Midtown Lunch

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 Kristen, a vegetarian who seems to know a hell of alot about 45th St. btw. 6th & Broadway.

Name: Kristen

Age: 28

Occupation: Systems Associate

Where in Midtown do you Work?: An investment and technology development firm located near Times Square

Favorite Kind of Food: Middle Eastern, Mediterranean

Least Favorite Kind of Food: I can’t think of any cuisine that I categorically dislike, but I prefer savory food over sweets.

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Midtown: I mostly patronize spots within a one-block radius of my office and I definitely have my regular dishes at each spot. I’m a vegetarian, a point which will soon become apparent. At Cranberry (on 45th btw. 6th+Bway) I like to get the avocado sandwich. The kind folk at Cranberry use a lot of avocado and also load the sandwich with other deli-type vegetables (lettuce, sprouts, cucumber, etc.) On mornings when I want a substantial breakfast, I’ll get the egg white wrap from Dunhill (also on 45th btw. 6+Bway). I believe it’s the #6. Dunhill puts an impressive amount of vegetables in the wrap and it costs something unholy like $3.50.

I’m going to give a shout-out to two kosher restaurants as they offer many great vegetarian options. My Most Favorite Food (also on 45th btw. 6+Bway) has a clandestine take-out room in the back that has great soup and salad options. Each day they typically offer two cold pasta salads, at least two vegetable salads, and two types of soup. The menu changes daily, so call in advance if foreknowledge matters to you. I usually just show up and order whatever they are offering that day. My favorite soup is the tomato basil. My favorite two salads are the fennel with parsley and celery salad and the broccoli slaw with almonds and dried cranberries. Milk & Honey (on 45th btw. 5+6th) has a great portobello mushroom panini aptly called “The Italian.” Every time I bring one back to my office, at least one coworker invariably asks about it. Basically, people can not control themselves around “The Italian.”

For Middle Eastern, there are two pretty good restaurants kind of nearby: Akdeniz (46th btw. 5+6th) and Marrakesh (53rd btw. 2+3rd). I usually order their food via Seamless Web because both are bona-fide restaurants and I don’t want to go in person to such places since I would have to wait for my food to be prepared. Also, who doesn’t like reading the expertly-composed descriptions on Seamless Web? Akdeniz has a great stuffed eggplant dish plus amazing complimentary bread. Marrakesh has a variety of delicious vegetarian platters.

Finally, I love the fruit stand (in my photo) on 44th near the northwest corner of 44th and 6th. First, they use no dairy or added sweeteners in their smoothies. Second, you can create your own smoothie selecting from almost any type of fruit you would typically find in the Northeast, plus savory spa-type ingredients, such as parsley. Third, they are insanely cheap ($3 for a small smoothie, $4 for a large.) Oh, and they’re really friendly.

More after the jump… Read more »

Last week the New York Times reported that Schnitzi (a Brooklyn schnitzel shop) was planning on opening a branch in the Diamond District in Midtown. After taking a look at the menu, I got pretty excited for the prospect of sesame coated chinese style schnitzel (Schnitzi does a lot of crazy versions of schnitzel.) Unfortunately I talked to the owner, and while he would love to open an outpost in Midtown, he doesn’t actually have a space or immediate plans to obtain one.  At the earliest, we may see a Schnitzi in 6 months. In the meatime you’ll have to make due with Kosher Deluxe (45th btw. 5+6th), or for the german version- Hallo Berlin Express (9th Ave. btw. 49+50th).

I love it when expensive restaurants slum with the Midtown Lunch’ers. Toloache, the expensive but inventive Mexican restaurant on 50th btw. Bway+8th, will be celebrating its one year anniversary tomorrow by selling $1 tacos all day long. They have an extensive menu of tacos (including grasshoppers), but only these 3 will be available for $1:

Pollo (chicken breast adobado, pico de gallo, manchego cheese)
Suadero (Negra Modelo-braised brisket, tomatillo salsa, horseradish crema)
Hongos y Nopales (Maitake & huitlacoche mushrooms, cactus, doble crema cheese)

There is a limit of 7 tacos per person (clearly they were afraid of the Midtown Lunch’ers) but they allow you to eat in, or take your order to go. For a place as good as Toloache, selling their tacos at $2 would be a lunchtime bargain. For $1, they’re literally giving them away. Don’t miss out. 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m.

