Midtown Lunch

Times Square Alliance, the ogranization known most notably for putting on the annual ‘Taste of Times Square‘, is promoting a month-long “Taste Bud Stimulus Package” where local restaurants offer discounts until the end of January. Just like the Taste of Times Square, the list of restaurants run the gamut from expensive, to crappy, to touristy, to expensive touristy crap (Applebee’s anybody?).  And a few of the deals you can get at any time (i.e. the $10 beer and burger deal at House of Brews).  But there were a couple that caught my eye… like 15% off at Empanada Joe’s (I still haven’t completely given up on that place), and there is a special $10 lunch menu at the just out of bounds Bourbon Street Grill on 46th btw. 8+9th (what can I say? I am a sucker for New Orleans.)

I headed over there yesterday to check out their muffuletta.

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Photo courtesy of cchen

The day of reckoning has arrived, and we finally get to see (officially) who won the Throwdown between Bobby Flay and the Dessert Truck last October. The episode airs on Wednesday night (1/14) at 9pm EST on the Food Network, and here is the description (courtesy of my Time Warner Cable Guide): “Chocolate Bread Pudding: Bobby surprises two entrepreneur chefs that sell five star desserts out of a truck.”

Sadly the Dessert Truck is on hiatus until the end of January, so you may want to just DVR the show and wait until they come back to watch it.  There is nothing worse than having a serious cravings for something that you can’t have.

Related:
Dessert Truck to Throwdown With Bobby Flay? [ML]
An Inside Look at The Dessert Truck Throwdown with Bobby Flay [SENY]

According to a tipster, and confirmed on their website, World famous (?) BBQ chain Famous Dave’s Legendary Pit Bar-B-Que is opening their first Manhattan branch right smack dab in the middle of Midtown Lunch central (on 47th btw. 6+7th). I would be down with some good BBQ in these parts (right now, the Daisy May’s BBQ cart on 50th btw. 6+7th is about all I can fully get behind) but considering how many touristy, big box BBQ joints we already have in Midtown (Dallas BBQ, Virgil’s, & Spanky’s) this may not be the answer to our prayers.

I don’t have anything against BBQ chains (if Corky’s opened a NYC branch, I’d probably pass out from excitement), and I’ve never been to a Famous Dave’s, which apparently has locations all over the U.S., but the background info doesn’t seem reassuring: it was founded in Minnesota (huh?) about 15 years ago by the same guy who helped found the “Rainforest Cafe“. Sweet!

There is a menu posted on their website, but there aren’t any prices, so I’m not sure if this place is even going to fall under the Midtown Lunch price range. I’m not holding my breath. Have you been to a Famous Dave’s? Let us know in the comments if we should be excited…

A interior taken-through-the-cracks-of-the-plywood photo is after the jump (if such a thing excites you).

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After almost 3 years of doing Midtown Lunch, I feel like I’ve walked down every single block of Midtown (multiple times.)  And while the site would be nothing without your recommendations, and tips about new places, I thought there weren’t very many older places I didn’t know about. So imagine my surprise last week, when (based on a recommendation in the comments) I walked into Nino’s to discover a pretty cool, old school Italian place that I somehow managed to avoid in over 1000 days of Midtown Lunch’ing.  So embarrassing.  Even my wife was like “oh… you went to Nino’s?  I’ve been to that place a million times.” How did I miss this? Aside from the obvious… it’s not Asian food. 

I can’t even blame it on the location somehow being a random hidden block… it’s on 46th btw. 5+6th (!!!) the same block as Cafe Cello, Kim’s Aunt Kitchen Cart, Moshe’s Falafel, Kosher Deluxe, Ranch 1, and (at one time) Rangole & House of Pita. I’ve walked down this street one or two times…  

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The second location of Matt Kenney’s FreeFoods NYC opened this morning on 52nd btw. Lex+3rd in the old F&B Gudtfood space. The original location (on 45th btw. 5+6th) was always a little too rich for my taste, but vegetarians, vegans, and fans of organic food who work in Midtown East (and don’t mind spending the extra money) should be excited for this new option. Maybe if the economy rebounds, or I win the lottery, I’ll try their by the pound buffet (it looks pretty damn amazing.) They will open at 10am every day this week, with breakfast and regular hours (7:30 am opening time) beginning next Monday.

FreeFoods NYC, 150 E. 52nd St. (btw. Lex+3rd), -212-302-7195

Profiled Midtown Lunch’er Josh Ozersky (Editor of The Feedbag, and author of “The Hamburger: A History”) appeared on Nightline last week to talk about burgers. And while most of the 8 minute piece was pretty uneventful (Spotted Pig, Shake Shack, Pat La Frieda’s), the last few minutes took place inside City Burger! With all the things being said about this place when they opened, could anybody have imagined that just 8 months later, this hamburger place would be singled out on national TV? It just goes to show what a special Pat LaFrieda blend can do for your business.

Check out the video after the jump…

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• Blondie finally visits Kati Roll, and finds that the chicken tikka roll ventures into “mouth en fuego” territory [Blondie and Brownie]
• Downtown Lunch’er Yvo visits Midtown for some shopping and ends up eating at Sapporo [Feisty Foodie]
• Even fancy Midtown restaurant “markdowns” are too rich for my blood [Grub Street]
• George W. Bush may be the first President since FDR to not visit the 21 Club [Eater]
• Sean “Vendy Awards” Basinki of the Street Vendor Project has been awarded a Fulbright to conduct research on street vendors in Lagos [SE:NY]
• The founder of Niman Ranch has been hired by Chipotle to be their “sustainable agriculture adviser” [Grub Street] 

If you like to eat, chances are you like to drink (read: a lot of you are freakin’ lushes), so I thought maybe it was time to introduce a happy hour column to the site. Every week we’ll post about a different bar in Midtown that fits the Midtown Lunch mentality: unhealthy food, not lame (unless it’s lame in a cool way), and most importantly… cheap. This week our one and only Happy Hour Correspondent Mamacita (yes, the commenters managed to scare off our other contributor) hits up the Subway Inn, a hygenically dubious bar in Midtown East…

What hasn’t already been said about this celebrated yet inconspicuous bar? The Subway Inn has been the stumbling ground for crowd-weary and thirsty locals since 1937. In sharp contrast to its neighbor (the regal Bloomingdales) Subway Inn is small, dark and dirty. Many an old-timer has made their dent on those bar stools and all these years later you can still find some sitting on their favorite seat.

I have to admit, it had been a while since I last visited. I think it may have been in 2004 and at that point the bar still truly belonged to the hunched drunkards and working class Joes. Subway Inn had yet to see the dive bar fame that has popularized many a bar in the past few years. The ceiling back then, as I recall, was heavily textured with fuzzy stalactites of greasy dust bunnies. This filth proceeded to cascade down the walls with its shaggy smut only to be stopped by the backs and shoulders of its happy denizens.

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Now available at ‘wichcraft. Photo by nycblondieandbrownie

It just got a little bit easier to enjoy a treat from the Sullivan Street Bakery.  You could always trek all the way to to the actual bakery on 47th btw. 10+11th, or you can visit one of Midtown’s many Dean and Deluca locations, and now, according to Blondie and Brownie you can visit ‘wichcraft for your Sullivan Street Bakery fix.  The sandwich chain, which has a number of Midtown locations, is now offering up Sullivan Street Bakery pastries, including their very famous bombolini, which B&B call “a mighty fine doughnut.”  Indeed it is.  Indeed it is.