Midtown Lunch

Back in March, I reported seeing a new Asian food cart in Midtown. Since I tweeted them back then, they tweet me nearly weekly to tell me of their whereabouts but it’s taken me this long to give them a try… (and now a few weeks more to write about it…) and they’ve been nominated for a Vendy, which is this Saturday and you should get tickets if you haven’t already. Fellow contributor Brian made a video on them as well!

As for me, what I ate and what I thought, after the jump…

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You may remember back in 2013 when Meru Sikder, the owner and chef of Biryani Cart, pulled up a super cheap Indian fried rice cart next to his original cart. Well, it’s back starting today.

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The Vendy Awards get closer every week. Do you have your tickets to the big event on September 12? It will definitely sell out (as it always does), but you can still purchase them by clicking here. It’s an amazing afternoon with food from over 25 different vendors.

We’ve been showcasing videos on all the Rookie of the Year nominees. Regardless of who wins, it will be a coup for Midtown since all five nominees find their way to this neighborhood. The other videos already posted include Taiwanese buns from Kaya NYC, overstuffed tacos from Coney Shack, and Greek street food from Lil Zeus Lunch Box.

The next nominee is The Shuka Truck, who serves large sandwiches and platters of shakshuka. This Israeli dish is basically eggs poached in tomato sauce and spices. Shuka Truck also offers varieties like a vegetable-forward green and an earthy creamy white shakshuka. They usually park in Midtown three times a week, but check their Twitter feed for exact locations.

Click the link below to check out the video and stay tuned for one more video next week on the final Rookie of the Year nominee as we count down to the 11th annual Vendy Awards.

The Shuka Truck

Right next to Swami (or Sammy’s or whatever) Dosa Cart is another brand new food cart crowding 50th Street. Li-Sal’s Italian Kitchen recently pulled up to the end of the row of mobile vehicles between 6th and 7th Avenue.

Last week was their first week and they were offering a grand opening special for $5 calzones. Normally, the price tag is $6 so not a huge savings, but when you’re trying to eat lunch in Midtown, every penny helps.

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Dear Midtown Lunch’ers, I am so, so, so sorry. From the very bottom of my cold dead heart, I apologize and beg for your forgiveness. A week ago, I wrote about Kitto Ramen having rebranded. It seemed like a ML-friendly spot, with some specials that were within the $10 limit, and some interesting items. While the menu seemed all over the map of Asia, it DID call itself an “Asian American Eatery” so I didn’t think twice about it.

Well, the day that post went live, I grabbed a friend and we went to check it out. What we ate and why I cried, after the jump…

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Nestled among all the bigger food trucks and carts that garner long lines every day on 50th Street between 6th and 7th Avenue, we discovered a mysterious dosa cart.  You may remember Sami Dosa Cart, which parked in this area a few years ago and was a favorite among Midtown Lunchers. It’s easy to mistake this cart for that one since the font is practically the same and on one side of the cart it even says “Sammy’s Dosa.” But the other side of the cart calls it “Indian Swami Chennai.” Could they be one in the same?

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Food Network’s Great Food Truck Race is back on (Warning: spoilers ahead), airing Sunday nights and they’ve changed the concept back from having people who want to own a food truck compete to actual working food trucks compete. And one of the competing trucks this season is DiSo’s Italian Sandwich Society, who is hugely popular in the city for their excellent Italian sandwiches.

SPOILER ALERT: The last time one of Midtown’s food trucks appeared on the show, it didn’t go so well. This time, it went just slightly better. But unfortunately, DiSo’s got cut last night (on the second episode of the season) for failing to make enough money on the week’s competition. The show is mildly entertaining, but it’s always fun seeing our home food trucks play. And I think they could have gone far, but unfortunately, we’ll have to stick to seeing them on the streets of New York.

Since they talked about hoping to recoup some lost profit during this cold winter season on the show, perhaps today is the perfect time to go and support them. They’re on 47th and Park today, but check out their locations on Twitter.

There are just over two more weeks until the Vendy Awards and my stomach is growling louder every day. To appease my belly, I’ve been making a series of videos on all the nominees and showcasing the Rookie of the Year videos here over the last few weeks (all of them miraculously park in Midtown).

We’ve seen souvlaki from Lil Zeus Lunch Box and southeast Asian tacos from Coney Shack. Today, we’re focusing on the newest nominee to arrive in Midtown, Kaya NYC. They’ve been setting up in Dumbo and Tribeca for the past few months, but only recently set their sights on bringing their popcorn chicken and gua bao (Taiwanese steamed pork buns) to 50th and 6th Avenue. You can check their location on Twitter.

Yvo has a review coming soon on their food, but in the meantime, drool over the video by clicking the link below. And don’t forget to get your tickets to the Vendy Awards here before they sell out.

Kaya NYC

Maybe it wasn’t quietly. I don’t know. I found this soft open report here on Midtown Lunch from 2013, but as you can see by the pics, the front has shifted over a bit and now there’s Graso Grill on the left, Kitto on the right up a short flight of stairs. I walked by recently and snapped some pics of the menu – looks pretty interesting, hovering around the ML $10 mark.

Those pics, after the jump…

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