Midtown Lunch

For those who were hoping Bagelfeller (on 48th btw. 5+6th) would morph into a decent Midtown Lunch, I’ve got some bad news.  They changed the name (it’s called Sam’s House Cafe now), and they’ve added a weird greenish counter, but the food seems to be mostly the same.  The salad bar, the weird tex-mex food, the sushi… it’s all there.  So much for hopes…

It’s been a while since I buffeted it up at lunchtime in Midtown.  When I first started this blog, there were quite a few buffets that fell under the Midtown Lunch price range.  There was Rangole on 46th btw. 5+6th (now closed), Al Baraka Turkish Buffet on 55th btw. Lex+3rd (now called Kannaat), Arang in Koreatown (they stopped doing buffet), Chinese Midtown Buffet on 7th btw. 39+40th, International Food House latin buffet on 35th btw. 7+8th) and Curry Dream on 39th btw. 5+6th.  I made an exception for the $10.99 vegetarian Indian buffet Sukhadia on 45th btw. 5+6th,  and Spice Fusion became my favorite buffet in Midtown when they opened last year on 8th Ave. btw. 47+48th. Since that time, almost every one of these buffets have either closed or raised their prices, leaving West Tandoori Club on 37th btw. 7+8th, the last remaining under $10 Indian buffet in Midtown.

Last month, when the W.T.C. closed for “renovations,” I figured that was it.  Even if they re-opened as a buffet, it’s not going to remain under $10.  So imagine my surprise when a few weeks ago, West Tandoori Club re-opened as “Touch of India” with an $8.95 lunch buffet.   Last friday, I headed over to check it out…  Read more »

Listed on the right as my favorite sandwich in Midtown, Milant on 39th btw. Lex+3rd has been having some issues of late. Shuttered by the DOH, they’ve now been “closed for rennovations” for a few weeks. Before their rennovations, one commenter had this to say: “Went to Milant in June because I was craving gazpacho. There was a definite funk in the air, the sandwich was on at least day-old bread (tough and chewy), and the gazpacho, which cost an extra $1, had huge chunks of onion and tasted like canned tomatoes and refrigerator.” Even the rennovations are sounding a little dicey according to another commenter: “Walked by Milant. People inside looking like they were doing inventory or something. Place hasn’t been “renovated” and all the same food is sitting in there.”

It’s not sounding good. I walked by yesterday and the place was as described. Shuttered, with all the food still sitting in the windows and display cases. Not a good sign. We’ll see what happens when they re-open, but one thing is for sure… I may stay away on opening day (they’ve got to replace the old food, right?) In the meantime, I’m taking taking Milant off my favorites until they get their act together. Anybody have a worthy replacement for best sandwich in Midtown? Homefront Deli? Macaron Cafe? Feel free to post your thoughts in the comments…

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 Lou- an XPL convert who is scared of Indian food and Mongolian BBQ.

Name: Lou

Age: 26

Occupation: Accounting

Where in Midtown do you Work?: 42nd & Lex.

Favorite Kind of Food: Waffles and Gyros… I love them, and I’ll try any suggestion that gets a good review. 53rd and 6th cart is timeless… but XPL (on 48th & Park) has found a new place in my heart. Wafels and Dinges is truly amazing… I wish I worked close enough to get them for breakfast! Seeing as I’m Puerto Rican, I love my roast pork… especially the Cuban sandwiches. But I haven’t gotten around to trying Cafe Cello (46th btw. 5+6th)… have been to Margon (on 46th btw. 6+7th) and their Morir Sonando is great! On a side note… I don’t know how many of you love your bacon, egg, and cheeses, I know I do… but Stella Deli over on 3rd Avenue between 43rd and 44th sells $2 bacon, egg, and cheese sandwiches on rolls and bagels. Granted, it can be light on the bacon and heavy on the carbs, but seeing as most places charge at least $3, I thought I HAD to mention this place.

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Falafel Sandwiches… I’ve tried a few highly recommended places from this website, and I just don’t see the fuss. Although I did kind of enjoy the Mexican falafel sandwich from Crisp… it’s just too expensive. I just don’t like the strong flavors in these things, but I do love the laffa… Sandwiches can seem so generic at times, and unfortunately I haven’t tried Milant and it’s been closed…

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Midtown: I enjoy the atmosphere at Taki Sushi (on 48th btw. 5+6th)… service time can sometimes be a little long, but it’s a pretty comfy spot with good prices… 53rd and 6th is always a pleasure… I’ll just sit on the ledge right next to it and enjoy my food fresh. I don’t usually eat AT the places suggested by this site. Rather I get my food and go… but 90% of the places on this site I have re-visited… so hell you can say that a lot of the places I’ve been to are equally as good in my stomach! (Not sure what that means, but whatever. -zach)

