On rainy days like this, it’s great to be working in the Rock Center complex. There’s a lot of options in the concourse- and when you’re sick of those (which happens pretty quick), it’s a quick subway ride away to more options. Where I took the Subway, and ate without ever being outside- coming on Wednesday…
A new sign goes up on 40th btw. 7+8th (next to Popeyes)
Photo posted to the Midtown Lunch Flickr Photo Group by joshbousel
MIDTOWN LINKS
Next week, I’ll examine a choice that every one of us (who are willing to venture far for good eats) has had to make… deciding between a crappy lunch with your co-workers, or eating at a far off good place alone. Have a good weekend!
You might be surprised to realize that I have never actually given Sophie’s a proper +/- on MidtownLunch. There was a mention of the Lexington location months and months ago, the reporting about the new 56th St. location, and then the live-blogging of the Grand Opening, but never a proper page that people could refer to for locations and a real +/-. So… here it is- in pictures (the best way to enjoy a place like Sophie’s).
An inside shot of the Lexington location. You have two dining options at Sophie’s. You can sit at a table and order from a waitress (on the left), or get in the cafeteria style line and order directly from the steam tables. If you get in the line, you have to take your food to go. This is especially confusing at the 56th St. location, where the tables are in the very back of the restaurant. If you want to sit and eat, you must bypass the crowds at the steamtable, and head directly to the back to order from the waitresses. The menu and prices are the same when you sit and order (but you do have to tip, making it a little more expensive.)
The back of the 56th St. location.
Two plates of food fixing to go out, at the 56th St. location.
More food porn, after the jump… Read more »
Posted by Zach at 8:02 am, April 12th, 2007 under *Lex btw. 40+41st, *Mad btw. 33+34th, 56th btw. 5+6th, Latin, Sophies.
Passover is officially over, so everyone who closed for the holiday is back open… including Moshe’s Falafel Cart (which apparently now has fries), Taam Tov, Diamond Dairy, and Pick-a-Pita to name just a few. Whatever you do, don’t go for bagels. It might be super crowded…
After my Monday post on the Naples 45 2pm Pizza deal, I got a lot of questions about other late lunch specials in Midtown. If you can wait until after 2pm, there are countless deals to be had by restaurants looking to pick up their afternoon business, or unload their lunch stuff before the deadness of Midtown dinner. Like I said before, I’m pretty ill-equiped to answer this one. It’s a miracle if I even make it to 12:30pm before eating lunch (nevermind getting to 2pm or later). So I’m going to need your help… If you know of a late lunch special, post it as a comment below.
Nevertheless, here are the few that I have written about:
There also was a late sushi special at Pranza, but apparently that doesn’t exist anymore.
I think early bird specials are more my thing. If getting somewhere before Noon got you a deal, I would be all over it! The only one of those I know about is Men Kui Tei (on 56th btw. 5+6th) which has a special set menu or Gyoza for super cheap before 12:15pm.
Do you know of a late lunch special in Midtown Manhattan? (Or an early special for that matter…) Post it as a comment below.
Every Tuesday I turn the site over to a Midtown Lunch’er for their recommendations of places to eat Lunch in Midtown. Ideally I like to post a picture of the person in their Midtown working environment, to give you a real sense of their Midtown Lunch experience. Surprisingly, the picture of Grace (this week’s Lunch’er), is of her at “work”.
Name: Grace
Age: N.O.Y.B.
Occupation: Senior Test Kitchen Associate (and a cookbook author)
Where in Midtown do you Work?: Food & Wine Magazine, 6th Ave & 43rd St.
Favorite Kind of Food: I love Korean food (as well as most Asian cuisines) and my favorite all time Korean dish is kimchi jigae, a super spicy stew of pork, kimchi and rice cakes; Italian (especially Neopolitan pizza, fresh pasta and any kind of cheese); and in the winter, Matzoh Ball soup.
Least Favorite Kind of Food: Peruvian Potato dishes (they tend to be kind of bland with lots of sweet mayo), headcheese, and anything Icelandic (bland boiled meats), dried airpuffed cod bits, and fish spread in a tube. (That list is strangely specific. -zach)
Favorite Place to Eat Lunch in Midtown: My new favorite Korean place is Kunjip (9 w. 32nd st). I was intrigued by this dish, Kam Ja Tang (pork bone and potato stew) that listed pork bones as its first ingredient. It was delicious, and true to its name, had loads of pork bones (the trimmings from the back bone where you really have to dig in the get at the meat), topped with this very light, not-sweet-at-all sauce.
The “go-to” lunch place you and your co-workers eat at too often: Dae Dong–Korean, of course on 32nd st., and Grand Sichuan on 9th Ave (now closed by the board of health, wahhhh). The shrimp dumplings in chile sauce and dan dan noodles are the best. They also have really great sour string beans that are dangerously addictive. (Actually, I think Grand Sichuan is closed for good. I passed by it on Sunday, and it was totally stripped empty inside. -zach)
Place you discovered thanks to MidtownLunch: The Kati Roll Company on 46th (the review of the food was so tantalizing–it made the recipe for kati roll that I tested look like child’s play). The paneer (Indian-style ricotta) is my favorite–spicy, sweet, milky, and creamy (mmmm) followed closely by the potato and egg. I found them all (i did actually try everything on the menu) to be delicious, fresh and extremely well balanced–but maybe I was the first customer of the day? That will definitely become my go-to place for food to-go.
