Midtown Lunch

The blogger behind Abroad’r View is attempting to go a whole week living off of free food. Right now she seems confined to free samples in Chelsea and Union Square, but if she came up to Midtown she could use this post, generously compiled by Lunch’er Jeremy to navigate through the free samples of Midtown. There is no more farmer’s market in Rock Center, but I’m pretty sure the rest is still applicable. She could also get a whole free brownie at Certe (on 55th btw. 5+6th) if she has a business card.  [via Eater]

On Tuesday, Midtown Lunchers got a sneak peak of the Biryani Cart’s brand new “Sandwich Land” cart.  Parked just to the East of the original Biryni Cart (on the SW corner of 46th and 6th), the new cart features a whole line up of burgers, subs, and pita sandwiches- plus a few standard chicken and lamb over rice options. Because of the bad weather, the sandwich cart won’t be out the rest of the week… but will make its grand “re-opening” return on Monday. (And yes, they do have an entry for the Midtown Lunch Sandwich Challenge.)

A full look at the new cart’s menu, plus new specials available today at the original Biryani Cart, are both after the jump…

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Following yesterdays post about Rickshaw Dumpling Bar possibly opening a Midtown location (and the subsequent complaints that followed), part owner Kenny Lao responded in the comments:

“Hey Guys:

It’s Kenny, Anita’s partner from Rickshaw. Zach, thank you for all of the shout outs regarding the truck. This is my first response to comments on a blog, but I thought I would put in my two cents. I hope I don’t get too ripped up!

Yes, the rent was very high as Anita said on 8th Street and while rents in midtown are pricey, the combination of (1.) our goal of doing a smaller store, (2.) the softening of the real estate market and (3.) a high density of people that support our truck in midtown makes us really want to put in a brick and mortar store up there.

Regarding the truck: we would love to be in midtown all week long, and indeed being on 52nd and Lex on Tuesdays and 45th and 6th on Fridays is very busy (thanks for showing the dumpling love!) but with only one truck (so far!) we like cruising around the city and going to spots that people suggest we should try (email us new spots!) and potentially also using the truck to figure out where we can put new shops.”

And what about the whole Chinatown comparison?

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After seeing Robyn Lee’s amazing looking write up of the “sabich” from Taim on Serious Eats New York, I am now on a quest to find one of these sandwiches in Midtown.  Described as a pita “stuffed with thick rounds of fried egglant that melt like butter, along with a sliced hard boiled egg, hummus, Israeli salad (diced tomatoes, cucumbers, and parsley in a lemon mint dressing), marinated cabbage, tahini, and amba (pickled mango sauce).”  Oh my lord. I know Olympic Pita has a mango sauce, but there is nothing called a “sabich” on their menu.  Has anybody had one of these in Midtown before?  Must… have… now. [Photo courtesy of Robyn Lee]

This question was posted in the comments the other day about the Carribean Spice Cart, which used to park on 46th btw. 6+7th (next to the Biryani Cart.) “What happened to these girls? Anyone know where they went? The cart has not been there for several months.”

I checked with Meru from the Biryani Cart who said that last he heard their permits had expired, and they were trying to get them renewed. That cart was fine, and I liked that they had roti… but if you’re really missing them, there is always the Jamaican Dutchy Cart (on 51st and 7th).

Got a question for me or the Midtown Lunch readers? Email it to zach@midtownlunch.com

Part of the reason I’m just fat, as opposed to morbidly obese, is that I cook dinner at home on most nights. And most of my cooking knowledge has come from my wife (she trained me early and well), Jamie Oliver, and Mario Batali. Years ago, when I was unemployed, I used to watch Molto Mario all the time… and I pretty much learned most of what I know about cooking Italian food from that show:

Use the cloudy pasta water to loosen up your pasta dishes (which should be more about the noodle, and only lightly coated with the sauce), everything gets finished with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, and finally- you don’t put cheese on seafood. That last one always seemed weird since cheese goes good on everything, but I trusted Mario, and would always forgo parmesan on my fettuccine with shrimp (my wife never held back, and openly laughed in my face). This went on until went went to Chile and had the most amazing scallops covered in melted parmesan. They were delicious, and I finally decided… if it’s good enough for the Chileans, it’s good enough for me!

With that in mind, I visited Lazzara’s yesterday to try their entry in the Midtown Lunch Sandwich challenge.  A fried calamari and fresh mozzarella sandwich (Mario be damned!)

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Rumor confirmed: the Cucina & Co. on 45th btw. Park+Madison (in the same building as Naples 45) has entered the Midtown Lunch sandwich challenge. It’s not entirely clear if this sandwich is available for takeout in the fast food section, but it is on the menu in the cafe section. “Brisket of beef, sauteed onions, guacamole, jack cheese wrapped in flour tortilla.” A brisket buritto!? That could be interesting…

Anito Lo has told Grub St. that “though she closed the 8th Street location of Rickshaw Dumpling Bar due to high rent, she is hoping to reopen it in Midtown.” That’s strange. I can’t imagine Midtown rents are cheaper than the Village, and the Rickshaw Dumpling Truck only spends a few days a week here (you would think that if business were great they’d spend all week, right?) On the other hand, there isn’t really any fast food Asian soup/dumpling competition, and a full service location would enable them to sell their full menu (the truck has pretty limited options.) Can Midtown really support a 5-7 day a week brick and mortar Rickshaw Dumpling Bar? Should be interesting to see how this plays out…

Related:
A Proper +/- of the Rickshaw Dumpling Truck

Eater posted yesterday about how many food personalities seem to be twittering these days, and what’s even more amazing is how many of those personalities are twittering about eating lunch in Midtown! Yesterday Ruth Reichl the editor of Gourmet Magazine twittered that she was going downstairs for some street meat. She skipped the street meat, and ended up at a Midtown Lunch’ing favorite:

Sounds like somebody had a little lunch at Hing Won! Her twitter actually sparked a little back and forth between her and Mark Bittman from the New York Times.

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