Midtown Lunch

Remember this?  And remember how I said if I wanted to stay married, I would not be able to review this lunch spot?  Well, problem solved!  Popular Midtown Lunch commenter “Mamacita” agreed to go in my place, and just finished lunch’ing at the oh so fabulous Rick’s Cabaret (on 33rd btw. B’way+5th)  Naturally crab cakes and strip steak were both consumed… she forwarded along this first impression… “Let’s just say I haven’t seen that much T&A since high school gym, and these were not ‘little’ girls.”  Nice…. full review coming next week…

Every few months I gravitate back to the Bulgogi Cart on 49th btw. 6+7th hoping that it will graduate from decent to excellent. Over the year and a half it’s been operating, I think we can all agree on certain conclusions.  1) Their kalbi is much better than their bulgogi.  2) Keeping your expectations low is a good thing.  Not amazing Korean food, but decent considering it’s from a cart.  3) They don’t give you nearly enough kimchee! 

I haven’t been in a few months, but a lunch’er emailed this report yesterday:

I don’t know if you have already been informed, but I walked over to the Bulgogi cart (49th and 6th) to get lunch today and noticed that the prices have increased! Most of the standard fare which was previously $6 has been increased to $7. So now a number 1 with double meat is $9! That is a bit steep for cart food in my opinion, but you gotta respect the effects of the economy.

But wait, there’s more…   Read more »

A friend of mine spotted Barack Obama in the lobby of the Parker Meridien Hotel late last night.  I wonder if he ate at the Burger Joint?  Or maybe Topaz Thai next door? Either would have been better choices than what he had for lunch today visiting Bill Clinton’s office in Harlem: “a potpourri of Cosi sandwiches, flatbread pizza, salad and chips.” Terrible.

When I lived in L.A. I used to love getting the Gordon Biersch garlic fries at Dodger games, so I’m kind of interested in the answer to this questions was well.  From Lunch’er Charlie: “Do you have any idea as to where one can get San Francisco style garlic fries, with freshly diced garlic and freshly grated Parmesan, in NYC?”  Yes please. Anybody?

It’s been awhile since I’ve been to Fashion Soup, a really good take out place on 41st btw. 6th & Broadway featuring tasty soups homemade by its Eastern European owner (who also works in the store during the day.) Seeing as it’s Fashion Week, I thought I’d drop by and see what was going on. In addition to being curious about changes, I was also secretly interested in seeing if business changed considering the influx of fashionable peoples under tents, half an avenue away in Bryant Park.

What I found was a big surprise…  Read more »

Eater has posted a photo showing that progress is finally being made at Obika, the mozzarella bar set to open in the atrium on 56th & Madison. No word on if they’re still sticking to their September 20th opening date, but I’ll keep an eye out.

I am embarrassed to admit it, but I wasted my time watching that Inside Edition “expose” on NYC Street Vendors last night. Was it gross? Yes. Did they catch 3 or 4 vendors picking their noses, and then handling food without gloves. Of course. Thankfully though none of the vendors covered were popular Midtown Lunch carts (although one I recognized as being on 48th St. & 7th Ave.) They were all non-descript hot dog and kebab vendors mostly frequented by tourists. And you know what I say? Screw the tourists. Maybe these dirty carts will thin their ranks out a bit- get them out of the way so I can walk home in peace after work.

In all seriousness though (I do hate tourists, but don’t wish dysentery on them), amazingly, after watching the 3 minute and 30 second report I felt more sorry for the vendors than anything. So what. 4 street vendors are kind of dirty. So is restaurant food. So is the subway. These guys aren’t criminals. And reports like this tend to do more harm than good. The majority of vendors work hard, follow the rules, keep clean carts, and don’t pick their feet while on the job. They shouldn’t be vilified because there are 3 that don’t. Hell, I’m picking my nose as I write this. And I might go eat something when I’m done (but not boogers. That’s gross.)

If you must watch the video, it’s after the jump…  Read more »

I hate generic Midtown delis. Anybody who reads this site with any regularity knows this. In fact, that stupid deli at the bottom of your building, with its make your own salad bar, prepackaged sushi, and terrible sandwich counter is the reason I started this blog in the first place. Those choices exist solely because your co-workers are lazy losers; unwilling to walk an extra block or two to eat a worthwhile lunch.

Of course every once in awhile a Midtown deli innovation occurs, pushing the boundaries of gastronomic advancement; begging to be noticed, unwilling to following the standard formula. By the lb. buffets were one of the early innovations. The good ones are tough to resist (despite being a curse to us fatties.) Korean deli owners selling Korean food is a more recent example. The stations set up at Cafe Duke and Ambrosia elevate those delis to worthwhile status. Now, we have reached a new plateau… brought to my attention in this email:

Anyone tipped you off to this yet at the Old Bridge Deli? For about $6.50, you can get a fresh baked (i.e. made, then baked on the spot while you wait)… what is essentially an elongated calzone with a thinner crust with custom ingredients of your choosing (they call it a rolly wrap).

The fresh baked part is killer. So is the fresh chopping the guy does if you order chicken, or any cheese other than mozz. I’m a sucker for a little fresh cutting and baking on my lunch order, especially when it’s a FULL lunch and costs $6-7. Just wait in line, pile on pretty much as many ingredients as you like, and wait while it bakes. He’ll even give you a sour cream or hot sauce on the side if you ask nicely.

I usually roll with a choice of cheddar and/or mozz (sometimes rotate in the jalapeno jack too) the breaded chicken (grilled if I’m going “healthy”), some pepperoni or bacon, rotate the vegetable (onion, mushroom, broccoli, red peppers), then top it off with salsa and either sour cream or guac. Delicious.

Fresh baked? As many ingredients as you like? In a generic Midtown deli? Wait- ignore that last part and this kind of sounds amazing…  Read more »

Frank Bruni “awards” Midtown power lunch spot Michael’s zero stars in today’s New York Times. A $35 burger for lunch!  Frank- if you needed a suggestion for places to eat lunch near your office you should have just asked…