Midtown Lunch

One of the things I can’t stand is the person who eats lunch at the same place every single day.  Everybody has a go-to, “I don’t have time to venture far”, or “I’m feeling lazy today” lunch spot around the corner from their office- but that’s not what I’m talking about.  I’m talking about the co-worker that eats at the same exact place, every single day- and usually the same dish.  That deli, or fast food place, where they get the same salad, or the same combo every single day.  And you try to convince them “Dude… there’s this place you’ve got to check out, that’s so much better.”  And they say, “Sure, let’s go tomorrow.”  And then tomorrow rolls around, and it’s “Naw, i’m just going to go to that same deli I go to every single day, and eat the same sandwich I’ve been eating for 200 days straight.”  Where’s the fun in that.

There’s alot of people in my office that fall into that trap, but the one that stands out to me is this guy named Stanley T.  I pay attention to what everybody eats in my office (big surprise… I clearly have a problem), and it didn’t take me long to realize that every time I saw Stanley T. eating lunch at his desk, it was the same exact thing, from the same exact place.  But here’s the crazy thing- I didn’t look down on him for it.  I actually thought it was awesome.  Even started joking around with him about it.  Why?  Because his every day lunch, was the Teriyaki Chicken Bowl from Teriyaki Boy.  And then it dawned on me.  I’m prejudiced against delis and fast food chains.  Get a salad from Variety Cafe every single day, and I’m going to think you’re lunch challenged.  Eat at Teriyaki Boy every single day, and you are my new hero.

Stanley T’s obsession with Teriyaki Boy, a Japanese fast food chain with two locations in Midtown, made me think maybe I’m missing out on something.  I mean look at that guy.  If it’s good enough for him to eat it every day, it must be good enough for me.  So one day, I decided to head down- and do as Stanley T. does (every single day of the week).

What I got, pics and a +/- after the jump… Read more »

• Looking for Lunch on Saturday?  It’s not in Midtown, but Serious Eats, A Hamburger Today & Gothamist have 3 hamburgers they want you to try.  [AHT]
• A McDonald’s in Midtown lost it’s lease?!?! [Grub Street]
• Kanye West loves soul food.  And some of it is in Midtown [WSJ]
• Sushiden.  Good, expensive sushi- with two Midtown locations [Chowmaster]
• NY Mag Links to A Hamuburger Today’s Link to My Picture of a Carnegie John’s Hamburger. Can you follow that? [Grub St.]

Forget about the New York Times & New York Post articles.  This is the greatest Midtown Lunch mention of all time.  What an honor…

 

Somebody brought in Simpsons donuts to work this afternoon. Free donuts
at work… blessing or a curse? At least they are whole. Easier to
avoid. The worst is freakin donut holes… you convince yourself it’s
less fattening because they’re small. Then, 8 donut holes later, you’ve
eaten the equivalent of 3 whole donuts…

 

 

A lot of new Coming Soon signs are popping up all around Midtown.  Here’s the info I have on what to expect, and when:

• Sophie’s Cuban (40th btw. 7+8th) – Their website lists August 15th as the opening date for their new location.  It’s not guaranteed, but when the last location opened (on 56th St.), there was free food given out all day long
• Yolato (Park btw. 41+42nd) – The first Midtown location of this frozen yogurt/gelato place is scheduled to open September 10th, with free Gelato being given away all day long
• Goodburger (45th btw. 5+6th) – If all goes smoothly with the August opening of their Union Square Location, they plan on opening their new Midtown West location at the end of September.
• Five Guys Burgers (55th btw. 5+6th) – The most anticipated opening of the year, this cheap burger joint is anticipating a Fall opening, “most likely September or October”
• ‘wichcraft (Rock Center) – Their new location underneath Rockefeller Center just went into production, so their rep would only say they expect to open this Fall.
• Golden Krust (8th Ave. nr. 39th) – They also just started construction on this new location and said they “don’t expect it to be open anytime soon”.  2 to 3 months at least… 

If you’ve seen a Coming Soon sign somewhere in Midtown, snap a photo and send it to the Midtown Lunch Flickr Photo Group, or email me at zach@midtownlunch.com

This photo comes from the wonderful Variety Cafe (48th btw. 5+6th), a place I haven’t eaten in since they were shuttered by the DOH last July.  Thankfully I have co-workers who drag me to generic delis, so I can experience something like this:

Isn’t Peter Luger a renowned Steak House?  Why is this sandwich made with chicken?  And more importantly, I don’t know what Peter Luger Sauce normally tastes like, but the red gloop they put on this sandwich is 100% Cocktail Sauce.  As anybody with taste buds could imagine, cocktail sauce and fresh mozzarella don’t go so great together.  And for the first time in history, I actually couldn’t physically finish a lunch I had paid for.  Disgusting.

Do you have reason #413 for not eating at a Generic Midtown Deli?  Post the photo to the Midtown Lunch Flickr Photo Group, email me at zach@midtownlunch.com or just post a comment below.

Well, the line at Carnegie John’s has finally died down enough for me to try it.  NY Mag wreaked havoc on the Midtown cart scene last month when they released their street cart issue.  It spotlighted some Midtown Lunch favorites (The Jamaican Dutchy, Hallo Berlin, Kim’s Aunt Kitchen & Kwik Meal), but also opened my eyes to a cart I had never heard of.  The legend that is Carnegie John’s.

