Midtown Lunch

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 Lawrence, a sports guy and neophyte blogger with a lot of favorite lunches…

Name: Lawrence

Age: 23

Occupation: Production Assistant (and author of the blog http://nyceats.wordpress.com/ )

Where in Midtown do you Work?:SportsNet New York

Favorite Kind of Food: Burgers, ribs, pizza, and spicy Thai food

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Anything served in the Midtown mega-lunch store

Favorite Place to Eat Lunch in Midtown: The Bacon Cheeseburger w/ Fried Onions from Five Guys (55th btw. 5+6th). 2 Cheeseburgers with everything but mayo and mustard, an order of fries, and a Sam Adams from Burger Joint (56th btw. 6+7th). Extra Spicy Pork Drunken Noodles from Topaz Thai (56th btw. 6+7th). Chilorio Mexican style pulled pork tacos, corn chips, salsa, and Watermelon Aqua Fresca from Pampano Taqueria(3rd Ave. btw. 49+50th). Trainwreck cheese fries, Pulled Pork Sandwich,and Banana Pudding from Virgil’s BBQ (44th btw. 5+6th).  1 regular slice, 1 sicilian (only if fresh) or grilled chicken hero w/ fresh mozz, roasted peppers and roasted eggplant from Bella Napoli Pizza (49th btw. 6+7th). The G3 (grilled roast beef, fried onions, L & T, pickles, bacon, american cheese) with Russian Dressing instead of A1 or Smoked Chicken Deluxe (chicken cutlet, american cheese,grilled pastrami, L & T, with russian) from Lenny’s.

The “go-to” lunch place you and your co-workers eat at too often: Though I don’t EVER eat there, my co-workers love Cafe Duke, I hate it, it smells funky outside, which is never a good sign,and I know at least 6 people who’ve gotten violently ill from eatingsandwiches or food from the buffet.

Place you discovered thanks to Midtown Lunch: Kati Roll, Tony the Dragon, Carnegie John’s, Jannero’s  (I’m guessing he means Jiannetto’s Pizza Truck?  -zach), & the Daisy Mays Cart.

If you could work anywhere (just because of the lunch) where would it be and why? The Nexus of the Universe (1st and 1st for non-Seinfeld fans). It’s close to the LES (Georgia’s Eastside BBQ, Katz’s, Tiny’s) and the East Village (too many to list) and ABC City. No greater concentration of cheap and awesome eateries.

Interesting that you mention Bella Napoli on 49th btw. 6+7th.  It has sort of flown under the radar on this site- I think because I take it for granted.  Bella Napoli is right downstairs from my office building, and the go-to pizza place for my entire office.  It can get a little pricey, but it certainly is good pizza.  And once I had a meatball sub there that made me want a nap for the rest of the afternoon…

They actually have an amazing video up on You Tube that may warrant the invention of  a new term:  The Pizza Porno.  Check it out after the jump… Read more »

 

“Burger was decent, but no way in hell worth the wait,” seems to be the theme of a Friday that was supposed to be the “Grand Opening” of Five Guys on 55th. btw. 5+6th Ave.  I was on a plane to San Francisco on Friday, and missed out on all the excitement, meaning that my Five Guys experience was limited to Thursday’s surprise opening, where the wait time peaked at around 30 minutes.  Not so on Friday, where burger “Early Adopters” were forced to wait over an hour and a half for what is supposed to be fast food.  Comments flooded in, and even Eater covered the madness.

I was pretty angry to have to wait 30 minutes on Thursday, so I can’t even imagine what Friday’s customers were feeling. 

Over the weekend, I got this email from Sal Rincione, the Executive VP of Operations for Five Guys NYC (and “Manager” who was deserved a “big punch in the puss” according to some of Midtown Lunch’s readers):

Zach,
It was utter madness [Friday]! I would like to go on record saying how much we appreciate the support and the AWESOME turnout.  We humbly apologize for the long wait.

Five Guys normally does call in and faxed orders but due to the high volume [on Friday], we obviously will limit the amount of call in’s and faxed orders we will take [going forward].  Please let everyone know that if you fax in an order, unless you get a VERBAL Confirmation from either myself or my staff, assume we are not preparing the order. Unfortunately, we just dont have enough square footage to handle all of the walk in’s along with the called and faxed orders.

