Midtown Lunch

Every day this week Serious Eats: New York is posting about a different Vendy Award finalist, and today I contributed a full post about our beloved Biryani Cart (on 46th btw. 6+7th.)  It includes amazing photos by Robyn Lee (the food never looked so good) including a photo of the newly added PWCD roll.  Plus, I realize that we may have done a grave disservice to the cart by entering their standard chicken over rice in the Street Meat Palooza competition.  If we had judged the Biryani Cart based on their chicken tikka masala (which is much more like street meat than the traditional Indian version of the dish) I think they would have scored much higher.  The dish is totally rockin’.  I guess I’ll have to make up for it in Street Meat Palooza 2!

If Magnolia Bakery is wondering how to get more dudes into cupcakes, I think this may be the solution.  7th Ave and 46th St. is the place to be for fans C-List Celebs and cupcakes (until 2pm.) What more could you want? As we reported earlier, it’s some kind of Celebrity Apprentice thing– which is kind of funny if you think about it. Aren’t real entrepreneurs supposed to come up with the next big thing?

Photos courtesy of Nataki Hewling. More after the jump…  Read more »

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 Emily, a freelance writer looking for a little UK love.

Name: Emily

Age: 25 in a month!

Occupation: Editor, freelance writer (and blogger at confessionsofasplendastealer.wordpress.com)

Where in Midtown do you Work?: 41at & Lex

Favorite Kind of Food: Too much. I’ve been on a Cuban food kick lately and crave empanadas and platanos. But I also love Mexican, Thai, sushi, lots of pizza, anything with peanut butter or pumpkin, and I have a really bad sweet tooth.

Least Favorite Kind of Food: I can be picky about seafood. I don’t really care for shellfish that lacks a specific texture other than slime, like raw oysters. I also don’t like monkfish and really didn’t like it after I Googled what it looks like naturally. I’m a very visual person so sometimes I don’t want to know what my food looks like before it’s ready to be eaten. Also, “a big salad” for lunch. I loathe all those Chopt and Just Salad spots. BO-RING!

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Midtown: Do desserts count too? I have on occasion traded out lunch for dessert, and by occasion, I mean pretty frequently. The Mexican chocolate brownie or apricot oatmeal jammy from the Treats Truck and the PB&J cupcake from The Buttercup Bake Shop (one avenue over the Midtown Lunch limit on 2nd Ave.) are my favorite ways to indulge my sweet tooth. I am also pleased to report that I have become a pro at unwrapping onigiri purchased from Café Zaiya (on 41st btw. Mad+5th). I used to love the gravlax club at the AQ Café in the Scandinavia House before it was replaced by the Smorgas Chef, and my friend Kristine and I still cry tears of joy over our memories of the lobster roll and pulled pork sandwiches from our free lunch at The Volstead!

“Go-To” Lunch Place You and Your Coworkers Eat at Too Often? Old Bridge Deli on Lex btw. 40+41st (though I’m am interested in trying one of those rolly wrap, calzone-alternative things Zach found), Prete A Manger, and the Café Metro that’s in my building. I also frequent the 99 cent pizza place on 43rd btw. Lex+3rd, but I’m the only one in my office who has no shame and will run out for the really cheap finds or freebies. I will literally duck and run out of my office with exact change in my hand.

Place(s) you discovered thanks to Midtown Lunch? The pizza deal at Naples 45 (on 45th & Madison) and the 99 cent pizza place, Woorijip (on 32nd btw. B’way+5th_ when I find myself near Penn Station, Café Zaiya and Chiyoda Sushi (on 41st btw. Mad+5th), and the Kwik Meal cart (on 45th & 6th). Mmm falafel.

If you could work anywhere (just because of the lunch) where would it be and why? Lately, out of nostalgia, I’ve been craving a lot of the comfort food/pub grub from when I studied in England a few years ago. High teas with scones, fish and chips loaded with vinegar, and hot Cornish pasties—flaky pastries filled and baked with some sort of meat, potato, corn, onions, etc.—millions of varieties—fast, hearty and cheap!

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Just when you thought the whole Midtown cupcake thing couldn’t get any crazier, I got this note from a friend today: “Yo, my girl T Boz (from TLC) will be in NYC today 10/7 doing a surprise cupcake sale near Radio City/Rockefeller Center from 12:30 to 2pm. She is doing it to raise money for her chosen charity (sickle cell anemia) for a top secret tv thing (you didn’t hear it from me but the show may or may not rhyme with schmelebrity shmaprentice.)” I wonder if it will be at the new Magnolia Bakery location on 49th & 6th (which did not open yesterday as planned.)