The cart is named for its location, right next to Carnegie Hall, where John serves up Hamburgers, Chicken, Gyro, Steak & Shish Kebab, all cooked to order.  Which partially explains the line.  Ever since the NY Mag issue came out, the line at this cart has been out of control- and if you want a burger, you’ve got to go on the early side.  He usually runs out by 1:30.

What I got, food cart porn and a +/- after the jump… Read more »

Cheap Eats is a relative term, and nowhere is that more apparent than in New York Magazine’s Cheap Eats issue.  It’s almost as if they want to piss people off by putting things on the list that, while resonably priced for what you are getting, would never be described as cheap.  They indemnify themselves by putting “Under $25” on the cover, but who are they kidding.  Cheap, to most people, is a $5 lunch- not a $15 dessert tasting menu. 

That being said, they did write about some good Midtown Lunch’ing.  Here are the Midtown Lunches that made the list…

• Boi to Go (2nd Ave. btw. 42+43rd) – I don’t understand how you put the most expensive Banh Mi in the city on a Cheap Eats list, but it is a good sandwich- and the closest we’re going to get to Vietnamese food in Midtown. 
• Go Go Curry (38th btw. 7+8th) – Now that’s cheap eats!  I love this place… and will be writing about the Grand Slam platter very, very soon.
• 99 Cent Fresh Pizza (43rd btw. Lex+3rd) – Now we’re talking.  It doesn’t get much better than a 99 Cent slice!
• Olympic Pita (38th btw. 5+6th) – I wanted to write about this famous Brooklyn spot that recently opened a branch in Midtown, but it’s tough to get a meal there for under $10.  I’ll probably end up sucking it up though, because it’s clearly a great spot.
• Piece of Chicken (45th btw. 8+9th) – This place is just outside Midtown Lunch boundaries, so I haven’t given it a write up yet, but I’m starting to think it might be worthy of an Out of Bounds post.  Great soul food, served out of the kitchen door of Jezebel- and the best part, everything on the menu is $1 and $2.  My kind of place.

Adam Platt also makes a list of the best Cheap “Expensive” food, and 3 of the 5 are in Midtown.  That list, after the jump.. Read more »

Every Tuesday I turn over Midtown Lunch to a random worker, for their favorite places to eat lunch in Midtown. Today, it’s Ian Jackman, author of the book “Eat This! 1001 Things to Eat Before You Diet”. The book is pretty sweet, and is now top of my list of things I wish I had written. It’s one story after another of amazing food from all around the country, including some of our very own Midtown Lunch’ing favorites. I’ve got 5 copies of the book to give away at the end of the post…

Name: Ian Jackman

Age: 43

Occupation: Writer

Where in Midtown do you Work?: I used to work at Random House when it was on East 50th St.

Favorite Kind of Food: My book lists more than 1,000 foods or individual dishes and it’s impossible to pick ten even. I love red and green chile over anything in Santa Fe; I love fresh fruit in season–cherries, yellow and white peaches, blueberries, raspberries. They have to be fresh. I think lamb is a very underused and underappreciated meat in this country. Greek places do wonderful things with fresh lamb. Very simply cooked–grilled–it has a lot of rich flavor. As I get older, I get a bigger kick out of ice cream. Had a couple of chocolate Brown Bonnets from Carvel this past weekend. Hard to beat. I’m glad Pinkberry is establishing a presence in NYC. I love gelato from Il Laboratorio del Gelato. Basil, Black Mission Fig, Toasted Sesame…

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

Favorite Place to Eat Lunch in Midtown: A South of the Border Burger at Islands Burgers and Shakes (9th Ave. btw. 51+52nd); a bauernwurst on a hard roll with sauerkraut, red cabbage and onions at the Hallo Berlin Cart (54th and 5th); anything with lamb at Molyvos (7th Ave. btw. 55+56th); the chopped salad at Patsy’s (56th btw. B’way+8th).

The “go-to” lunch place you and your co-workers eat at too often: I don’t have any co-workers anymore, but when I did, we would go to Zarela (2nd Ave. btw. 50+51st) sometimes for some excellent Margaritas… but I guess that wasn’t lunch.

Midtown Lunch places that you wrote about in “Eat This!”: Burger Joint, Brother Jimmy’s BBQ (There is one in the Grand Central Food Court), Cabana Carioca (which is now closed), Ess-a-Bagel (3rd & 51st), Gahm Mi Oak (32nd btw. Bway+5th), Han Bat (35th btw. 5+6th), & Hallo Berlin.

If you could work anywhere (just because of the lunch) where would it be and why? Somewhere overlooking the Mediterranean with my family, eating fish straight out of the sea. Why? Because we must be doing okay if this is the case.

Anything you’d like to ask the Midtown Lunch readers? What is your favorite food to eat from your hometown?

My favorite hometown food, plus a chance to win a copy of Ian’s book- after the jump… Read more »

You didn’t think I meant Jared’s Subway, did you? The day I eat there is the day Midtown Lunch is officially over. I meant the NY Subway. Rainy days like this mean one thing… subway to the Manhattan Mall Food Court. Nathan’s, Arby’s, Ranch 1, and the requisite cheap and crappy Chinese, Japanese, and Bourbon Chicken. And if you work over the BDFV, you don’t even need to step outside. 

What do you do on rainy days?  Feel free to post as a comment below…