Midtown Lunch

The sign at Kar Won (on 60th btw. Park+Lex)

Great news for those pig lovers who work too far North or East to take advantage of the new “roast pig over rice” from Hing Won (on 48th btw. 5+6th) that I raved about yesterday. Both Kar Won (on 60th btw. Park+Lex) and Hop Won (on 45th btw. Lex+3rd), which are owned by the same company as Hing Won, are also serving the roast pig over rice for $6.

Thanks to Lunch’er “Dylan” for passing along the tip in the comments. He hit up Kar Won for the special and had this to say:

“My container looked almost identical to Zach’s, but it came with a heaping portion of garlicky sauteed bok choy/cabbage. While the belly was great, and the skin crispy, there were a few pieces that had a bit too much inedible bone or cartilage. That said, still awesome.”

But is the pork all I made it out to be?  Some say no.

Read more »

I know this particular article isn’t about Midtown, but we’ve seen this same thing before- and will probably be seeing it again soon.  The New York Daily News is reporting that local business owners in Bay Ridge are seeking to have street vendors banned from 5th Avenue. The store owners, who pay up to $160,000 a year in rent,  are saying it is unfair that these street vendors are getting a free ride. And “Burger King owner Jay Syed, 56, said not only has he lost 20% of his business since the carts cropped up last summer, but he also believes the vendors are polluting the streets and attracting rodents.”  (I love the irony of a Burger King owner being concerned about pollution.)

A letter was written to Mayor Bloomberg and the matter is now being taken up by the neighborhood Community Board and the Small Business Services Department.  If they do end up banning the vendors, it could set a dangerous precedent that could spread to other neighborhoods… including Midtown. [New York Daily News]

See All Midtown Lunch Posts Related to Street Vendor Issues

It looks like my hope of having knock off “kogi tacos” come to Baja Fresh here in New York is not just a pipe dream.  One of the reps from the NYC Baja Fresh location responded to our Tuesday story with this info:  “[The Kogi Menu is] currently being tested in one corporate location in Irvine, CA. However, this location is actually our prototype, same menu style, etc… So it is possible that we could be serving them soon, but I cannot confirm. I am looking into a more definite time frame, etc. Also, I highly doubt the word kogi is trademarked, just as Long John Silver’s is now selling Baja Tacos…”  Yeah, but Baja Fresh didn’t invent the baja style taco.  The Kogi BBQ Truck did invent this.  Either way, I hope it happens.  KOREAN TACOS IN MIDTOWN OR BUST!!!

Related:
Is Baja Fresh Ripping Off Kogi? (And More Importantly How Soon Will The Midtown Branch be on Board?)

It’s been awhile since we mentioned Kushi-Q, the Japanese fast food yakitori place on 3rd Ave btw. 45+46th. Apparently they are doing well enough to expand… the plan is to open this 2nd location inside the Citigroup Building food court on 53rd btw. Lex+3rd sometime in September.

Related:
Kushi Q… A Proper Review (with some tech porn for the Nerds)

One of the cooler parts of this morning’s New York Times article on feuding street vendors was the amazing cartoon by Elwood Smith.  The battle scene is not meant to depict any actual carts, but most of the Midtown bases are covered.  There’s a “Burgers” truck (La Cense, Carnegie John’s, Steak Truck), “Baked Taters” (Baked Potato King), “Waffles” (Wafels and Dinges), “Spicy Sausage” (Le Gamin), “Shakes & Cones” (Mr. Softee), and the requisite pretzel and hot dog vendors.  But there were a few weird ones- like the “Clam Rolls” cart, which led Lunch’er “Wayne” to ask this question:

“What intrigued me was the inclusion of a cartoon “clam roll” cart. Is there actually a clam roll cart in NY?!?”

I haven’t heard of one, but that would pretty awesome!  The full cartoon is on the front page of today’s dining section, but you can see most it online, here.

Related:
New York Times Turns Giant Eye Towards the Street Vendor Issue

I’ve always been a huge fan of the roast pork over rice at Hing Won (on 48th btw. 5+6th.) Beautiful strips of Chinatown style red roast pork, laid over rice and bok choy, and topped with their sweet soy sauce, it’s probably one of the most popular dishes served from the right hand side of the counter. (Hing Won has two sides, the left is a steam table of Americanized Chinese food, the right, a bilingual menu of Chinatown style specialities that are made to order.)

But last Friday I noticed a new sign hanging on their already jam packed wall of signs.  I don’t know what it said in Chinese, but the English surely got my attention:  “Roast Pig over Rice”.  Wha!?!  Isn’t it funny how changing one word from pork to pig can have such a big impact.  Some would probably consider pork and pig the same thing, but those familiar with pork in all its forms know the subtle menu nuances.  Deep down in my heart (which is already dangerously clogged with pork fat, I’m sure) I innately knew this was something completely different than the standard roast pork over rice. (And I was hoping it would involve something crispy.)

Despite my hopes and dreams for the dish, I didn’t actually know what the distinction between pork and pig was going to be, but there was only one way to find out.

Read more »

Nick Solares, from A Hamburger Today, joins Josh “Mr. Cutlets” Ozersky as the latest blogger to bestow praise on the 4 month old HB Burger (on 43rd btw. B’way+ 6th).  I was pretty quick to write off this sit down restaurant/burger joint owned by Heartland Brewery simply because of their prices (everything might be “under $9”, but order anything but a burger and you are going to be spending well over $10.)  But now that the two most esteemed burger bloggers in the city have weighed in with nothing but praise, I’m starting to reconsider my stance.  I mean, hell, if I can spend $7 on this burger, I suppose spending $7.50 is not that much more of a splurge. I still think that at its core HB Burger is not what anybody would consider a real “Midtown Lunch”, but whatever.  Good food is good food, right?  Anybody else been?  What do you guys think?

A Fantastic New York City-Style Burger from HB Burger [A Hamburger Today]

Related:
Heartland Brewery’s New HB Burger is Now Open

Once again, you’ve got to give credit to Yushi (on 47th btw. Park+Lex) for trying.  After introducing their new conveyor belt, soliciting advice from Midtown Lunchers, and then sadly turning the conveyor belt into a “for display only” situation, they’ve now changed things up again.  Today Yushi is replacing their “Spruce Goose” with the very first fully refrigerated sushi conveyor belt.

I have no idea what that means, or the technology involved, but apparently the genesis of the idea came from Yushi’s desire to have a conveyor belt you could actually take food from, while answering the customer concern that food on conveyor belts is not always fresh.  I always thought the best way to do that was by making sure your restaurant is always packed with customers constantly eating the food… but sure, crazy refrigerated conveyor belt is a good option too!  Any kaiten early adopters out there?  Feel free to report back. The conveyor belt is open daily from 11:30am to 2:30pm starting today.

Related:
Yushi Wants To Give You Free Conveyor Belt Sushi
First Look at Yushi’s Conveyor Belt, Which Opens on Monday
Airing of Grievances: Yushi’s New Conveyor Belt is For Display Only!?!