Update from the Comments (10:40am): “Celebrity Apprentice/Playboy playmate Brande Broderick is selling cupcakes at 5th ave btw. 56+57 street… and PlayboyU will hand out free tee shirts.” And from Cupcakes Take the Cake: Khloe Kardashian will be on 57th & 5th from 10:30am to Noon. And then in Rock Center from 12:30 to to 2pm.  It looks like they are all going to be selling from the same location. 57 & 5th until Noon, and Rock Center 46th St. & 7th Ave. after that. Send photos to zach@midtownlunch.com (please)

This years Vendy Awards is shaping up to be the best ever.  For the first time ever, a second category has been added: dessert!  This morning, the four nominees were announced for best dessert truck, and 3 of the 4 finalists are Midtown Lunch favorites.  The Treats Truck, The Dessert Truck, and Wafels and Dinges all made the cut, with the Van Leeuwen Ice Cream Truck being the only choice that doesn’t spend at least one day parked in Midtown (what gives man?!?  Can’t we get a hipster ice cream day up in this piece?)  The award for best dessert will be voted on by the people rather than the judges, and the new additions mean that now an $80 ticket will get you food from 9 different vendors.  Like I said… best… vendys… ever.  If you haven’t gotten your tickets yet, you may want to get on this now since the event has sold out every year.  Plus, all the money goes to benefit the Street Vendor Project, so you can feel good about yourself while chowing down food from nine (that’s right, nine) different carts!

Related:
2008 Vendy Nominees Announced and Midtown Gets 2

Eater is reporting that another Pret is opening on 3rd Ave. btw. 44+45th, right next to where the new Boi Sandwich is going to be opening.  This should mean another one of those free sandwich giveaways. If you work near there, keep us up to date on the progress! (They usually hand out fliers the day before the grand opening…)

Spice Fusion (the Indian buffet on 8th Ave. btw. 47+48th) used to have a big blow up of the Midtown Lunch post hanging in front of their restaurant. Not anymore. It probably has to do with the headline, where I claimed that Spice Fusion had perfected the “Under $10 Indian All You Can Eat Buffet”. Like most of the Indian buffets in Midtown, Spice Fusion raised their price at the beginning of the year. But is it worth the extra buck? (As you know, I will break my $10 rule for all you can eat buffets.)

I used this silly reasoning as an excuse decided to buffet it up on Friday to “check it out”.  Read more »

I spent this past weekend in Chicago, and came away with a) a much greater appreciation of New York pizza (sorry Chicago, your deep dish is just aiight) and b) a complete and 100% fatman-crush on Hot Doug’s. A sausage temple like none I’ve ever seen, Hot Doug’s was (surprisingly) worth the 45 minute wait. It also got me thinking that I’ve never really done any hot dog posts on Midtown Lunch. Carts litter the streets, and I’m sure there are a few exceptional ones, but I’ve never really bothered to try them out.

Sure, we had Mandler’s for a second or two, and the Hallo Berlin Cart (on 54th and 5th) is a great place to satisfy your German sausage craving. But what about a straight up hot dog? I know we’re not going to get anything as amazing as Hot Doug’s, but there has got to be at least a couple worthwhile dogs in Midtown. Got any suggestions, post them in the comments.

In the meantime, more Hot Doug’s porn- after the jump (if you don’t want to be jealous of Chicago lunchers, don’t click through.)

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I guess the best philly cheesesteak is not in Midtown, if you believe this exhaustive head to head cheesesteak battle royale done by Jason Santa Maria. Wogies Bar & Grill in the West Village came out on top, with 99 Miles to Philly (2nd Ave. & 52nd St.), Carl’s Steaks (3rd btw. 34+35th), Shorty’s (9th Ave. btw. 41+42nd), and Philly Slim’s (9th Ave. btw. 52+53rd) coming in 2nd, 3rd and 4th respectively. Each have outposts in the outer reaches of Midtown but it isn’t entirely clear if he visited the Midtown locations (except in the case of Shorty’s-formerly Tony Luke’s- which only has one NYC location.) Either way he goes on to say that “all three of our top scorers rank on par with some of the best cheesesteaks I’ve had in Philly and I can confidently recommend any of them for a good time.”  [via Serious Eats: New York]

• You can get Barack Obama and John McCain cookies at Zaro’s in Grand Central [SE:NY]
• The Dessert Truck is now serving their famous Hot Chocolate [Dessert Truck Menu PDF]
• One Luncher’s disappointing trip to the Jiannetto’s Pizza Truck [Salty/Savory/Sweet]
• You get more meat at Margon than you do at Leocadia Milanes [Lifestyle of a Yuppie]
• Midtown is the “mobile food epicenter” of the city.  Who knew? [Eater]