Midtown Lunch

Tomorrow (Tuesday) is another Ben & Jerry’s Free Cone Day! Lines are long, but they usually move fast, and free ice cream is always worth it. There are 3 participating locations in Midtown to get your free scoop:

• Rockefeller Center Concourse, Enter at 6th btw. 49+50th (and go downstairs)
• 8th Ave. btw. 42+43rd
• Macy’s, 34th btw. B’way+7th (4th Floor)

Alright, I will admit, right off the bat that I don’t actually know if Nanking was any good to begin with. I have never been to any of the other locations of this Chinese/Thai/Mughlai hybrid, but one of my co-workers swears by the Jackson Heights one, and convinced me that based on their Chili Chicken alone, the new Midtown outpost of the restaurant, on Broadway btw. 50+51st, was at least worth checking out. Skeptical of any Asian restaurant that combines multiple countries under one roof (has anybody really ever done this successfully???), I can’t say I was gung ho about trying Nanking. In fact I could have easily argued that it clearly wasn’t a Midtown Lunch.

1. It’s a sit down restaurant, and I think a true Midtown Lunch shouldn’t have to be ordered from a waiter. I have, and will be known to make exceptions for some sit down restaurants, but usually when I do, the place either has to be an exceptional value (i.e. all you can eat buffets), or they have to be serving something that you can’t really get anywhere else in Midtown (for under $10 of course).
2. It isn’t that cheap.  At the Jackson Heights Nanking everything on the menu is under $10. Not surprisingly the new location has “Midtown’ified” their menu, with chicken entrees being around $14, and the duck, lamb and seafood entrees eclipsing the $20 mark.  They do offer a $10 lunch special, but it’s not quick, and to top it off there are plenty of other better Chinese & Thai food restaurants in Midtown (take out and sit down) that are cheaper.
3. Did I mention the part about how they serve Chinese and Thai food. *Sigh* (They dropped the Mughlai Indian food that they serve at the Jackson Heights location.)

So maybe it’s not a true Midtown Lunch, but that doesn’t mean there is no reason to eat there… Read more »

• Where is the best coffee in Midtown? [Chowhound]
• Go Go Curry is like Heroin [Wired]
• Ed Levine Recommends Szechuan Gourmet (Again) [Ed Levine Eats]
• B&B’s Pizza Tour includes Jiannetto’s and Prince Deli [Blondie and Brownie]
• Free Pecorino Pasta is being given out in front of a few Midtown restaurants [Citysearch]
• Free Guacamole Demo at Toloache this Afternoon [TONY]
• $5000 Reward for Information leading to Midtown Restaurant Space [Grub St.]
• Midtown Lunch has appeared in a Fitness blog. The world is coming to an end… [USNews & World Report]

The “Newsstand” on 6th Ave. btw. 37+38th, has a new sign! The fact that they recently got rid of all the magazines in favor of focusing on their delicious Gujarati Indian Food (and the Latin Food that used to be in the Blimpie next door) is clearly not a secret anymore…

• The Manhattan Mall is officially a ghost town [Curbed]
• B&B Check out the Passover goodies at the Treats Truck [Blondie & Brownie]
• Blockheads East Reopens after being destroyed by crane accident [NYDN]
• After reading the Midtown Lunch Chipotle Calorie Expose, the Burritoblog Geeks Out on their Nutritional Info Chart [Burritoblog]
• Gen hits up Kashmir’s New By the Lb. Buffet on 8th Ave. [FoodiesRGoodies]
• Lawrence hits up the Carnegie John’s Cart for one of their famous Burgers [NYCFood Guy]

3 weeks ago our Downtown Lunch correspondent Daniel Krieger wrote his inaugural post about Tasty Dumpling in Chinatown.  The purpose of the column is to make Midtowners feel the same jealousy that Downtowners feel every time they log on to this site.  And it worked.  (I want dumplings!!!)  The post sparked in me a craving for dumplings, and while we don’t have any stand-alone Chinatown style dumpling “houses” in Midtown, we do have a very righteous Korean alternative,  Mandoo Bar on 32nd btw. B’way+5th. 

If you have ever walked down the main block of Koreatown (perhaps to visit Midtown Lunch favorite Woorijip), then you’ve surely noticed the women in the window making fresh, perfectly formed, multicolored dumplings every day.  If it’s a thursday or friday, there was probably a line out the door.  “Oooh… that sounds good.  Are they 5 for $1.25?”  No.  They’re not, you snarky downtown lunch’er lucky enough to live walking distance from Chinatown.  They’re not 5 for $1.25.  The prices recently went up, making them more like 1 for $1.25.  But they’re good!  So stop raining on our dumpling parade.

Korean dumpling porn (with innards) after the jump… Read more »

While most typical fast food places (McD’s, BK, Wendy’s) are not considered for this site, there are a few chains that would be welcomed with open arms into the canon of acceptable Midtown Lunches if they were to decide to grace us with a franchise.  In N Out Burger, Baja Fresh, and Panda Express would be my personal dreams come true, and I know for a fact that there are alot of you who feel the same way about Chick Fil A.  As many commenters have mentioned, there is one in the NYU dining hall, but “technically” you need to be a student to check it out.