Dream job location, purely for lunch purposes?: Aside from my test kitchen at Food & Wine (the food is almost always excellent and free–and I know with certainty that the cooks wash their hands)… Chinatown, Jackson Heights or Redhook Brooklyn (but only during soccer season)- all for their ethnic diversity and superb cheap street food.
Is there any sweeter job than working in the kitchen of a food magazine? Holy mackerel am I jealous. The pie picture above, is a picture of Grace *at work*! That’s craziness. Where’s the cubicle? The annoying co-workers? The computer screen to stare at hour after hour as your brain and eyes fight over which one is going to degenerate faster? And you get to go to fancy parties with free food and booze! Not jealous yet? A picture of Grace at last years James Beard awards, after the jump… Read more »
Posted by Zach Brooks at 7:23 am, April 10th, 2007 under PROFILE: Midtown Lunch'er.
As you can tell, lunch time is very sacred for me. I am definitely not one of those “whenever I have time to go” kind of lunch people. With me, it’s more of an “Only 17 minutes left until the socially acceptable lunchtime of Noon” kind of thing. I still don’t understand how people can forget to eat lunch. I don’t care how busy I am, I could never forget lunchtime. In fact, if I haven’t eaten by 1pm, there’s a decent chance I’ll just pass out. I’ve never tested this theory, but I’m pretty sure that’s what would happen.
Of course, there are occasions when I do go for a “late lunch”. Usually these days coincide with times when there is some sort of free food in the kitchen to serve as a mid-morning snack, or I’ve eaten a late or extra large breakfast. On these days, I get to take advantage of all the late lunch specials that midtown has to offer. If you can wait to eat, there are some great deals to be had in Midtown and hands down, my favorite is Ho Yip. I have a soft spot for cheap chinese food, and I love by the lb. buffets- but the price always kills me. Ho Yip solves this by lowering their price after 2:15pm. A great deal, and my favorite place to eat a late lunch. I’ve also heard that alot of chain delis charge less for pre-packaged sandwiches at a certain time.
A few months ago, a reader tipped me off to another one of these late lunch specials. Naples 45, a nice sit down pizza place in Midtown, lowers their take out slices to $1.25 after 2pm. For months I have been waiting for an opportunity to take advantage of this deal… and finally last week I was looking for something to eat around 2pm- so I headed over to Naples 45 to check it out.
What I found, pizza porn and the +/- after the jump… Read more »
Posted by Zach Brooks at 9:42 am, April 9th, 2007 under 45th btw. Mad+Van, Italian, Naples 45, Pizza.
GOOD FRIDAY
Fried Chicken from Popeyes (40th btw. 7+8th)
Posted to the Midtown Lunch Flickr Photo Group by joshbousel
BETTER FRIDAY
Fried Chicken & Waffle from Ressie May’s (8th ave. btw. 39+40th)
Posted to the Midtown Lunch Flickr Photo Group by yehwan
MIDTOWN LINKS
I take for granted sometimes that everyone knows about every kind of food I write about. I spend 17 posts writing about a strange bulgogi cart outside my building, but I feel like some people still don’t actually know what the hell bulgogi is. The same could probably be said about Bi Bim Bap. Maybe it’s just Korean stuff. Despite being a short walk away from Koreatown, it seems as if people are still not versed in the delicious ways of Korean dining. Well, if you’ve never eaten Bi Bim Bap, here is a quick primer.
Bi Bim Bap is basically a deconstructed Korean rice dish. You get white rice, a number of vegetables (usually carrots, cooked spinach, bean sprouts and others) and sometimes a little bit of meat. The dish is then topped off with a fried egg, which you are supposed to break over the whole thing. It all gets mixed together with this sweet and spicy red sauce to make a rice dish/meal. It’s delicious, and in the past few months, it seems to popping up at delis everywhere in Midtown. I’ve had a decent pre-packaged version at Cafe Duke, a mediocre version at Pro Bagel, (and a terrible version at the Bulgogi Cart outside my building).
I’ve always been content with the Cafe Duke version, despite the fact that it was pre-packaged- but after discovering Ambrosia, I think Duke has been unseeded. While Korean food is a unique option for Midtown Lunch’ing, Ambrosia is not. It’s just another one of those generic delis that serve everthing under the sun- complete with sandwiches, salads, pizza and the requisite by the lb. buffet. Although I’m sure some have partaken in the Mexican Fiesta station, I suggest ignoring it all and heading back to the Korean Food window in the back of the store.
What could possibly be the best cheap to go Bi Bim Bap in Midtown (outside of Koreantown), and the +/- after the jump… Read more »
Posted by Zach Brooks at 7:44 am, April 5th, 2007 under 45th btw. 5+6th, Deli, Korean.
