Midtown Lunch

Congrats to Meru and the Whole Team!

The finalists for the 2008 Vendy Awards were announced this afternoon, and Midtown is represented with two nominees!  Kwik Meal (on 45th and 6th) gets nominated for a second year in a row, but even more exciting is the nomination of one of my personal favorites… the Biriyani Cart!!! (On 46th and 6th)

Also nominated are Fauzia’s Delights in the Bronx, Soler Dominican in Brooklyn, and the Calexico Cart in Soho.  All 5 carts carts will converge in Dumbo on October 18th to determine the 2008 Vendy Champion!  Tickets are $80, and all proceeds go to benefit the Street Vendor Project.

Just like last year, there is a video introducing all the nominees. Check it out, after the jump…  

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Pushcart vendors outside the Time/Life Building. Photo by AntyDiluvian

According to Lunch’er Jill a street vendor on 50th and 6th Ave. in front of the Time Life Building caught on fire just after 5 p.m.  yesterday (not the cart, but the actual vendor himself):

[It] happened at the exact time I was leaving work on 50th and 6th Ave.  right outside the Time Life building.  I didn’t see anything but a big crowd. As I was walking through the lobby some lady ran into our building and told a security guard something was on fire.  Once I got outside, I asked someone what was up and he said someone was on fire.

The NY Post reported this morning that nearby office workers came to the rescue…   

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From Lunch’er Lou about the new Mexican cart near Bloomingdales: “1:30… 9/24… No cart on 3rd and 60th” Ay. No es bueno… although maybe it has something to do with the U.N. meetings?  Carts have been reporting problems all week. The Dessert Truck scrapped their lunch service this week, and the Biryani Cart on 46th and 6th said they didn’t get their chicken delivery until 1:30 p.m. the other day. They’ve also put off opening their second cart until next week.  All because of the street closings, and general mess in Midtown East. I’ll give it until Monday before I start worrying about El Rey del Sabor…

UPDATE: One lunch’er reports eating there at 12:30pm today, calling into question whether or not Lou was in the right place.  60th Street, just West of 3rd Avenue.  South side of the street.  Were you in the right place Lou?  Taco fans need to know…

Yesterday Eater felt the need to single out Empanada Joe’s with their own “Adventures in Shilling” post, pointing out many positive comments that could have only been posted by people with a financial interest in the new chain succeeding. We just got our own Empanada Joe’s location (the second in the chain) on 8th Ave. btw. 43+44th, and I believe they have been doing a little shilling on Midtown Lunch as well. Take this comment for example:

Critically panned? Not by all the happy customers I saw when I tried it out. Personally, I’d rather pay three-something for an item from a nice clean restaurant than two-something from a street vendor whose cart has been God only knows where. Liked all the empanadas I tried: the Argentine beef, the Dolce sausage and peppers and the pina colada. It’s definitely a nice change of pace. See you in line.

I can’t be entirely sure that this comment was a shill, but there are some hints. “All the happy customers” is not something a normal person would necessarily notice, and “See you in line” is not something you would usually say to a bunch of strangers on a website. But the biggest proof may be in the food itself. I tried Empanada Joe’s the other day… and while I will stop short of saying it’s terrible- it’s not exactly going to engender an army of enthusiastic commenters.   Read more »

Alright.  We get it.  The best fast food chinese places in Midtown are dirty.  It’s ok.  WE DON’T MIND. Right?  I found this sad scene at Ying Du yesterday (on 38th btw. 7+8th) one of my favorite chinese places in Midtown.  It was certainly not a surprising sight (we all know it’s dirty), but it’s still kind of upsetting. Anybody who eats at Ying Du (or Hing Won for that matter) kind of knows what they’re in for.  We’re adults. Maybe we should move to the L.A. system of putting letter grades in the windows. If you are clean, you get a big A.  If you’re not, you get a B or a C (actually, I don’t know if I ever saw a C).  Then, let the consumer decide.  “How much of a risk do I really want to take eating lunch at this place?”  I guess what I’m saying is, can’t the Department of Health just let Ying Du be? Unless there was evidence of roaches in the food area.  Were there roaches? That’s just gross.

