Midtown Lunch

As is customary here on Midtown Lunch, I turn the site over to you at the end of the year to vote for your favorite Midtown Lunches. So… you voted… and here are the results, along with my picks. Some are expected… some are surprises… and a couple were downright shocking. Here are the results of the 2008 Midtown Lunch Readers’ Poll:

Best Fast Food Hamburger: Burger Joint

Five Guys put on a good show this year, but it wasn’t enough to unseat the consensus best burger in Midtown: Burger Joint at the Parker Meridien (on 56th btw. 6+7th).  There’s been a lot of talk about City Burger in recent days, but not nearly enough people have tried it for them to have had a legitimate chance… maybe next year.  And while I admit Burger Joint and City Burger are making the best quality burger in Midtown, the free toppings and fresh cut fries make Five Guys tops in my book. Editor’s Pick: Five Guys (poll link)

Best Korean Fast Food: Woorijip

There is plenty of Korean food in Midtown if you work too far away from 32nd street, and want your fix. But if you’ve got time, and you want the best- 32nd Street btw. B’way+6th is the place to be, and Woorijip is far and away the best Midtown Lunch’ish option on the block. The readers have spoken, and I have to agree. Editor’s Pick: Woorijip (poll link)

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Last August Muhammed Rahman, the cart operator who famously used to cook at the Russian Tea Room, left Midtown for a new pizza and pasta venture on the Upper West Side; entrusting his famous Kiwk Meal cart (on 45th and 6th) to helpers.  Well, this week Muhammed made his triumphant return- opening a new cart called “Quick Delight” on 45th Street and 3rd Avenue. This is the third cart in the Kwik Meal empire, replacing Kwik Meal 2 which used to park on 5th Ave. until it was stolen a few months ago from the garage where it was parked.  Kwik Gourmet, the second cart, is still parked on 47th & Park Avenue.

This is huge news, and the tips poured in yesterday from excited Kwik Meal fans on the East side who have always had to walk West for a taste of Rahman’s famous lamb pita… but even more exciting is the news that Quick Delight will have two menu items not available at either of the other two carts.

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It took them long enough, but A Hamburger Today finally weighed in on City Burger’s $10.95 black label burger, and it reads more like a manifesto than a review. The gist of it? It’s not an “expensive burger as much as a cheap steak. In these times of economic austerity don’t be surprised if you see Wall Street executives, their expense accounts suspended, lining up at City Burger to satisfy the cravings that they used to sate at expensive wood-paneled steakhouses. For the steak lover, particularly those on a budget, this is the best burger in the city right now.”

Related:
Original City Burger Better Than Black Label? Combo Comes Down By $1
Your First Real Look at City Burger’s Black Label Burger

I know I preach about always getting out of the office for lunch, but how could I ignore this link Lunch’er Adam forwarded to me. If you can make a sandwich from meat purchased at Murray’s Salami, and sushi at your desk from ingredients purchased at Yagura, why not make a chocolate cake in a coffee mug using your company’s microwave?!?

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 Naomi a Market Researcher and self proclaimed “fat kid” who likes banana sushi rolls.

Name: Naomi

Age: 23

Occupation: Market Researcher

Where in Midtown do you Work?: Rock Center’ish

Favorite Kind of Food: String beans, red peppers, spinach, cheese, blueberries, grapes, dark chocolate, sushi, falafel, fro-yo, cheesecake, Thai, Indian, Greek, Mexican… oh I’m sorry, was I just supposed to just name one?

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Capers, olives, dill, anything pickled that isn’t a pickle, beets, zucchini, certain sea creatures (urchins, jellyfish and swordfish, to name a few), animal organs, tofu, Korean food and ham. Oh, and Jell-O… I just don’t trust the stuff.

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Midtown: I’d say I probably have one place to go for each kind of ethnic cuisine, however Cafe Duke (on 51st btw. 6+7th) is always a convenient option — although the excess of choices can be very overwhelming (and expensive). Burger Joint in the Parker Meridien (on 56th btw. 6+7th) is where I go when I crave something greasy — which may or may not be after a late night out — but if you want to get a booth you had better go armed with a strategy. On that same block there is a restaurant called Topaz Thai that I just tried last week. It offers a satisfying pad thai lunch special for $7. La Bonne Soupe on 55th St. offers the most delicious French Onion soup around and has a nice, cozy atmosphere. Havana Central has great Cuban food (try the seafood paella), and Two Boots is usually my office’s pizza place of choice. Oh, and I would be lying if I said I didn’t have a Cosi card… those Signature salads add up!

“Go-To” Lunch Place You and Your Coworkers Eat at Too Often? It’s not exactly “go-to” since we order delivery, but Toyama Sushi makes some of the most phenomenal sushi rolls I have ever tasted. I’m personally a fan of the Dynamite and Banana rolls, but they also have great maki lunch specials, which happen to be relatively inexpensive. Also, I am pretty sure market researchers as a whole have a slightly inappropriate hankering for Daisy May’s BBQ… (and yes, I did just use the word “hankering.”)

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After a short winter recess, most of the hipster food trucks are back in Midtown today. The Treats Truck is on 38th & 5th, the Wafels & Dinges Truck is on 46th & 6th, and the Rickshaw Dumpling Truck is on 52nd and Lex. The one holdout? The Dessert Truck, which will be returning in mid-late January.

Dainobu, the new Japanese bento place/grocery store on 47th btw. Lex+3rd, quietly opened a few weeks ago and it looks like they are going to be some serious competition for Cafe Zest (on the same block).

Taking a page from the Yagura playbook, Dainobu is half grocery store (with all kinds of wet and dry Japanese ingredients) and half lunch spot.

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If you were away for the Holidays, and missed the end of the year Readers’ Poll, today is your last chance to vote for your favorite steak, soup, street cart, pizza, saddest closing, Indian buffet, sandwiches, sit down Chinese, chicken parm, Mexican, Japanese, street meat, sweets, Latin food, Chinese fast food, Indian, falafel, Korean, and burger. Winners will be posted tomorrow.

A lot of restaurants seem to choose the dead time around Christmas and New Year’s to make changes, so reports like this one are no surprise… Big Bowl Noodles (on 6th Ave. btw. 37+38th), a Readers’ Poll nominee for best sit down Chinese food, is now Main Noodle House.  But before Big Bowl Noodle fans get too upset… the menu, owners, and food are exactly the same- with a 25-30 cent price hike on the lunch specials (of course.)

Main Noodle House, 1011 6th Ave. (btw. 37+38th),  212-869-0888

Photo by nycblondieandbrownie

Sugo e Basilico (on 5th btw. 44+45th) was one of the Readers’ Poll nominees for “Saddest Closing of 2008” but even sadder is what it’s being replaced with:  another Europa Cafe.  Blondie and Brownie have the full report, along with a New Years resolution to boycott Cosi. Now, while I can surely get behind any boycott of a non-Midtown lunch’ish corporate chain, at least Cosi bakes their bread fresh in a brick oven right in front of you.  If I had to choose one of the crappy chains to save, it would probably be a toss up between Cosi & Pret a Manger. Cafe Metro, Europa Cafe, Pax, Chop’t, Chipotle, and Qdoba on the other hand…