Midtown Lunch

From a Lunch’er: “The Old Bridge Deli (on 41st & Lex) got SEIZED (big orange stickers out front, doors closed)…. AGAIN.  That’s twice in like a few months. Same exact thing that happened before basically.  Lights on, people literally walking up to the door and yanking on it, only to then lookup and see the big orange sticker with massive “SEIZED” on it.  Didn’t bother reading the fine print on the sticker this time though.” She bounced back once, let’s see if she can do it again.

Thanks to Lunch’er Howard for the photos.

Bento Guy on 50th btw. 6+7th (on a better day) Photo provided by Lunch’er Shauna

In the ML Inbox: “Just to let you know, I saw the 50th st bento guy sitting in back of a police suv and the cops were wheeling around his cart. I wanted to take a snap for your blog, but i didn’t want to risk gettting tazed.” Please tell me somebody got a photo of this.  Email it to zach@midtownlunch.com  Also, somebody may want to go warn the Ecuadorian lady on 46th St.

So, I’m about to enter the cauldron of doom. My stomach has been tested and pushed to the limits time and time again… but nothing holds a candle to Tad’s Steaks, the bastard child of Midtown Lunch’ing. The only place that makes you think “some things just shouldn’t be that cheap.” But the challenge was issued, so I must oblige.

If I don’t make it, you’ll know I went out doing what I love best: eating disgusting food in Midtown Manhattan.

Always up for challenging my stomach, I decided to hit up Milant yesterday (on 39th btw. Lex+3rd) despite the fact that they’ve been closed for most of the past month or two. Since they were shuttered by the DOH, there has been concern about the freshness and cleanliness of what was once considered Midtown’s finest sandwich place.  All the food in the display case looked fine, although there is a creepy-ness that will probably only go away after multiple visits without incident (i.e. sickness). I went with my standby #13.  Chicken cutlet, fresh mozarella, sundried tomatoes, and pesto. 

Check it out, plus more- after the jump…  Read more »

Passed by the Treats Truck yesterday (on 45th btw. 6+7th) and owner Kim had two helpers, so the line was moving much quicker than normal.  One helper took orders, one packaged the orders up, and Kim took the money. Very nice.  Unfortunately it’s not a permanent thing, because one of the helpers was Kenny Lao, founder and co-owner of the Rickshaw Dumpling Bar, who told me that their planned cart should be ready to go in just a few weeks. Kenny has been shadowing Kim to learn more about what it takes to run a food truck in New York City.  He’s hoping to have a “soft” opening with his cart (i.e. not publicized, so he can ease into things) but I told him Midtown Lunch’ers wouldn’t let that happen. Keep your eye out for the new dumpling cart starting in September.

I tried to get my friend to buy a shake from one of the Vietnamese fruit carts, but he wanted Jamba Juice. I can’t really mad though, because I got to see this guy. Taken inside the Jamba Juice on Broadway btw. 46+47th.

Thanks to Lunch’er Mike for pointing out this deal.  Burger. Fries. Beer.  $10 at the House of Brews on the SW corner of 51st & 8th Ave.

“With tax and tip, it slightly breaks the ML price cap, but the burger was pretty big and delicious, and the beer was Checker Cab Blond Ale, which is at the very least better than Bud Light.  They sneakily charged another $1.50 for cheese, but it’s still a damn good deal, and they have pepper jack.” 

It’s about 5 feet outside Midtown Lunch range (on 51st just west of 8th), and sit down lunches at pubs aren’t really my thing, but if a place is willing to throw in a beer with lunch, and keep the price at $10, they deserve a mention.  House of Brews has a second location on 46th between 8+9th (but closer to 9th).

Are there any other deals like this?  Feel free to comment below…