Toloache, 251 W. 50th St. (btw. B’way+8th) 212-581-1818

Life is all about expectations. Go into a meal expecting greatness, and 9 times out of 10 you’ll probably leave disappointed.  Go into a meal expecting to die, and you’ve got a good chance of walking out feeling like a winner. In those special cases, leaving without feeling sick is a pleasant accomplishment in and of itself. And that is how I felt walking into Tad’s Steaks on Thursday. I was scared. Real scared.

I would call Tad’s a fast food steak place, but that doesn’t really do it justice. It is a Midtown institution- if by institution you mean place everyone knows about.  If a restaurant has to be eaten in to qualify, than maybe institution isn’t the proper term.  In fact, while most people have a very strong (negative) opinion about Tad’s, few people have actually eaten there. See, there are three kinds of people who lunch in Midtown:

1. Those who have braved a meal at Tad’s, and come away sick or disgusted (a few people I know.)
2. Those who have braved a meal at Tad’s, and thought it was good enough to return (uh, only one person I know, and he accompanied me on this trip.) 
3. And everyone else.  The haters who have never been, but will not hesitate to tell you how terrible Tad’s must be.

I’ve always been a card carrying member of that last group. I didn’t need to eat at Tad’s to know it was terrible. Whether it’s the already poured glasses of wine, stacked on the counter, covered in saran wrap; or the interior that hasn’t been changed (or probably cleaned) since 1974, Tad’s is not very welcoming.  Even the $7 steak lunch special, which should be selling point enough (for its cheapness), ends up doing the opposite. Why is this so cheap? How can they make a steak so cheap?  You know what?  Scratch that. I don’t want to know.

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Surprisingly I received this email response to my post on Friday about Fox News correspondent Alan Colmes’ and his choice of go-to lunch in Midtown:

From: Alan Colmes
To: zach@midtownlunch.com

Date: Sat, Aug 23, 2008 at 2:18 AM
Subject: From Colmes

Zach,

I already read Midtown lunch….but thanks for the mention. You have to admit, though, Evergreen [Diner] is quite convenient.

Alan

 
I admit nothing Alan. I learned that from the current President.

Photo by Blondie and Brownie

• A Waffles & Dinges/Dessert Truck Mash-Up [Blondie and Brownie]
• Bon Appetit’s Pop Up Supper Club will return in October [A Life Vicarious]
• Fresco on the Go serves up a surprisingly delicious personal pizza [Lunch Studio]
• Midtown East’s Curry & Curry will be one of the food vendors at the US Open [NYS]
• For 50 cents, you can get crispy onion strings added to your burger at Goodburger [NYC Food Guy]

Today, “Fair and Balanced” political talk show host Alan Colmes tells Grub Street where he ate all week.  I never thought about it, but with the Fox News building on 6th Ave. btw. 47+48th it’s not a surprise he’s a Midtown Lunch’er.  You’ll recognize a few spots from his list of places, like Goodburger, which is just fine, and Bella Napoli (on 49th btw. 6+7th), which is a great spot for pizza and subs. But his go to lunch is the Evergreen Diner! (On 47th btw. 6+7th)  Come on Alan.  You can do better than that.  (I know we have lunchers in that building.  Will somebody please send him a link to Midtown Lunch!)

People like sending me photos of lunches they’ve had, and some of them are from places I’ve never been.  So as part of a new feature, I’m going to start posting some of these lunches.  After all, as much as I try, I can’t eat everything.  Been to this place?  Feel free to post a comment below. Want to share one of your own lunches?  Email your photo(s) to zach@midtownlunch.com or post them to the Midtown Lunch Flickr Photo Pool with a description.

From Lunch’er Nicholas: “Stumbled on this place…daily lunch specials for $9.75. The pic is of today’s special: chicken teriyaki, fried salmon fillet, miso soup, salad and eight pieces of California roll.  The roll was not great but everything else was very good. Different offerings every day of the week.  Enjoy before they raise the prices. Azusa of Japan, 3 East 44th st (btw. 5+Madison), 212-681-0001.