“Go-To” Lunch Place You and Your Coworkers Eat at Too Often? I go to Del Monico Deli (on Park btw. 41+42nd) way too much. I don’t know, I feel like their buffet seems pretty high quality… but yea, I definitely go there way too often for my liking… And it’s always packed so I don’t even really like it when I eat there…

Place(s) you discovered thanks to Midtown Lunch? Well, XPL certainly was a huge find that I credit this site for… same goes for Margon… ummm, Wafels and Dinges… jeez, to be honest, I get on this site every freakin day and check out the index and try to venture out anywhere cause 1) it can be good exercise walking to these places, and 2) I love reading about food, cooking food, eating food and apparently, as evidenced by this profile, writing about it! But seriously… aside from the generic buffet/delis that seem to have all the same food, and fast food spots, every place I’ve had lunch I credit this blog for luring me there…

If you could work anywhere (just because of the lunch) where would it be and why? If I could work anywhere, I’d have to say Los Angeles… I don’t know why, but from all the comments I’ve seen about the seriously authentic Mexican carts and shacks, this place seems intriguing…

Is there anything you’d like to ask the Midtown Lunch readers? I have a two questions so I hope everyone can deal with that! Indian food scares me most, so if someone can help clearly explain what some of the meat dishes are, I’d probably try it more often. And my second question has to do with this place called Food World… It is a huge buffet place that I noticed has a Mongolian buffet where you choose what you want, bring it to the cook and they make it in front of you. Something about raw meat sitting on a buffet in Midtown waiting to be cooked scares me… has anyone ventured into this place… I can’t remember where it is exactly…

Oh Lou. All your questions are answered- after the jump… Read more »

Tomorrow is Jamaica’s Independence Day, and Golden Krust  is celebrating by selling their jerk chicken patties for 99 cents the entire month of August. With the Jamaican Dutchy (on 51st & 7th) readily available, I’ve never given GK their full +/-, but with 4 locations in Midtown- maybe it’s time. Thoughts?

4 Locations in Midtown:

• 33rd btw. Mad+5th
• 8th Ave. btw. 39+40th
• 3rd Ave. btw. 43+44th
• Grand Central Terminal Food Court (although this is just a kiosk, so I’m not positive if they are participating in the August promotion)

Wow.  What a month.  Street Meat Palooza, our 13 cart chicken/lamb over rice showdown, probably would have been enough to make any month “the best.”  Toss in a spicy off-the-menu vegetarian sub from Blimpie, Szechuan Gourmet, and a complete translation of the menu at Taj Delhi Chat, and I think July ’08 may go down as Midtown Lunch’s best… month… ever.  I’m pretty sure it will never be topped… until Street Meat Palooza 2 of course.  Here’s the top 10 posts of the month:

1. Street Meat Palooza: A 13 Cart Chicken/Lamb Over Rice Showdown
2. The “Special Vegetarian” Sandwich at Blimpie is the Spiciest Sandwich in Midtown
3. Zaiya Opens Cafe Zest in Midtown, With Full Restaurant Coming Soon
4. A Guide to the Best Indian Street Food in Midtown: Translating the Menu at Taj Delhi Chat
5. Szechuan Gourmet: Day 1 as a New York Times 2 Starred Restaurant
6. Desperate Times Call For Desperate Measures: Thai-Nam
7. Profiled: Midtown Lunch’ers “Joyce & Sarah”
8. Profiled: Midtown Lunch’er “Nina”
9. Off the Menu Filet o’ Fish at Zen Burger
10. Downtown Lunch: Bon Bon Chicken

The top 5 most commented on posts, after the jump… Read more »

I love fried chicken… and can you blame me?  I won’t step anywhere near a McDonalds, but KFC or Popeyes? You probably aren’t going to want to get in my way.  I don’t know why that is.  Oh wait- yes I do.  Fried chicken is amazing.  And, if you are as big a fried chicken fan as me you might be interested in knowing that a branch of Church’s Chicken recently opened inside that mini food court on 8th Avenue between 44+45th.

I’ll admit, I don’t think I’ve ever eaten at Church’s.  I was always a KFC fan growing up, a Popeye’s fan later in life (after spending so much time in New Orleans), and I had a brief flirtation with Bojangles in 1986.  But never Church’s.  Anybody a big fan?  Feel free to sound off in the comments.  I’m curious if this new addition to the Midtown Lunch’ing landscape is something to get excited about…