Last year, to steal business compete with Chick-Fil-A, McDonald’s introduced the “Southern Style Chicken Sandwich” to their menu, which stealsis supposed to replicate the Chick-Fil-A experience.  Well, after months of trying the sandwich out in various markets, Midtown Lunch’er Andre Mika (who writes one of my favorite blogs- www.forkny.com) has brought to our attention that the sandwich has arrived in New York City.  I haven’t had Chick-Fil-A in over 20 years (and I freaking hate McDonald’s), so to investigate this one, I’ve turned the case over to Andre, who is not only from the south (Louisiana), he is also a huge Chick-Fil-A fan.   Here is what he discovered…

The premise was too good to be true. McDonald’s, king of the “clone and sell a billion” fast food culture had introduced their new “Southern Style” chicken sandwich. To those of us who understand the McDonald’s mentality, it meant one thing. They had knocked off the famous Chick-Fil-A sandwich.

So let’s cut to the chase… Read more »

In the ML comments comes the news that Sugo e Basilico “on 5th closed down.” Opened in the summer of last year, on 5th Ave btw. 44+45th, I actually enjoyed Sugo’s strange brand of “Italian burrito” (my term, not theirs), but just like Momofuku Ssam Bar’s original “Korean Burrito” concept in the East Village (which I also *loved*, and begged them to bring to Midtown), too few people seem to like them enough to make a business.  Is there a lesson in this?  I guess people just don’t want multi cultural versions of Chipotle.  Bummer.

Coffee and Plain Fro Yo from Forty Carrots
Posted to the Midtown Lunch Flickr Pool by NYCBlondieandBrownie

• Forty Carrots is serving up some damn good frozen yogurt inside Bloomingdales [Blondie & Brownie]
• Andre Mika’s Top 10 Under $10 includes a few Midtown Lunches [Fork New York]
• Even at night, with no crowds, and plenty of time to prepare the food with care, City Burger still disappoints [Food in Mouth]
• The owners of Chevy’s are opening a “Contemporary Mexican” place in Midtown East [AMNY]
• If you’ve ridden the Grand Central escalators at lunchtime in a Skirt, you may be famous [Gothamist]
• Heartland Brewery and Chop’t are both disappointing (big surprise!) [My NY Stories]
• Gyu Kaku is serving up some good Japanese BBQ on the East Side of Midtown [Miss Menu]
• The Rink Bar is Rock Center has its tables out [Eater]

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’s Lunch’er is the contributor/moderator of one of my favorite blogs- http://umamimart.blogspot.com/ , and it just so happens she also works in Midtown East.  Actually that’s an understatement.  She works in Midtown Waaaaaay East, and since that is out of bounds for me, I figured I’d let her recommend a few places for those of you stuck in the eastern most part of our wasteland… 

Name: Kayoko

Age: 28

Occupation: Film marketer and programmer by day, food blogger by night (http://umamimart.blogspot.com). Professional eater all day, everyday

Where in Midtown do you Work?: Japan Society, Midtown way east (UN area)

Favorite Kind of Food: Chinese, Japanese, Mexican, Italian, Vietnamese

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Brunch

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Midtown: Hands down Shih Lee (on 45th btw. 1+2nd). It’s a little casual Taiwanese/Chinese place– you get in line and “pick & choose your meal” for $7. Two young brothers run it, and there are lots of regulars from the UN. It’s the best! Their pork and pickled cabbage noodle soup is the best I’ve had in midtown, and their sauteed green beans are addictive.  Also, there is a deli on the corner of 1st and 49th that makes the best BLT with avocado.

The “go-to” lunch place you and your co-workers eat at too often: Oms/B for rice balls (45th btw. Lex+3rd) and Amish Market salad bar in a hurry (45th btw. 2+3rd), Ise for comfort food (49th btw. Lex+3rd), Pampano Taqueria for a long lunch (3rd Ave. btw. 49+50th). Aburiya Kinnosuke (45th btw. 2+3rd) or Sakagura on payday (43rd btw. 2+3rd).

Place you discovered thanks to Midtown Lunch (if any)? Bulgogi cart all the way!!! Better that I work too far to go often- I would seriously get lunch there everyday. Marinated beef in a hotdog bun? Only in New York- BRILLIANT!  (You should know that they’ve replaced the buns with croissants now -zach)

If you could work anywhere (just because of the lunch) where would it be and why? Tokyo, no doubt. I could pay at a machine, get ramen ticket, slurp, chew and be out in 5 minutes. How is NY not in on this? If we’re talking NY, I wish I worked near Chinatown. Banh mi and Great NY Noodle Town everyday!

Is there anything you’d like to ask the Midtown Lunch readers?: Where can I get a good burrito in Midtown East on the cheap (besides Chipotle)?

Uh… where can you get a good burrito anywhere in NYC?  Good luck with that…  anybody got a rec, feel free to post it in the comments.  And as always, if you want to be the next Profiled: Midtown Lunch’er, or you’d like to nominate somebody in your office, email me at zach@midtownlunch.com