Just in the nick of time… TONY is reporting that the new AQ Kafe (on Broadway and 58th St.) is opening “this week”, and a quick call to the store yielded this info:  they are planning to open on Monday morning. Of course, as you know “plans” don’t always work out as… uh… planned.

Yesterday was supposed to be the grand opening for Obika, the Italian Mozzarella bar in the atrium on 56th and Madison– but as Eater reported yesterday, and today, the place is not open. I love cheese just as much as the next guy, and I’ll probably check it out the day it opens just to be sure- but from all the press it’s gotten I’m starting to think this is definitely not going to be a Midtown Lunch…

Thanks to Lunch’er Bossman for sending along the photos.

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 Kate, a Times Square gal who loves stuff wrapped up in other stuff- as long as you hold the dipping sauce. (She’s also agreed to submit our first Friday happy hour post… and from the look of the photo, she is clearly qualified.)

Name: Kate

Age: 25

Occupation: Cog in the wheel of a major media corporation

Where in Midtown do you Work?: Times Square. Eh.

Favorite Kind of Food: I really love anything that’s wrapped up in another something and then cooked. So that means empanadas, dumplings, pierogies, and battered deep fried Oreos. I also enjoy a good curry.

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Mayonnaise, mustard, ranch dressing, tahini sauce. Condiments in general I guess.

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Midtown: The pizza place next to Dean and Deluca on W 46th btwn Bdway and 8th has a killer Grandma Slice. (I think it’s called Patzeria Perfect Pizza) I also frequent Green Symphony (43rd btwn Bdway and 8th) for their awesome buffet of warm stews and samosas. I also like Piece of Chicken (45th btw 8+9th) or Burger Joint (on 56th btw. 6+7th) if I’m feeling particularly greasy.

“Go-To” Lunch Place You and Your Coworkers Eat at Too Often? As I am a very lone luncher, my book tends to absorb most of my lunch hour. I’m guilty of just picking up a yogurt or granola bar from Cranberry Deli (45th and 6th) more than a few times a week. I also love to go up to Empanada Mama (9th and 51st), though I know that’s considered out of bounds.

Place(s) you discovered thanks to Midtown Lunch? Ahhhh, the Sullivan St Bakery (on 47th btw. 10+11th), 99 Cent Pizza, and Madeliene ‘the crepe lady’ (on 49th btw. B’way+8th)

If you could work anywhere (just because of the lunch) where would it be and why? I would work in the East Village because if I could eat at Veselka everyday, my life might very well be a success after all.

Is there anything you’d like to ask the Midtown Lunch readers? Where’s the Mac and cheese at yo?

So, as you may or may not know- occasionally profiled lunch’ers will send in two photos. And less often than not, both will be so good that I feel required to post a second photo of the lunch’er. That photo (oh yeah, and a mac and cheese rec) after the jump…

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Our good friend Danny from Food in Mouth visits the original Lazzara’s Pizza location and discovers that the chicken parm has gone from $8 to $9. “Even though it was a filling lunch, I still wonder about whether it was worth it. At nearly $10 and with other chick parm subs that cost less, I wonder if there are other options.” Anybody up for Labeleca today?

It’s looking like the new AQ Kafe on Broadway btw. 58th and Central Park won’t be a second location of Marcus Samuelsson’s casual Scandinavian eatery… it will be the only location.  The original AQ Cafe in the Scandinavia House on Park btw. 37+38th is gone, replaced with the more expensive Smorgas Chef.  If the menu from their three other New York City locations (one is in Midtown East on 49th and 2nd Ave.) is any indication, this is not an improvement for Midtown Lunch’ers.  Well, at least we have the new AQ Kafe coming soon… but that is probably little consolation for the swedish meatball lovers in Midtown south.  Thanks to Lunch’er Wayne for passing along the photo.