My #1 goal is to make the BEST BURGERS IN NYC! Thanks :)

Sal

What I think of the burgers & fries, plus some meat porn, after the jump… Read more »

_{Sandwiches from the Bon Appetit Pop Up Cafe, which closes after today
Added to the Midtown Lunch Flickr Photo Group by thewanderingeater}

• First Look at the decor of the new Blue Ribbon Sushi Bar & Grill in the Time Warner Center 6 Columbus… [Zagat]
• …And here’s the first word on the food [Ed Levine Eats] 
• One of the original Original SoupMan Locations (the one on 3rd Ave. in the 40s) has closed [Zagat]
• The Hawaiian Tropic Zone gets a “Cabaret License”, so now the “dancing” is legal [NYPost via Eater]
• The Pork Belly w/ Chili Leeks from Wu Liang Ye looks pretty awesome [Food in Mouth]
• Alto Gets Upped to Three Stars from Bruni [NY Times]
• The Banh Mi from Boi to Go gets the lowest score in this round up of the city’s best Vietnamese sandwiches [Citysearch]
• Yum Thai has been closed by the Board of Health [Email Tipster]

• The Brooklyn Kitchen are celebrating their 1 Year Anniversary with a “Bodega Challenge” and I’m a judge!  Get all the info here… [The Brooklyn Kitchen]

Today was supposed to be a friends and family day, but the crowds were
too big and they didn’t want to disappoint the public, so… Five Guys
Burgers is officially open to all! Come and get ’em…UPDATE (2:07pm):  Wow, sheer and utter pandemonium.  Ordered around 1:15pm.  Got our food around 1:45pm.  Madness.  All anger disappeared after the first bite.  Amazing…  more on this soon.

***UPDATE: The price of this deal has gone up to $11.95 since this piece was written*** 

This is not a typo people.  You are not seeing things.  This week I made an amazing discovery, that adds Del Frisco’s (the enormous, upscale and extremely expensive steakhouse in the middle of Midtown Manhattan) to the list of official Midtown Lunches.  THE Del Frisco’s.  If you work in Midtown you have been to or know someone who has eaten, or more than likely work for someone who has eaten, at Del Frisco’s.  All on the company dime, of course… after all, nobody pays for Del Frisco’s themselves!

Until today.  Do not mistake this for a drill.  This is real.  I have discovered a loophole in the Del Frisco’s cortex that may stop the space time continuum.  There is a meal…. at Del Frisco’s… that is delicious… and filling… that involves steak… and it is $9.95.  I am not shitting you!  While reading Andre Mika’s review of Del Frisco’s for dinner on his blog “Fork New York” I noticed this little mention:

I’ve been preaching about the filet tips and mashed potatoes on the bar menu for 2 years now (yes, they are still there for $10)…

That can’t be, right?  $10?  The burger there is $13.95.  How could steak, in any form be less?  But sure enough- I went to this place where Onion Rings cost $12.95, and poor men dare to dream, and there it was.  Right there in plain English.  At the top of the bar menu…

Filet tips w/ Chateau Potatoes.  $9.95.  Meaning that if you ignore the tax & tip (which we clearly will), eating at the Bar of Del Frisco’s is now… a Midtown Lunch!

Steak tip porn, after the jump… Read more »

Scary is a very relative term.  I’ve eaten alot of things since I started this blog that some would classify as scary.  A lot of people seemed geniunely frightened by my “Most Offal Midtown Lunches” list, and I’m sure a lot of those same people would be scared to eat octopus salad or anything off a cart.   There was also that Banana Sushi Roll from Bagelfeller– which coincidentally enough, I heard was going to be used in “Saw 4”, but it was just too horrific.

Well the other day, I saw a sign for something that even I wouldn’t eat… Read more »

 

Just when you thought the burger-mania couldn’t get any crazier in Midtown…  the Five Guys on 55th btw. 5+6th is opening on Friday , the Goodburger on 45th btw. 5+6th is opening in mid-November, and Pop Burger is on the way.  Now, the good people at Zen Palate have decided to get in on the action, and why not- vegetarians probably feel left out of the NYC lunch’ing fad that just keeps on giving.

Above is the plywood for the first “Zen Burger”- opening soon on Lexington between 45+46th.  They plan on serving a whole menu of “healthy” fast food, all of it meat free. This will include meatless chicken and fish sandwiches, patty melts, hot dogs, chicken tenders, shrimp, and 10 (that’s right- 10) different kinds of burgers- all of which promise to “look, feel and taste of meat without the detrimental effects that meat causes to one’s health and the environment”. 

