Midtown Lunch

My personal goal of creating a buffet eating arsenal through spreading my personal DNA took a big leap forward today.  Meet Harry, the first member of this exclusive club, who entered the world this morning weighing in at 6 lbs 8 oz (or as I would say, $50.60 at the Cafe Duke by the lb. buffet.)  My celebratory lunch?  General Tso’s chicken and pork fried rice (of course) from the closest Chinese dive to the hospital (some random place on 10th Ave. btw. 51+52nd.)  That *adorable* photo is after the jump…

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Sorry, my still-stuck-in-junior-high sense of humor couldn’t resist posting this one… this sign at Sam’s House Cafe (formerly Bagelfeller on 48th btw. 5+6th) made me laugh out loud yesterday. Is that so wrong? (Apparently this is technically not a mis-spelling either.)

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 another author and book giveaway… meet “Broke Ass Stuart” whose new book “Guide to Living Cheaply in New York City” was released last week. He doesn’t work in Midtown, but the purpose of his guide is clearly something we’re all interested in. He’s also having an open-to-the-public book release party at The Delancey on Thursday night, featuring free beer and free food from a bunch of places, including Midtown Lunch favorite Kati Roll. But more on that below… first, his picks for best lunch in Midtown.

Name: Stuart

Age: Two weeks away from being 28

Occupation: Travel Writer (www.brokeassstuart.com)

Where do you Work?: Wherever there are broke-asses I’ll be there.

Favorite Kind of Food: Ooh, that’s tough. I love food from around the world. The idea of only being able to eat one kind of food for the rest of my life sound like torture to me. For example, I love steak, pizza, and pasta, but when I was down in Argentina, I actually got sick of all those things because there was very little else to eat. In an ideal world I’d have a burrito from San Diego, Vietnamese food from SF, pastrami from Katz’s Deli, pizza from Brooklyn, and a Garbage Plate from Rochester all in the same week. Unfortunately I would probably have a heart attack that week too.

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Raw onions. Fuck raw onions.

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Midtown: I really dig Taam-Tov (on 47th btw. 5+6th). It’s this really cool little Glatt Kosher Uzbek that serves up delicious meals. I get something new every time. I don’t know what half the shit is, so I just look at what the people around me are having, point to it and say I’ll take that. I usually works out pretty well. Hallo Berlin is pretty cool too…mmmm…sausages…

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Yesterday, dutch kroket chain Danku opened their first chain in the United States on 57th street just east of 6th Avenue.  I was pretty excited, not only because they serve krokets (fried balls of stuff) but they also have “Indonesian” items like curry, satays, fried rice and noodles.  (The Dutch occupied Indonesia until WW2, so that explains the connection.)  After visiting Bali a few years ago, I got to love Indonesian food; and while I wasn’t expecting the real thing- I was hoping it would at least be to Indonesian food what Panda Express is to Chinese (i.e. tasty!)

The dishes we tried, after the jump…

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Speaking of sandwiches, Serious Eats: New York conducted an experiment of their own recentlyand determined that you could make 5 “normal” size sandwiches out of one Carnegie Deli sandwich (on 7th Ave. btw. 54+55th). There is no mistaking the Carnegie Deli for a bonafide Midtown Lunch- the place is a complete tourist trap, their sandwiches are $15, and they charge you an extra $3 just for the “privilege” of sharing the food that you have paid for (a complete travesty!) But there is no denying they serve some damn good pastrami and corned beef, and even though Midtown Lunchers would have to eat two of those  “normal” sandwiches to be satisfied, SENY has made it clear that getting a Carnegie Deli sandwich, and splitting it among multiple people, would be a completely worthy lunch for anybody who works in Midtown.

Multiple tipsters have emailed in about the Old Bridge Deli (on Lex btw. 40+41st) which was closed again today- this time seized on behalf of the landlord of the building.  This is nothing new for the deli considering that they have been closed a ton of times over the past year for non payment of back taxes (clearly the owners of the OBD are having trouble paying their bills.) But the fact that this time it has been possessed by the landlord (and chained shut), does not bode well for this Midtown deli.  R.I.P. rolly wraps…

Maybe this wasn’t the best day for this post. The Friday after Thanksgiving is quite possibly the biggest sandwich eating day of the year, followed closely by the Saturday and Sunday after Thanksgiving.  Maybe you’re sick of sandwiches.  Maybe if you look at another sandwich, it’s going to make you puke.  But maybe, just maybe, the mark of a truly great sandwich is one that can still make you salivate, even on the Monday after Thanksgiving.  So, in that spirit- I’m proud to present the Midtown Lunch entry in the Murray’s Salami challenge.

First, let’s get everybody brought up to speed.  A month ago Murray’s Cheese opened up a salami counter in the Grand Central Terminal Market (entrance on Lexington and 43rd). Everything in the market is very expensive, and Murray’s is no exception.  But they’ve got a staggering array of amazing meats and charcuterie from some great purveyors around the country, and for a guy like me that is tough to ignore. Unfortunately, they are prohibited by Grand Central from selling anything that would resemble a “sandwich” or packaged lunch (probably to protect the food court vendors downstairs.)  So, if we were to enjoy the new Murray’s Salami, in a lunchtime form, it was up to us to create our own sandwiches, made from ingredients foraged from the market.  Most importantly, it would have to be under $10 a person. (Spending more than that on lunch, is a crime against humanity… unless it’s an all you can eat buffet- in which case you are allowed to spend a little more.)

Blondie and Brownie weighed in first, followed by Lunch’er Dave, and finally Lunch’er Max. And now, the Midtown Lunch entry, from start to finish.  In all its glory.

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Huzzah!  Posted in the comments, and confirmed with a phone call… Danku, the Dutch fast food company that sells krokets (balls of fried stuff) and Indonesian food (satays, noodles, and rice) is officially open as of this morning.  They’re located on 57th just East of 6th Ave., and Happy Hour contributor Mamacita is right on the money with her comment about the sound you may be hearing right now: it’s “the sound of Zach running out the door…”

Here is a copy of the menu.

British chef (and my personal hero) Jamie Oliver was in New York City for Thanksgiving, and in addition to looking for some place to have Thanksgiving dinner he was supposedly going to shoot part of an episode for an upcoming TV show at the Vendy Award winning Biryani Cart (on 46th btw. 6+7th).  Meru, the owner, got a call from one of the producers asking if Jamie could come by the cart this past Friday around 11 a.m. to shoot a segment.  Only problem?  The chef and TV crew never showed up… I know because I was there waiting!  What can I say?  I wanted to get a photo of my favorite chef at one of my favorite carts.  It was a real bummer, and no phone call or explanation either. We’re still wondering what happened to Jamie Oliver. At least I got a good lunch out of it…

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