Midtown Lunch

I decided to stop by the Treats Truck yesterday after hearing rumors that the Wednesday lines have gotten crazy on 45th & 6th. Sure enough the line was down the block, and that was at 2:30!  I don’t even want to know what it’s like during peak lunch time.  That corner is easily owner Kim Ima’s most popular spot, and she used to park there twice a week, but now that it’s summertime, and the ice cream trucks are back she is only “allowed” to park in that spot once a week (competition among carts in Midtown is fierce, and there is a lot of politics and jockeying for position between the carts.)

You may remember the Treats Truck only started parking in that space regularly last winter, when the ice cream truck that has occupied that spot for years went into “hibernation.”  Clearly he’s back (it’s freakin hot out), which is why Sugar is only there once a week now- but I have a great idea to get the Treats Truck more days on 45th & 6th, and hopefully make the lines shorter…  Read more »

Whether you’re a Yankees fan, or a fried cutlet with Japanese curry fan, you’ll want to be at Go Go Curry tomorrow (Thursday, June 12th) where they’ll be celebrating Hideki Matsui’s Birthday by giving away 3 free topping cards to every customer. It’s not as good a deal as their $5 1 year anniversary day, but I’ll take it.

More important than that though, Go Go Curry has decided to top their oh so giant and awesome “Grand Slam” with a newly introduced “World Champion Curry.” Check it out (in all its greatness) after the jump…

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It’s 2:30pm and the line to buy Metal Gear Solid tonight at Midnight stretches all the way from Virgin Megastore in Times Sqaure to Margon on 46th btw 6+7th, which is where these kids got their cuban sandwiches (they’ve been waiting on line since Noon). Waiting on line for twelve hours is definitely easier if you’re in front of some of the best cuban food in Midtown.

Some other good options for those waiting on line… Minar (right next to Margon) and the Briyani Cart at the end of the block.

Some places you just instantly know you are going to like. Like the Chicken House on 36th St. just East of 8th Avenue. To call this little fried chicken/fish/shrimp/chip shop small would be vastly overestimating its size. This place is tiny. With no more than 10 seats facing the fryers where everything on the menu is made (nothing escapes the oil except maybe the rice and beans, although I’m not positive), you cram into the 12 inch space behind the stools and decide whether you want to try and sit down, or just order your food to go and quickly flee to the safety of your cubicle.

With the prices maxing out at $6, and a perfectly filling lunch available for a ridiculously cheap $2.50, is there any way I wasn’t going to like this place? Sure there are tons of people who won’t eat nondescript fried fish and shrimp from a tiny off the radar garment district hole in the wall. Lucky for you, I’m not one of those people, and relish every opportunity to put my body in harms way for the sake of this blog (especially when it involves cheaper-than-what-is-humanly-acceptable-for-consumption fried food.)

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Fried Pork and Plantain Sandwich

Yesterday it was Gourmet Magazine editor Ruth Reichl shining a light on Midtown Lunch’ing, this morning it’s the New York Times.  Sophie’s Cuban, one of the more popular lunch’ing options we have (and not just because of their free lunch grand openings), is reviewed in the $25 and under column in the New York Times today.  Considering that the newest location (40th btw. 7+8th) is across the street from their building, it’s not all that surprising.  Pete wells pays special attention to the pork and plantain sandwich, calling it “authentic sandwich bliss.”  He also mentioned the all too familiar sensation of having your “mind go blank” shortly after eating it.  My brain is going numb just thinking about it. [NYT]

According to her profile on the Village Voice blog this morning, Ruth Reichl, the editor of Gourmet Magazine, works in Times Square and loves to eat lunch at Minar (46th btw. 6+7th) and the Chicken & Rice Cart on 43rd & 6th.  “I get white rice, the curried chicken with vegetables and extra red sauce, no white sauce.”  I don’t even understand what the words “no white sauce” mean, but you certainly get extra points for your choice of cart, and the guts to pile on the heat. I should take you to the Jamaican Dutchy.  Are you free tomorrow for lunch?  [Fork in the Road]

I don’t know how we missed out on this one but Oscar Meyer was giving away free hot dogs in Times Square today, and apparently Mario Lopez was here as well! He’s appearing in A Chorus Line half a block away, so
it’s unclear whether he was here as part of the promotion or he just wanted a free hot dog. Either way, he was gone by the time I got here, and the wienermobile is pulling away now. Damn you A.C. Slater!!!

Every Tuesday I turn over the site to a different Midtown Lunch’er for his or her recommendations for the best lunch in Midtown. Today it’s Monica, an Attorney who hates raspberries, but loves Chinese food. 

Name: Monica

Age: 35

Occupation: Attorney

Where in Midtown do you Work?: 62nd & Madison.

Favorite Kind of Food: Tapas, Greek, Sushi, Soba Noodles, Dim Sum, Chowder, In-N-Out burgers

Least Favorite Kind of Food: I detest raspberries. Everything about them – the way they taste, smell and feel. I know everybody else loves them, but I just can’t bring myself to even mildly tolerate them. I’m also not a big fan of ricotta cheese.

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Midtown: Pretty much anything from the Dishes salad bar, Margon‘s Cuban sandwich (46th btw. 6+7th), Utsav‘s buffet (47th or 46th btw. 6+7th), especially on the days they have chicken tikka masala, Lenny’s (any place that puts freshly sliced pickles on a sandwich gets my seal of approval) and Wu Liang Ye’s pan-fried pork dumplings (48th btw. 5+6th). It’s probably outside the ML boundaries, but the Follow Me Caffe on 62nd and Lex is a cute sit-down place with inexpensive sandwiches, salads and soups. For excellent cheese and Italian sandwiches, I like Cheese on 62nd (also at 62nd and Lex).

“Go-To” Lunch Place You and Your Coworkers Eat at Too Often? Since switching jobs last year, I can only live vicariously through the adventures of Zach and the Midtown Lunch readers. I now work in a kosher facility, so we’re not allowed to bring any outside food into the building. We do, however, have a private chef who prepares hot multi-course lunches for us every day and the food is tasty (and free), so I can’t complain. I used to work at 47th and 6th and would go to Europa for a salad at least twice a week.

Place you discovered thanks to Midtown Lunch? Oms/b (45th btw. Lex+3rd), Taki Sushi (48th btw. 5+6th), Woorjip (32nd btw. 5th+B’way)

If you could work anywhere (just because of the lunch) where would it be and why? San Francisco. Specifically, right near the Ferry Building. I could eat Acme bread, Cowgirl Creamery cheese and the Shaking Beef from Slanted Door every day. Locally, I’d say Chinatown due to the easy access to dim sum.

Is there anything you’d like to ask the Midtown Lunch readers? Other than Wu Liang Ye (the one on Lexington btw. 39+40th), is there any good Chinese food in the Murray Hill/Midtown East area?

Phew. I thought you were going to drop the “Is there anywhere to get good Dim Sum in Midtown” bomb. Clearly if there was, this site would go away- because I would have to eat there every single day of the week.  Anyway- back to your very good question.  My one Murray Hill recommendation, after the jump…

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The new location of Joe and the Art of Coffee is scheduled to open tomorrow (6/11) in the graybar passage of Grand Central (enter off of Lex).  But according to an email they sent to “regular customers” they’ll be doing a “dress rehearsal” from 4 to 6pm today (Tuesday, 6/10) where they’ll be serving FREE coffee drinks and snacks.” 

Photo courtesy of Blondie and Brownie, the tip came courtesy of Tina “The Wandering Eater“.