The interviewing finished up yesterday, interviewing is happening next week, so it should be opening soon… thanks to tipster Rafi for the info- and as always if you have any news, info or recommendations, email them to zach@midtownlunch.com

Midtown is about to lose an O.G. lunch destination…

House of Pita has lost the lease to their original location– the window space on 48th btw. 5+6th.  You can still enjoy their delicious falafels & burekas (plus more) at the newer full service location on 46th btw. 5+6th,  but today is the last day to get your fix out of the window.  It was one of my first Midtown Lunches, and I will miss it (the window, that is).

The Jamaican Dutchy Cart on 51st & 7th will also be closed starting tomorrow.  More on that, after the jump… Read more »

_{Posted to Flickr by Fabulman}

Don’t forget that today is the day to cash in courtesy of Taco Bell & Jacoby Ellsbury, the Boston Red Sox player who stole a base during the World Series, earning everybody in the U.S. a free seasoned beef taco.  

This promotion will test the “How far is Zach willing to walk for free food” question.  Normally, the answer is “As far as it takes”, but even I’m a little skeptical of this one.  Do I really want to walk 15 minutes for something that a) costs less than a dollar, and b) I probably wouldn’t even touch on my hungriest day.  Now, if it was a Free Chicken Gordita Surpreme, then we’d be talking…

Free tacos are available from 2-5pm, making it the perfect afternoon snack (under the “If it costs less than $1, it’s a snack” rule.)   Here are the Midtown locations of Taco Bell:

• 525 8th Ave (btw. 36+37th), (212) 216-0997
• 875 Avenue of the Americas (at 31st St.), (212) 947-0859  I could have swore there was a Taco Bell/KFC near Koreatown… did it close?  Is it not there anymore?
• 713 829 3rd Ave. (btw. 50+51st), (212) 758-5900 (sorry!)

A word of warning… the 8th Ave. location is under the impression that the promotion is from 3-5pm, so you may want to show up a little later for that one, or call ahead to see if they’ve smartened up!

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 Sarah, a part time Midtown Lunch’er who gets to eat in one of my favorite neighborhoods half of the week…

Name: Sarah

Age: 29

Occupation: Full time student and part time assister of creativity

Where in Midtown do you Work?:  I go to school at Parsons: Union Square campus (13th and 5th) and work part time at 59th and Madison.  But last year I worked full time at 59th and Madison, so I am familiar with the area

Favorite Kind of Food:Mediterranean style (grilled meat, veggies, salad, olive oil and fresh bread), and Korean bbq

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Indian food, organ meats, olives, capers, mushrooms and flour tortillas (prefer corn)

Favorite Place to Eat Lunch in Midtown: Mangia on 57th btw. 5+6th, for the pesto chicken salad with arugula, parm and fresh bread. I could eat that every day.

The “go-to” lunch place you and your co-workers eat at too often: When i worked full time in Midtown, it was Mangia. We would also occasionally go to this tiny Italian cheese shop at 62nd and Lexington, aptly named Cheese on 62nd. They sold cheese and Italian grocery items, but they also made these totally tasty sandwiches. Nowadays I bring my own, because I’m a student.  (For other lunch’ers, there is also a Mangia on 48th btw. Mad+5th -zach).

Place you discovered thanks to Midtown Lunch: Hallo Berlin cart.  As a Chicago native and of German descent I love, love, love sausage, kraut and onions.  That and the Treats Truck, although I have only spotted her twice…  (The Treats Truck is on 38th & 5th Ave. today & Thursday- and Kim told me yesterday that she is hoping that there will be a spot open in the Northern part of Midtown over the winter, due to hibernating Ice Cream Trucks.  I’ll keep you up to date… or check www.treatstruck.com -zach)

If you could work anywhere (just because of the lunch) where would it be and why?  Probably Chicago.  I love the hot dog shops.  Give me a dog (Chicago style) with cheese fries and a diet coke and I’ll be happy.  Probably a good thing I dont live there, that can’t be good for you.  Union Square, fortunately, is a close second because it’s a short walk to the east or west and if I’m feeling lazy, I can get healthy and good food at the Whole Foods.

Anything you’d like to ask the Midtown Lunch readers? Any suggestions for a great lunch around Union Square?  Anywhere, but prefer a cheap student budget lunch option…

I’m so jealous…  next to Chinatown, Union Square would probably be my number 2 dream job location for lunch’ing purposes in Manhattan.  Where I would eat every day, if I worked in Union Square- after the jump… Read more »