:  whether or not you love “strange” Chinese food.  And by strange, of course I mean real Chinese food- made for actual Chinese people who work in high 30s on the West side of Midtown.  At these places the General Tso’s, Beef and Broccoli, and egg rolls have been replaced by fried pork chops, various types of offal, salt and pepper shrimp with their heads still on, and at least 3 or 4 vegetable options (no American broccoli though.)  My favorite of these places is Ying Du (on 37th btw. 7+8th), but there is also Fuji Bakery (on 35th btw. 7+8th), and the Lunch Box Buffet (on 34th btw. 7+8th) which is the least strange of the three and features the most excellent Fay Da Bakery.

On Friday, I noticed a sign in the window of Sushi Osaka (on 8th Ave. btw. 36+37th) touting a new “Lunch Special” featuring 3 Chinese items over rice for $5.  Apparently another one of these “strange” Chinese spots has now opened in the back of this sushi restaurant.

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