Midtown Lunch

Every Tuesday I turn over the site to a Midtown Lunch’er for their recommendations of places to eat Lunch in Midtown. Meet “DDR”, a Lawyer who hates salads (agreed!) and anything his wife likes (DO NOT AGREE!  What are you crazy, saying something like that?  Not very smart…)

Name: DDR

Age: 28

Occupation: Attorney

Where in Midtown do you Work?: 46th & 5th Ave.

Favorite Kind of Food: Middle Eastern, BBQ, Indian

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Salad, any food that my wife likes, and the $9 turkey sandwich (aka “the Midtown Special”)

Favorite Place to Eat Lunch in Midtown: Olympic Pita (38th b/w 5th & 6th). It’s not logical for a kosher place to have the best shwarma in Manhattan… but there it is. Order it in a laffa and have them to throw some french fries and fried eggplant in there. It’s the best $10 you’ll spend for awhile, if you can finish it. Beats the pants off of Bread & Olive and Kosher Deluxe.

The “go-to” lunch place you and your co-workers eat at too often: Manhattan Cafe, Cosi. Just typing those 3 words makes me wince.

Place you discovered thanks to MidtownLunch: The Kati Roll Company (46 btw. 6+7th), Hing Won (48th btw. 5+6th). By the way, if the LA Weekly’s restaurant critic can win a Pulitzer for criticism, why can’t Midtown Lunch?  (Agreed!  Winning a Pulitzer is obviously the reason why I started Midtown Lunch.  -zach)

Dream job location, purely for lunch purposes?: 1 Central Park West (Jean Georges); Cornelia St. near Po, because their lunch menu (duck sloppy joe!) makes me salivate, but I am never in that area at lunch time; or if I could do my job from a booth at Katz’s Deli — that might be heaven.

Anything you’d like to ask the Midtown Lunch readers?:  Has anyone ever eaten at any of the Brazilian places on “Little Brazil” and if so, are they worth visiting?

I was very excited when I heard that the famous Olympic Pita in Brooklyn would be opening a Midtown location.  But there’s only one problem.  It’s impossible to spend less than $10 for any of the delicious meats they serve (or is there some lunch special I’m missing???).  The laffa is baked fresh on site, in this sweet ass brick oven- and looks amazing (picture after the jump)  Read more »

When I started this blog a little less than a year ago, I quickly set up boundaries that defined exactly where a “Midtown Lunch” could be.  We’ve only got an hour for lunch (and some of us less), so there had to be a border.  8th Ave. on the West, 3rd Ave. on the East.  Central Park to the North, and 32nd St. to the south.  The south part was pushing it a little, but I was biased by my love of Koreatown.  The whole point of doing this is to give me an excuse to stuff my face every day at lunch… how could I leave out Koreatown? 

There have been many temptations to cross those imaginary lines. Thai food on 9th Ave. has been recommended to me often, and people seem to love the falafel at Azuri Cafe, which requires you to trek almost all the way to 10th Ave!  I thought I was going to crack for the new Bahn Mi place on 2nd Ave., but luckily they charge way too much for what I’ve heard are pretty mediocre sandwiches, making it a little easier to skip (I still may end up trying it, we’ll see).  It’s been tough, but I have managed to hold it together.

Well, I finally met my match.  A few weeks ago, I received an email tip about something that I just could not ignore.  A place that embodies everything a Midtown Lunch should be (under $10, unique and adventurous), while combining the qualities of two of my favorite cuisines (Latin & Asian).  And they’ve got a lunch special to boot.  Readers of Midtown Lunch… I give you… BAYAN CAFE.  Filipino Food in Midtown.  That’s right.  Filipino.  What’s Filipino Food?  I’m not exactly sure.  But it’s freaking good.  So what if it’s East of 3rd Ave.  What’s an extra 15 feet for something that exists nowhere else in Midtown? And for that, I will now break my self imposed, meaningless to everyone but my feeble brain, Midtown Lunch boundaries. 

What they got, photos and the +/- after the jump…  Read more »

It’s the day before Cinco de Mayo, which means you can take your chances that Kristy will be at Blockheads today… or you can check out one of my two favorite taco places in Midtown.  If you are on the East side, Pampano Taqueria is the way to go.  But if your on the westside, take advantage of the nice weather and make the trek to Tehuitzingo on 10th Ave. btw. 47+48th.  You won’t be disappointed!

