Midtown Lunch

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’s bar is Rudy’s, a Hell’s Kitchen establishment from Commenter Mamacita. It’s not as exciting as the strip club lunch she wrote about, but there are free hot dogs!

Opened in the 1930s and a neighborhood staple, Rudy’s Bar is probably one of my favorite bars in the city. I’m not sure if that’s a compliment seeing as how I pride myself on going to as many seedy gin-joints and dingy hole in the walls as possible. Rudy’s is a bit of a dive. It’s dimly lit and not so clean, and it lacks the pretense and affectation of so many cocktail bars around this city. This is a good thing. Most importantly, the bar has a freaking 6-foot smiling pig out front. Can there be a better mascot for us gluttons and freeloaders?

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Photo by nycblondieandbrownie

As you knew from our post on Tuesday, Wednesday was a big day on 45th btw. 6+7th. The newly launched Rickshaw Dumpling Truck and the Treats Truck were parked next to each other in what Eater dubbed “Food Truck Row.”  There was even a halal cart and ice cream truck thrown in for good measure.  But don’t get too excited for a repeat.  While The Treats Truck is planning on being back in the spot today from 12:30 to 2:30 (they alternate with the Waffles and Dinges Truck), the Rickshaw Dumpling Truck is parking Downtown (on Pearl St. right next to the plaza for all of our Downtown Lunch readers.)

No word on whether they will try parking together again next Wednesday, but it isn’t completely smooth sailing.  The same ice cream truck guy that hassled Kim in the Treats Truck when she first started parking on the block, is now hassling Kenny in the Dumpling Truck.  Hopefully with the weather getting cold, the ice cream trucks will be leaving soon anyway…

Added to Midtown Lunch Flickr Pool by nycblondieandbrownie 

Fans of mediocre cupcakes, your day of joy has finally arrived.  Magnolia Bakery is set to open their 3rd location in Midtown next week on 49th and 6th, in the space formerly occupied by Citarella. Brownie from Blondie and Brownie crashed their opening party last night, and sent along a ton of photos.  Just what we need… more lines of gawking tourists clogging up the sidewalks during lunch. Thanks, but no thanks.

More cupcake news after the jump…   Read more »

I finally gave in and signed Midtown Lunch up for one of them Twitter accounts.  Not sure exactly what I’m gonna use it for yet (free food alerts maybe?), but if you want to be the first to know when I decide, feel free to sign up. If that kind of thing interests you, you can also sign up to follow The Treats Truck, The Rickshaw Dumpling Truck, and the Waffles and Dinges Truck.

Got some great photos from Lunch’er Bossman today.  The first is from Madrit’s Pronto Pizza on 55th btw. 5+6th.  You may remember Pronto as the pizza parlor who recently added sushi, and was giving out free samples on the sidewalk.  As far as I can tell, the only reason to eat there over Tuscany Catering (also on 55th btw. 5+6th) is the backyard seating area- but now that it’s getting cold, you can scratch that idea.  Oh, and also, Pronto just go closed by the Department of Health. (Kind of a deterrent to eating there.)

Bossman was also kind enough to send photos of Obika, the Mozzarella bar that should probably be open by now.  They’ve finally taken the plywood down… check it out after the jump.

Still no word on when it’s opening, but we’ve gotta be getting closer- right?

It’s been over a week since Ying Du on 38th btw. 7+8th was shuttered by the DOH, and no “live animal present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas” or “evidence of rats” is going to keep me away from my favorite take out Chinese place in the Garment District. Ok, so maybe I would have felt different if I had looked at the restaurant inspection before I went… but it doesn’t matter! Clearly they’ve fixed the problems if they’re back open, right? And my $5.50 order of head on salt and pepper shrimp and roast pork over sauteed noodles was most excellent.

The original Pick-a-Pita (on 38th btw. 7+8th), home of the french fry stuffed schwarma/falafel sandwich, has closed for the holidays (Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur) and will not re-open.  Instead the business will shift to their new location on 8th Ave. btw. 39+40th (the former home of House of Pita.)  Originally they said they were going to keep both locations open, but that didn’t make any sense. The sign says they will be opening on October 7th, but the guy inside said it would open after the holidays. Considering that Yom Kippur starts at sundown on October 8th, it would make more sense if they opened on the 10th. I guess we’ll see.

The holidays may also explain why some of your favorite Kosher lunch spots were closed at the beginning of the week.  Most are back open, but expect Kosher Deluxe, Olympic Pita, Moshe’s Falafel and others to be closed on October 9th (and maybe even the 8th) for Yom Kippur.

Are Midtown Lunch’ers Taking a Bath?

According to this AMNY article some are “packing leftovers for lunch instead of hitting the Midtown sandwich shops.”  I know alot of Lehman employees were also Midtown Lunchers, and I’m sure expense account places are hurting.  On the other hand, the lines at street carts don’t seem to be letting up. Are you bringing your lunch more often now?  Or just opting for cheaper places?

Photo taken 9/26 on 6th Ave. btw. 49+50th by The Flooz

I guess the newsstand on 6th Ave. btw. 37+38th isn’t the only weird combo in Midtown. Sarah DiGregorio from the Village Voice ate at this “Indian-Pakistani-Spanish-American restaurant” on 33rd btw. 6+7th. The one downside?  All the food is halal, so it’s missing “the porky dishes that you’d find at any other Spanish lunch counter.”

I am all for giving readers a forum to complain about restaurants.  But if a restaurant wants to complain, I don’t have a problem with that.  Yesterday, this comment was posted by the owner of Yushi- a hip Japanese take out place on that I’ve written about twice since it opened.  The first time, I complained that while the food was clearly healthy, it was not filling enough for the price (i.e. I’m fat and need a lot of food.)  The second time, I was a little more gracious… admitting that the place didn’t entirely suck.  The owner chose to respond to my second post:

Mr Midtown Lunch,

I have only just seen your July 17th comments, i’m not even sure owners are mean’t to write here but what the hell. You initially said we were too expensive when we opened, FYI:

1. We haven’t raised prices in a year, unlike the rest of the world, even though rice has doubled in price, tuna is up 30% and salmon 25% etc

2. We set up My Yushi, it’s like a coffee card for sushi, basically a 10% discount without all the hassle usually associated with this kind of thing, you should try it

But wait, there’s more…  Read more »