Midtown Lunch

So, this is not technically a “Midtown Lunch” but I’d feel bad if I let it go unreported. The Feedbag is reporting that the Hawaiian Tropic Zone (on 49th and 7th) is going to close soon, and has told all of their bikini clad waitresses to look for jobs elsewhere. This is terrible news for all the lawyers and bankers who somehow managed to get their companies to pay for business lunches at this place (until they were told they couldn’t.) You guys know you are out there… this is a sad for all of you.

So far I have managed to avoid FreeFoods NYC, the expensive, mostly organic, new deli with an emphasis on raw and vegetarian foods (they do have meat though). I’ve got nothing against their food… just the price, which can get pretty expensive, pretty quick. Luckily for those who were interested Kathy YL Chan, from A Passion for Food, was willing to sacrifice herself by eating through their menu, and posting about it here on Midtown Lunch.

Well FreeFoods NYC has outsmarted me by deciding to take on the Midtown Lunch Sandwich Challenge, which was announced last week; ensuring that I will have to go in and at least try the sandwich they have created. Their entry? A free range duck reuben featuring brown sugar-cured duck pastrami, sauerkraut, swiss, and a red chili Russian dressing (on toasted rye). It’s a pricey $9.99 (most of their sandwiches cost about that), but actually sounds kind of good. Alright FreeFoods… you’ve won this round. Let’s see how good your sandwich is.

… when it’s leftover roast pork bo ssam from Superbowl.  Obviously I’m normally against bringing your lunch (if too many people started doing it, it would be the death of this site) but this isn’t your momma’s peanut butter and jelly sandwich in a brown paper bag.  Oh, and by the way… the little pile on the left is just crispy skin and (delicious, melt in your mouth) pork fat. The pile on the right is the leftover meat. That’s right, don’t let the lettuce fool you…  if anything is going to kill me, it’s going to be eating this for the third day in a row. Completely worth it, and better than Cafe Cello (on 46th btw. 5+6th) if I do say so myself (probably because I splurged and bought the meat at Marlow and Daughters in Brooklyn.)

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, it’s Matt a guy who has *shocker* never tried Thai food? I don’t even know what to make of that…

Name: Matt

Age: 27

Occupation: Television

Where in Midtown do you Work?: NBC

Favorite Kind of Food: I love Pizza, Italian, and Burgers but I try to eat healthy so I go to a lot of health food places now.

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Thai. I’ve never actually had any. When I was in camp, one of the directors got food poisoning a few days before his wedding after eating Thai food. I remember telling everyone “who eats Thai food before their wedding? Isn’t that risky?” To this day I haven’t had it.

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Midtown: I love Jianetto’s pizza truck (on 47th btw. Park+Mad), I love the fancy sandwiches at Dishes, I like Chopt’s salads, Café Duke (on 51st btw. 6+7th) has good whole wheat pizza’s but they fill me up too much.

“Go-To” Lunch Place You and Your Coworkers Eat at Too Often? Variety Café (on 48th btw. 5+6th). They really have everything. The salad is a good deal with lots of toppings, they have whole wheat pasta, and they even have a wok in the back

Read more »

I got a lot of worried emails last week wondering where the Steak Truck has disappeared to (normally parked on 47th and Park.) Well, yesterday the truck returned after a short vacation, and it seems as if their prices have gotten cheaper (although they assured me they are the same as they’ve always been.) Well, the steak and cheese sub definitely has… going from $4.99 back in August, to $3.99 (there is a double meat version on the menu now for $5.99 which they obviously didn’t advertise back when I originally tried it.) Anyway, it’s good to have them back! (Thanks to Lunch’er Grace for the photo.)

The Kosher Oasis cart, however, is a different story…

Read more »

File this email I just received under ‘Surprising (but not that surprising)’: “Just walked by the 43rd and 8th Avenue Empanada Joe’s (I had given this place two chances, and disappointed twice) and it was closed, a sign directing people to go to their 6th Avenue location.”

I lived in L.A. for two years before moving to New York, and while I was there I loved the fact that every restaurant had a health inspection letter grade posted in the window.  This way you could see exactly how clean or dirty a restaurant was before eating in it.  Seeing an “A” was always reassuring, but a “B” would only keep me out of places I knew nothing about. For example, seeing the “B” didn’t discourage me from eating at Mario’s Peruvian or the Baja Fresh across from my office. Although when the Baja Fresh got upgraded to an “A” I suppose it made me feel a little better about things. (I think since I moved away Mario’s was upgraded as well.)  I don’t think I ever ate a restaurant with a “C”. (In fact I probably only saw one or two in all the time I lived out there.)

But now that it is being reported that New York City plans on adopting the same style of inspections, I’m a little apprehensive.  I don’t think I want to see a letter grade hung outside Hing Won or Ying Du.  I prefer to keep eating at my favorite dirty Midtown Lunch places in blissful ignorance. I guess if it gives restaurants the incentive to improve their cleanliness, that is a good thing- but clean doesn’t always equal better food.  Ying Du was forced to get rid of their old (and no doubt disgustingly dirty) meat roaster… and now some have complained that their roast pork doesn’t taste as good.  Thanks a lot Department of Health. I’ll take dirty and tasty food over antiseptic boring food any day.

Photo courtesy of Spare Change