Midtown Lunch

The more noodly ML readers might recall that almost a year ago to the day, we reported on Tabata’s second location opening on 8th Ave. A reader sent us a photo of the signage, now up on 8th at 38th (right next to 2 Bros) and we swung by. The photo above shows the storefront papered off with a lot of clutter in the very tiny space, with construction permits expiring on 6/13. The original Tabata is but one long and one short block away – wonder how much draw this’ll get? We’ll be sure to report on them when they open, because a hot bowl of ramen is ten times better when it’s 90 degrees outside!

• Get the combo, but avoid the fish at Domo Taco [Food in Mouth]
• Salvation Taco got zero stars from Pete Wells [NYT]
• Cafe Grumpy is coming to 39th & 7th Ave. [Grub Street]
• The Famous Halal Guys on 53rd & 6th are one of the 10 best cheap eats in NYC [Gothamist]

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, our Happy Hour Correspondent posts 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.

Whilst sitting in my local pub in Queens last week, a fellow walked in the door at about 9 pm, and he was completely wankered — but in a good, happy way. I asked him where he had been, and he said he’d been drinking all day at Banc Cafe (3rd Ave btw. 30 + 31) in Midtown that was in the space of an old bank. Even though it’s right on the edge of the Midtown Lunch boundaries, I checked out their website and it showed many happy hour deals that spanned several hours of the day. Here they are, slightly higher than the website claims:

Monday – Wednesday 4 – 10 pm / Thursday 4 – Midnight / Friday 4 – 8 pm
Selected cocktails, $7, Cab or Chardonnay $6, or Pints of Bud Light or Banc Ale $4.50, or Bottles of Miller Lite $4.00. Wowie!

Read more »

About six months ago, Times Square Hot Bagel lost their lease leaving Midtown West sad and bagel-less. The space has seen little action since then, but this week a Ben & Jerry’s sign appeared over the space on 44th street, just west of Times Square. While it doesn’t make up for the lack of a great egg-and-cheese-on-an-everything in the area, but if you were one of those people who were super bummed when the Ben & Jerry’s on 43rd & 8th closed a few years back this is a small consolation.  It will also hopefully makes the lines shorter at Rock Center on free cone day!

Yesterday, Paris Sandwich, not to be confused with the Korean bakery chain, Paris Baguette, rolled out their brand new truck to Midtown West parking on 52nd Street and 6th Avenue right next to Phil’s Steaks and the 52nd Street Thai Cart.

Known for their out of the ordinary Banh Mi sandwiches served on their own original baguettes baked in a hearth fired oven, Paris Sandwich currently has two locations in Chinatown on Mott Street and Grand Street.

Read more »

Every Friday we go south of the ML boundaries in search of a delicious lunch. Sometimes it’s Murray Hill south or the Flatiron District, sometimes Gramercy and everything in between- but we just like to call it Flatiron Lunch.

I’m on board with more restaurants offering sustainable food, and I have been known to drink the Michael Pollan kool-aid from time-to-time. I love burgers, well, really, cheeseburgers, so I was excited when Grass Cow Burgers and Shakes opened about a month ago on 3rd btw. 25+26th.

Read more »

I’m a straight up sucker for noodles of all ethnicities, but sometimes you just have that craving for Thai noodles. It happens to me pretty much once a week, every week. Time and time again I try to break away from Pad Thai or Pad Siew for other Thai dishes, thinking it’s too “standard,” but when you find a good Pad Thai, it’s just flat out hard to say no. Don’t fight it.

By the time I caught wind of Mamu Thai Noodle Truck‘s Kickstarter campaign this winter, it was already 113% funded with the campaign even getting some serious mentions on Grub Street and Gothamist. With no real solid Thai spots for lunch in my back pocket (though I have to be honest, I haven’t tried the 52nd Street Halal Cart Turned Thai Cart yet), Mamu seemed like the oasis I’d been waiting for, and thankfully, it is!

Read more »

In a surprising move earlier this month, Kati Roll Company started offering chopped salad boasting 12 ingredients in addition to kati rolls. The salad was a bit of a quandary to me. On the one hand, I actually used to joke that sure, I’d totally eat salad more regularly if they made them at Kati Roll! AND NOW THEY DO. On the other hand, if I’m going to Kati Roll, I can’t imagine ordering anything else but kati rolls. So, now what?
Read more »

Not doing anything on Sunday and stuck in the city? Jersey resident but would rather go to the dentist than DTS? Come on over to Midtown on 37th and Broadway, where you can participate in Pitopia’s 2nd-annual falafel-ball-eating contest! And the prizes aren’t too shabby either.  First place gets an iPad mini, and 2nd and 3rd places get $200 and $100 gift certificates to Pitopia respectively. Make sure to sign up on their Facebook before you open your mouth wide for falafeley goodness.