MIDTOWN LINKS

• Sorry Morgan Stanley.  No Hawaiian Tropic Zone for you! [NY Post]
• A great piece about the economics of Street Carts [Daily News via Serious Eats]
• TONY likes the same taco places I do! [TONY]
• Yolato is coming to Grand Central!!! [Gawker]
• Ever wonder how lunch at Le Bernardin would seem to 15 year olds? [NY Times]
• I tell David Chang where to stick his Momofuku III [Eater]
• Hey… that Jazzfest food looks familiar! [Serious Eats]
• Go Go Curry set to open on Saturday [TONY]

Next week… an amazing Filipino place that will blow your mind!  Plus, more on the openings of Go Go Curry & Kushi Q.  Have a good weekend!

“What’s the best Chicken and Rice Cart in Midtown for lunch?  I’ve heard a lot about a famous one on 53rd & 6th.  What’s the deal with that place?”  – Jason, 32

Ah yes… the infamous chicken and rice question.  Technically, the “famous” chicken & rice cart on 53rd & 6th is not a Midtown Lunch, because they don’t open until 7:30pm. (Bummer!)  If you base it on the line alone, than it wins hands down, and it was also nominated for a Vendy Award.  If you’ve ever driven down 53rd st. late at night, than you’ve noticed the lines at this cart.  It’s impossible to miss, and it’s usually there until 4am serving up a combo of chicken, lamb, rice, white sauce and hot sauce.  Every time I have to work late, I’ll usually head over there to check it out- but the lines have always been too long to wait.

During the day, there is cart on that corner- and there always seems to be a long line.  I’ve always wondered if people *think* that’s the famous chicken and rice cart (it’s not, by the way.)

My favorite chicken and rice in Midtown, PLUS a trick to eating at the late night, famous chicken and rice cart- after the jump… Read more »

Here’s some good Midtown Lunch’ing news:

1. Kushi-Q (3rd Ave. btw. 44+45th) –  It looks like Kushi-Q is finally set to open.  According to Zagat.com, tomorrow (5/3) is the big day- but that news was posted two weeks ago.  Based on picture I took yesterday (seen above), I’d be really surprised to see them open tomorrow.  Kushi-Q is a Japanese chain that specializes in healthy grilled skewers.  I don’t know about the healthy part, but I’m all for Asian meat on a stick.  More on this tomorrow.

2. ‘wichcraft (Multiple Locations in Midtown) – According to Grub Street, Tom Collichio’s sandwich shop ‘wichcraft is planning on opening their third Midtown location in the food concourse underneath Rockefeller Center.  Just what that food court needs… more overpriced sandwiches.

3. Maharaja (on 45th btw. 3+Lex), one of my favorite Indian places in Midtown East, has decided to end all confusion by replacing their “Hurry & Tasty Curry” awning, with a boring Maharaja Awning.  It may be more accurate, but nothing says good, and fast Indian food, like a giant sign that read “Hurry & Tasty Curry”

That’s not all…  new info on the Korean Cart front, after the jump… Read more »

Every Tuesday I turn over the site to a Midtown Lunch’er for their recommendations of places to eat Lunch in Midtown.  Apparently last week’s lunch’er wasn’t good enough!  Things like “Not much helpful information”, and “least informative lunch’er… ever” were posted as comments.  And here I was thinking that all you people wanted was a pretty face.  This week I’m bringing out the big guns! “Tam” is the one who turned me on to the Chikubu Friday Ramen Special. Unfortunately, it closed before I got a chance to check it out!  We’re losing her to the Finanacial District (traitor!), so I’m turning the site over to her for some final suggestions…

Name: Tam

Age: 32

Occupation: **cough** Attorney

Where in Midtown do you Work?: I used to work on Broadway and 44th, by the Naked Cowboy. (My new job is in the Financial District, cattycorner to the WTC)

Favorite Kind of Food: Dang me! I’m an equal opportunity eater, so this is a hard question to nail. I guess I’ll eat almost anything, so long as it’s deep-fried. Or grilled. Or braised. I also have an unwholesome love of noodles. Have I mentioned potatoes?

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Walnuts, tahini, and viscera. But guts are okay if they’re deep-fried or grilled. (Braised can’t kill the stink.)

