Midtown Lunch

It’s freakin’ hot as shit outside (can I say that?)  That means Japanese Ramen places are rolling out the cold noodles.  I’m pretty sure Menchanko Tei (55th btw. 5+6th & 45th btw. Lex+3rd) always has Hiyashi Chuka on their menu, but Men Kui Tei (56th btw. 5+6th) and Sapporo (49th btw. 6+7th) only serve it in the summer time.  And I think it’s pretty safe to say… it’s summertime.  (I called to confirm… all three restaurants are serving it.

But the most exciting news is after the jump… Read more »

If you missed the one on the left this weekend, get the one on the right today in Midtown

It was a porktastic weekend for everybody who braved the heat and hit up the Big Apple BBQ Block Party this weekend.  I stopped by for a bit on Sunday and enjoyed my personal favorite: Ed Mitchell’s whole hog sandwich.  A creation just as amazing as it sounds, he literally takes a whole pig out of the smoker, and chops it down into sandwich form (you may say the secret ingredient is the crispy bits of skin.)  If you missed it, and now you’re craving some ‘cue (there are alot of meat photos from Madison Sq. Park floating around flickr today) there really is only one for lunch today in Midtown:  the Daisy May’s BBQ cart on 50th btw. 6+7th. 

I though everybody knew about this pretty famous cart, but you’d be surprised.  They used to have a couple more carts on the east side, and one downtown- but it looks like those are gone for good, leaving 50th as your only option.  (Actually the last time a Daisy May’s cart was on the east side was for the filming of that new Adam Sandler “Zohan” movie.  Anybody see the cart in the movie?)

Seeing as how you probably won’t want to eat outside today (“Feels Like” 102° + 43% humidity = a very sweaty Zach), the cart does a real good job of packaging up everything to take back to your desk.  If you do eat outside,  you might want to snag one of their awesome sweet teas.  At $4, it’s a little pricey, but you get to keep the mason jar.

Lobster Stew from Free Foods NYC. Photo Posted to ML Flickr Pool by BlondieandBrownie.

• Free Foods NYC is expensive but the soups are tasty [Blondie & Brownie]
• The Dragon cuts deal with DOH… his famous street meat cart will not close! [Serious Eats: New York]
• Flo Fab discovers the rotisserie chicken at Boulangerie Cognac [NYT]
• With the addition of two more buildings in the area, Bryant Park may become more unbearable at lunchtime than it already is [NYT]
• You can find Frogurt in Times Square and the Grand Central Food Court [Su Good Sweets] 
• Chowhounders sound off on the new chaat place that opened inside the Indian newsstand [Chowhound]
• Just to show you I can be refined, check out the meal I had with my wife for our three year anniversary (not in Midtown obviously) [Serious Eats: New York]

After posting about the mediocre gyro at Gyro II, I complained that I couldn’t find a decent Greek version of the gyro sandwich in Midtown (my nit picky distinction between a “Greek” gyro, and what you get at street meat carts is in the original post). As always, the commenting faithful had some good suggestions, and while most of them were out of bounds (that’s where all the good stuff is), there were a few places I vowed to check out. Seeing as how I am already a big fan of the Famous Chicken Place on 3rd Ave. btw. 38+39th, I figured I’d start there.

Read more »

Sorry for the spam, but as long as people want to give you guys free stuff, I will keep posting about it.  Tomorrow (Friday) is National Doughnut Day, and in honor of this most exciting occasion (I’m sorry but I freakin’ love doughnuts more than anything) the Krispy Kreme in Penn Station will be giving away free doughnuts all day long.  They’re open from 6am to 10pm.  [NYMag] 

(Photo courtesy of Roboppy)

Tomorrow is the grand opening of the new (enormous) Starbucks inside the (I can’t believe you’re doing this to the) Empire State Building (entrance on 34th St. btw. 5+6th), and it looks like alot of people are leaving with free stuff. I got this email from Midtown Lunch’er Claire:

They’re giving away free everything at the brand new Empire St. building Starbucks, according to my co-workers who keep streaming past me with all their big Starbucks cups. I’m going now, hoping to score some kind of brownie!

Not so fast freeloaders… the promotion is an invite only friends and family thing, which they have opened up to the tenants of the Empire State Building.  So, if you work in that building (350 5th Ave.), grab your ID and head down from some free stuff. The rest of us will just have to wait until tomorrow don’t care.

It’s just out of bounds for Midtown Lunch’ing purposes, but every time I walk by this place on 9th Ave. btw. 36+37th I always think of the Seinfeld episode where Jerry convinces Babu to turn his cafe into a Pakistani restaurant (it ends up failing).  The Soup Nazi was originally in Hell’s Kitchen, less than 20 blocks north, so it’s not beyond the realm of possibility that this is the place that inspired Seinfeld and Larry David as well!  Some more corroborating evidence: Cuisine of Pakistan has been opened for over 20 years, and before it was Pakistani food, it was a deli called Saul’s.  The episode, titled “The Cafe“, aired in 1991.

I don’t know if it’s worth venturing all the way out to 9th Ave. from Midtown for this place, but from the sounds of this write up on Umamimart maybe it is.  Plus they have kati rolls (although doesn’t everybody these days?)

Check out their kati roll “glamour shot” after the jump…  Read more »

Photo Courtesy of ATHLETE Director Dave

I don’t know how I missed this one… but if you’d like to enjoy your lunch in front of some “art”, the atrium inside 590 Madison (enter on 56th St. btw. 5th+Madison) is housing Murakami’s “Oval Buddha”, a sculpture that was too large to fit in the Murakami show at the Brooklyn Museum.  The buddha will be there until September 7th (and there are plenty of tables for lunch’ing.)

Here are some of the reasonably close Midtown Lunch’es in the area:

• La Strada – Latin food inside a pizza shop (56 btw. Park+Lex)
• Tina’s Restaurant – Formerly Sophie’s Cuban (56th btw. 5+6th)
• Goodburger – Burgers (Lex & 54th)
• Indian Fast Food Cart – Indian food from a cart (53rd & Park)
• Tuscany Catering – Take out Italian sandwiches and hot food (55th btw. 5+6th)
• Five Guys – Burgers (55th btw. 5+6th)

[via NewYorkology]

*Sigh*  Is it over?  Have I finally given in to the pressures of everyday lunch’ing in Midtown?  When Crisp first hung up their sign on 3rd Ave., I figured there was no way in hell I was going to find something redeeming about a place that calls itself Crisp.  From their saying on the wall (“Fast fresh food that syncs your taste with your conscience“) you automatically knew it was going to expensive, and worse case scenario- it would be expensive salads.  (I think between Just Salads, Chop’t and every single crappy generic deli in Midtown, we’re all set on the salads.)

When they finally opened, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that “crisp” actually referred to falafels, and the place was more like a midtownified pita pocket and hummus bowl kind of place.  Not terrible, but certainly nothing to jump for joy about.  With so many great (and mostly cheap) falafel places to choose from in this area, why do we need a place where the cheapest falafel sandwich is $6.75- thanks but no thanks. 

But then something happened.  I tried it.  And I have to say, despite my brain urging me to show hate and disapproval- there is one sandwich at Crisp that I think I can fully get behind.  Read more »