Midtown Lunch

I don’t know who Danika is, or why she is making videos like this for the Roger Smith Hotel (on 47th and Lex), but this You Tube video of her going to lunch at Dainobu (the Japanese grocery store on 47th btw. Lex+3rd) is incredibly entertaining. The best part might be her “I don’t need to tell you what I think these look like” quip about a plastic pack of fish balls.  Actually, Danika, you do need to tell us.  What exactly do you think those look like?!? Surprisingly (after that comment) she had trouble fitting a whole piece of sushi into her mouth.

Check out the video after the jump…

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And to think I was actually considering eating at Energy Kitchen
today. With only 30 mins left in the promotion the line at the 47th
street location is too long for me… Plus they have people jumping
rope for extra free goodies. Aside from the free food aspect, I am
morally against this on many different levels.

I’m always hesitant to check out carts when they first open.  So few know exactly what they are going to do from day one, and their list of offerings ends up morphing multiple times before they settle on a set menu.  (Anybody remember those white bread bulgogi sandwiches?)  So when the Happy Well Being House Cart popped up on 50th btw. 6+7th a few weeks ago, I decided to stand back and wait.  Their unconventional fried fish or grilled chicken with rice or potatoes menu seemed destined to be a flash in the pan.  When they added bulgogi a few weeks later, things started to seem a little more promising.  Once I found out they were related to the Downtown bulgogi cart that has been operating for awhile, I felt these guys were probably here to say.

And now that I’ve tried the food… I *know* they are.

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Remember the profiled lunch’er who admitted that he didn’t like Thai food, and then became the most ridiculed Profiled Midtown Lunch’er of all time? Well, for once, your ridicule actually worked to effect positive change in the world- and “Matt” is happy to report that he tried Thai food again and… (well, I don’t want to spoil it.)

After the spirited feedback from the comments section (side note to the person who accused me of living in my parents basement: you’re insulting random people on the internet and I’m the one who lives in my parents basement?), I decided to journey out and try Thai food. The choice was Pam’s Real Thai Food (on 49th btw. 9+10th), although I generally don’t eat at restaurants that cite their realness in the name, I decided to trust the comments section. I selected a number of co-workers so we could maximize our order. While the shrimp roll we started with was typical, I found the Thai Beef Jerky to be quite a treat. I don’t even like regular beef jerky – could this Thai cuisine improve on other dishes as well? As the different entrees were passed around the table, I noticed the Pad Thai coming my way. This was the big moment.

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Another review of Schnipper’s Quality Kitchen focuses on (what everybody agrees are) their mediocre burgers, but surprisingly Serious Eats’ Ed Levine had nicer things to say about them than the Mac & Cheese: “The mac and cheese ($6.99) was pretty standard and wholly unremarkable. The cheeses didn’t stand out and the bread crumbs couldn’t overcome the fact that the unbaked mac and cheese had no significant amount of crunch.” I agree that baked mac and cheese is preferable to unbaked, but sadly this “unremarkable” product is one the only decent versions in Midtown, for a reasonable lunchtime price.  (And I’d take unbaked mac & cheese over a burger they refuse to cook medium rare any day of the week.) [Serious Eats: New York]

Related:
Schnipper’s May Have the Best Mac & Cheese in Midtown

The Under $25 column in today’s New York Times takes on three newish burger places (Flip, Black Iron Burger, & City Burger), and drops this LaFrieda bombshell about the burger that City Burger (on 39th & Broadway) calls the “Black Label”.

“City Burger’s menu says it uses LaFrieda’s aged Black Label blend in some burgers. But Mr. LaFrieda told me he sells Black Label only to Minetta Tavern and that City Burger’s blend, which he calls City Black mix, isn’t aged quite as long.”

Uh… that’s good to know (I guess?) You could say it’s just a matter of semantics, but to burger aficionados it could be an important distinction.

Related:
Original City Burger Better Than Black Label? Combo Comes Down By $1
AHT Calls City Burger’s Black Label “Best Burger in the City”

A couple of deals worth mentioning for tax day tomorrow (Wednesday, 4/15): Golosi, the new pizza by the inch place on Park Ave. btw. 41+42nd, is offering buy one get one free scoops of gelato and buy some pizza, get the same amount free (minimum 3″ purchase) from 11am to 9 pm. And if you are willing travel a bit out of bounds, Supermac (on 7th Ave. btw. 29+30th) is offering 8 cent mac and cheese through the 8coupons website, and Energy Kitchen (not to be confused with Pump Energy Food) is offering a free bison cheesesteak, thai chicken wrap, or chicken burger with the purchase of any drink between Noon and 2pm. Energy Kitchen has three locations just out of the ML boundaries… one on 2nd Ave. btw. 57+58th, one on 41st and 2nd Ave., and one on 47th btw. 9+10th Aves. [Eater, 8Coupons, Eater]

Late Addition: According to this website there will also be free Cinnabon bites in Rock Center from 5 to 8 p.m.

XPL, the street meat cart that surprised everybody by coming in 2nd place at last year’s Street Meat Palooza, might have raised their prices recently: “Hey Zach, Went down to the 3rd Ave. outpost of the XPL Halal food cart at 48th St. for lunch today. They charged $5 for a platter (chicken or lamb over rice) and included in that price was a free drink. Great deal, and pretty good street meat for us eastsiders not a quick walk from the Halal Guys on 53rd and 6th. Anyway, I got my food and my normal drink and instead of receiving a $5 bill as change for my $10, I got four singles. So just like that, I guess they’re now charging $1 for drinks. Not a huge deal, as $6 for meal and drink is still good. I just won’t be getting drinks from there any more so that I can keep my costs steady at $5. P.S. – The rice today, usually a standout, was bland and flavorless. I’m hoping it was just a bad batch… Edward”

Sounds like they either started charging for drinks… or maybe they are now charging $6 (and you still get the free soda.) Anybody else experience this? (Or bad rice?) XPL has locations on 3rd & 48th, Park Ave. & 48th, and Broadway btw. 53+54th.