Midtown Lunch

In my gravy covered hamburger steak induced coma I completely forgot to mention two semi-important things in the write-up of Hawaiian Island Grill (on 53rd btw. 2+3rd) earlier in the week. 1) You get a choice of white or brown rice with all the entrees… and that is brown rice in a few of the photos (take that, people who say I never eat healthy!)  2)  There is no seating, you have to take your food to go.  Easy fix for this?  The food court in the Crystal Pavillion (on 3rd Ave. btw. 49+50th) that houses Pampano Taqueria & Sophie’s Cuban is a good place to take your food if you don’t want to go back to the office.

Earlier this week I had an email exchange about the new changes at City Burger(on 39th just East of B’way) with Josh “Mr. Cutlets” Ozersky. Not only is he editor of The Feedbag, but he is also the self appointed president of the Pat LaFrieda fan club:

Josh: “You better get on down to City Burger… Went there with a few other people the other day. It is SICK! Really, really good now.”

Me: “I don’t know.  [The black label burger] is a little pricey for my cheap-ass blood… but yeah, I’ll probably break down and try it this week.  Have the regular burgers changed at all?”

Josh: “Listen to this! I like the regular burgers BETTER than the black label. They’re top-three burgers in town right now.  They got rid of the grills and brought in griddles…started warming the buns… oh man I wish I had one now.”

That is a bold statement… top 3 burgers in the city?!?!  (Not even just Midtown?) The truth has been narrowed down to 2 possibilities.  1)  City Burger has significantly improved their burger.  Or 2) The Abitino Brothers (who own City Burger) have some serious dirt on our good friend Mr. Cutlets.

Only one way to find out which is true…

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It looks like Moshe’s Falafel (on 45th & 6th) is no longer the only Kosher cart on the block. Kosher Oasis popped up on the SW corner of 44th & 6th a few weeks ago selling falafel, schnitzel (fried chicken cutlets), soups, and kosher hot dogs.  The schnitzel hasn’t been selling well so they plan on taking it off the menu, but maybe if enough people go ask for it (hint hint) he’ll keep it around (what can I say?  I love the idea of schnitzel from a cart!)

The kosher hot dogs have been the most popular item so far, but they are still tweaking the menu.  Any early adopters tried this cart yet?  Feel free to comment below.

One of the 100 Best Things TONY Ate in 2008? Photo by The Flooz

Time Out New York has released their “100 Best Things We Ate and Drank” in 2008 list, and five different Midtown Lunches made the list. In their sandwich category, three of the five choices were from Midtown, including the fried pork and plantain sandwich from Sophie’s Cuban, the falafel sandwich from Olympic Pita (on 38th btw. 5+6th), and the marinated white anchovy sandwich from ‘wichcraft (which I clearly have to try!).  The “pickle pork soup” from Hing Won (on 48th btw. 5+6th) also made the list in the “Protein” category; but most surprising was the inclusion of the Papri Chat from Indus Express (also on 48th btw. 5+6th), which was selected in the “Street Eats” category. I think Indus Express is a great Midtown Lunch’ing option, and I love to see them get love from Time Out New York, but I think if I was going to pick a best chaat in Midtown, I would have to go with Taj Delhi Chat (on 6th Ave. btw. 37+38th). Maybe a side by side taste test is in order! (Has anybody already done this?)

Usually these posts are reserved for complaints about lunch spots, but just to show I am a good sport who is not immune to criticism- here’s a complaint I received yesterday in regards to my I’m-a-fat-guy-who-hates-health-food post about Recharge, the health food lunch spot opening where Good Portions used to be:

“People (like me and a lot of others) who have moderately high blood sugar levels must watch their carbs and sugar intake, lest they become diabetic. And diabetics are even worse off. Not to mention that a diet rich in carbohydrates and unrefined sugars is just simply bad for you, I’m talking about specific, necessary restrictions that are very common.

It’s not a goddamn fad, if you can get that through your wide-bodied veil of self-centrism. Some people who eat healthy food aren’t born to hippie parents and hate the taste of hamburgers, some people have no choice. And it’s fucking hard enough to find something to eat that is reasonably inexpensive, relatively tasty, and not packed with carbs/sugar, without rotund blowhards bloviating on the internet about how inconvenienced they are by one out of thousands of restaurants in NYC to offer a few menu choices that allow people with dietary restrictions to eat something that isn’t miserable or unaffordable. I’ve never heard of this place, but I assure you, you have plenty of food options available to your gaping maw.”

And then it gets personal…

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Cafe Zaiya (on 41st btw. Mad+5th), the winner of Best Japanese Take Out in last year’s Readers’ Poll, has severed ties with Cafe Zest, the slightly more upscale version of the grocery store they opened on 47th btw. Lex+3rd earlier in the year.  The people at Zaiya didn’t want to discuss the reasons for the break-up and admitted that the food will probably remain “similar” at Zest, but that it’s not “authentic [Zaiya] product.”  I stopped by Cafe Zest yesterday, and it doesn’t look like anything has changed, although they have added a line of serve yourself soups, and an Udon bar.

Zaiya on the other hand has added a brand new lunch special for the money conscious…

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I know my bashing of tourists is wrong (after all, we are all tourists whenever we go somewhere else) but sorry I can’t help it. It comes from working across the street from Rockefeller Center for 3 years, and being forced to walk through Times Square every single night to get home. But yesterday, I spotted this awesome group of Italian tourists in front of Murray’s Salami, in the Grand Central Market (I decided to stop by for a free sample of coppa.) The group had come up with the brilliant idea of buying some bread at Corrado’s Bakery, and combining it with some proscuitto from Murray’s Salami for a midday snack. Genius!!! It only goes to show that great food ideas transcend language and culture… well, that and Italians know how to eat.