Favorite Place to Eat Lunch in Midtown: 1. Rafiqi’s (NW corner of 44th St and 5th Ave). Lamb over Rice, with sides of hot sauce ‘n white sauce. Dine on the dirty street meat at a reasonable lunch hour; you’ll be clutching your vitals if you don’t. 2. Cranberry Deli (115 W. 45th St, near 6th Ave). Udon (with an extra helping of steamed vegetables). They drain their noodle water and shut down soup-making operations after 2 PM. 3. Pam Real Thai Encore (404 W. 47th St, near 9th Ave) Larb; Green Pumpkin Curry. PRTE is further west than most midtown eateries, but if it’s Friday, the stroll is kinda nice.

The “go-to” lunch place you and your co-workers eat at too often: Marseilles (630 9th Ave, at 44th St). Le Pamplemousse cocktail. For afficianados of flavored vodkas / For girlie-drink-drunks, these are worth blowing the ol’ lunch money on. (DISCLAIMER: but not during work-hours, friends!)

Place you discovered thanks to MidtownLunch: 1. Minar (46th St, btw B’way + 6th Ave).  Delicious! Mysore Masala Dosa. I’m a Bay Area transplant who misses Vik’s Chaat Corner. So Minar is like home. 2. Margon (46th St, btw. B’way + 6th Ave]. Oxtail Special. Hits the spot when you’re lookin’ for a hot piece of tail. (Thanks, Midtown Lunch!)

Dream job location, purely for lunch purposes?: Flushing, on Roosevelt Ave, underneath the 7. There’s a little window where you can buy the finest of soy milks. I’m also in agreement with Lacey. If I could just be a little bit closer to Ba Xuyen or Banh Mi Saigon.

Anything else you’d like to add?: Will Midtown Lunch be launching a Downtown Lunch site soon? ‘Cuz I am lost. I am sad. And I am hungry.

Sorry Tam.  Not only am I not going to be heading downtown anytime soon (I don’t think my bosses would be down with that), I have a recommendation today that I think you would have loved!  It’s braised, it’s got potatoes, it’s delicious, and it’s after the jump Read more »

Wednesday, I wait for 45 minutes. The food is great, but the service
needs to improve. They have no system in place, too many items on the
menu, and not enough people helping. Did I mention the part about no
system?

The cart is state of the art (with a flat screen that was playing Bob
Marley today!), but the system of serving food was and is still,
terrible.
At least the lines are a little bit shorter and they’ve added a third
person in the cart. (Although, since I’ve been standing here, the line
is now twice as long.)

This cart has the potential be a Midtown powerhouse… when are they
going to get it together.

I’m never going to eat again.  There are four reasons for this.

1. Two full days of eating at Jazzfest.  You can see the live photo-blogged pictures of the Crabmeat Po’boy, Daquiri & Gospel, Crawfish Monica, Patton’s Catering Combo, Cafe Au Lait, & Crawfish Bread.  And that was just from Friday.  On Saturday, there was the beignets from Cafe du Monde (seen above), Soft Shelled Crawfish Po-Boy, a fried shrimp po-boy, shrimp bread, and two mango freezes.
2. An out of this world dinner at Cochon, the new’ish restaurant from Donald Link, of Herbsaint fame.  This place is the real deal, and should win the James Beard award for Best New Restaurant (even though I love NYC Nominees A Voce & Momofuku Ssam Bar).  I only wish the lighting had been better so I could have taken pictures of the food.  Highlights include: spicy pork ribs with watermelon pickle, wood fired oysters, fried gator with chili garlic aioli, smoked ham hocks with grits and brown gravy, and of course, the signature Louisiana Cochon (roast pork).
3. Two dozen raw oysters (half at Felix’s in the French Quarter on Friday night, and half at Acme Oyster House in the airport right before I boarded my plane home).
4. And finally, lunch at Panda Express in the Houston Airport during my layover. It’s been awhile since I enjoyed their orange chicken and delcious noodles, so I was pretty excited.  Have I mentioned we need a Panda Express in Midtown? 

Needless to say it was an amazing weekend… oh, and I saw a little music too.  It also means, I didn’t post any Midtown Links at the end of last week.  So, while I recover- here’s some Midtown stuff for you to enjoy from last week:

MIDTOWN LINKS

• The first look at Insiemme, the new Midtown restaurant from Marco Canora of Hearth [Off the Broiler]
• For something a little cheaper, he also hits up the Times Square Yoshinoya [Off the Broiler]
• Camera in the Kitchen at Lanmarc Time Warner Center [Gothamist]
• An expensive lunch at the Modern Bar Room [Wandering Eater]
• Saying goodbye to a co-worker.  Where should you take them to lunch? [Chowhound]
• Somebody on Chowhound discovers the Jamaican Dutchy food cart [Chowhound]