Midtown Lunch

Earlier in the week Manhattan Users Guide posted their 5 best bowls of Ramen in the city… and it included two of my favorites (Menchanko Tei & Sapporo).  It was probably my inspiration for lunch on Monday & Tuesday (that and the disgustingly cold weather).  But apparently we’ve all been missing out on the real deal Midtown ramen steal…

The Ramen Special @ Chikubu (44th & Madison).  It’s $11.50 and only served on Friday & Saturday for lunch (with Japanese pickles and rice).  It’s a little bit more money then I’m used to spending at lunch, but for handpulled ramen in a pork stock that is supposedly simmered all week long, I’ll make an exception.  (Considering how authentic and expensive Chikubu is normally, one could argue it’s actually a deal!) Don’t be turned off by the line, I’ve been told it moves really quick…

More Ramen photos, courtesy of Midtown Lunch readers, after the jump… Read more »

I haven’t eaten at McDonald’s in a long long time, but man are they doing their best to get me back in there.  First the “Snacker”, which looks freakin’ awesome (a piece of fried chicken wrapped in a tortilla… come on!!!)- and now this…

All today (Thurday, March 8th) McDonald’s will be giving out free cups of coffee at all of their locations to anyone who asks for it.  I can’t turn down free stuff… so it may be hard not to make the most of my first visit to McDonald’s in years.  How do you think a Snacker will taste with a cup of coffee???

To find a McDonalds near your office go here

I fully admit that I am not a food expert.  I’ve never been to culinary school, my palate isn’t particularly advanced and I probably have no business writing about any kind of food (even if it is crappy carts and dives in Midtown).  But if there is one thing I could be considered an expert on, it’s Chinese Buffets.  I am a huge fan of the All of You Can Eat Chinese food buffet (emphasis on the huge).  The concept of all-you-can-eat is brilliant on its own, but once you throw in one of my all time favorite foods (Chinese), you’ve got one of the greatest inventions of all time.

In fact, it is a personal goal of mine to eat at a Chinese buffet in every state in the country.  Here are the states I’ve tackled so far:

• California
• Connecticut
• Florida
• Louisiana
• Massachusetts
• New Mexico
• New York (Just recently… and the inspiration for this post.)
• Nevada (Obviously)
• Pennsylvania
• Texas (A great buffet just outside of Houston that had fried frogs legs.  Delicious!)
• Tennessee (Terrible.  My wife will never let me live that one down.)

It’s clearly a work in progress, but I take my work very seriously.  I really love Chinese Buffets.  And it is not just the fact that you get to stuff your face (something I enjoy doing very much).  It’s also the no waiting (you start eating right after you sit down), the variety (it’s the spice of life!) and of course, the competition.  That’s right…  the competition.  You vs. the Buffet.  The price is really just a dare.  A sign that says “All-U-Can-Eat for $14.50”, might as well just say “I dare you to eat more than $14.50 worth of food.  Signed – The Buffet.”

Basically, your goal from the moment you walk into the buffet should be “Win the Game”.  And the game is to eat so much food that the restaurant loses money.  You want to eat so much that when they see you come back the next time, they get scared.  You want them to worry that if you eat at their buffet too often, they might have to close it down.  But before you can learn how to beat your enemy, you must KNOW your enemy.

The three kinds of Chinese buffets, PLUS my tips to winning the game (and more buffet porn)- after the jump… Read more »

It’s frickin freezing outside… so everyone has got permission to be lazy and eat under their building or right outside. For me that means Yummy Sushi under Rock Ctr. I don’t really like the sushi but acommenter suggested the Udon. Should work for today…

Every Tuesday I turn the site over to a Midtown Lunch’er for their recommendations of places to eat Lunch in Midtown. Today it’s Lacey, an Attorney on a desperate search for an all you can eat Gummy Candy buffet…

Name: Lacey

Age: 30

Occupation: Attorney

Where in Midtown do you Work?: 55th & Madison

Favorite Kind of Food: Hmmm… I tend to go for Asian type things first- Japanese, Thai, Vietnamese, Korean… but I also do enjoy good Mexican and Italian as well, anything else tasty. I also can’t get enough gummy candy. Sometimes I wish there was a gummy candy buffet that I could frequent.

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Wet bread- so no French onion soup or bread pudding for me. Ick. Also, can’t really get behind super extra greasy food, like the kind you have to blot before eating.  (No bread pudding, or super greasy food!  And you call that living??? -zach)

Favorite Place to Eat Lunch in Midtown: Men Kui Tei– Shoyu Ramen. Yum. Why don’t they deliver? 

The “go-to” lunch place you and your co-workers eat at too often: I’m embarassed to admit it’s Chop’t. I know it’s expensive and kinda crappy… but it’s like 2 steps from my office and sometimes it’s really cold outside and you’re hungry and it’s right there.

Place you discovered on MidtownLunch.com: Oms/b… Okay, so I haven’t actually been yet, but it’s first on my list once the weather gets a little nicer. Rice balls… mmmmmm.

Dream job location for lunch purposes only, and why?: Downtown near Chinatown so I could eat all the delicious and super cheap Banh Mi (Vietnamese sandwiches) I wanted.

Anything you’d like to ask the Midtown Lunch readers?: 1. Where can I get a good cup of coffee in this neighborhood? My west coast coffee genes are getting really grumpy at the crappy coffee I keep drinking. 2. Any good Vietnamese food suggestions?

I totally agree on the Banh Mi.  My favorite of these Vietnamese sandwiches, PLUS how you can be next week’s Profiled: Midtown Lunch’er, after the jump… Read more »

Is there anything better than a big bowl of Ramen on a cold day, when
you’re coming down with a cold?  The “Special Ramen” from Sapporo (49th btw
6&7th)…

Thanks to Tipster Lacey for telling us about this one…

Apparently they are looking for another location to re-open Kiiroi Hana.  Hopefully the new location will be in Midtown, and will include the outside Sushi counter.  If I find out more I’ll let you know…

As always, tips, news & recommendations are welcome at zach@midtownlunch.com

Every week I call, and the opening date for the new Sophie’s Cuban on 56th btw. 5+6th changes… so yesterday I went down to the actual location.

Looks like they are ready to go.  The tables for the seating area in the back are supposedly getting in today.  PLUS I was told the “Official” opening date is going to be Wednesday, March 14th AND there will be free food!!!  That’s right.  Mark it on your calendars.  All the food is free at the Sophie’s Cuban grand opening, a week from Wednesday.

I love free food days in Midtown.  You get to see just how long people in suits (who probably make six figures a year) are willing to wait for a free $8 lunch.  Fun fun! 

Acqua Pazza closes, Rats in an ABP, Steak in a strip club, and Fatburger opening in Midtown (is Baja Fresh Next???).  All that and more after the jump… Read more »

Ever since the $8.99 Rangole Indian Buffet closed, I’ve been searching for a replacement in Midtown.  Sure, I could spend $12.95 and up for a fancy Indian Buffet (there are plenty of them)- but I really wanted to find something under $10.  Sukhadia, the vegetarian Indian buffet is really good, but it’s $10.95, and there’s no meat- so it doesn’t really qualify as a full fledged replacement.  When I posted about that place, a few people recommended Curry Dream.

Curry Dream is a middle of the road Indian restaurant on 39th btw. 5th & 6th with a lunchtime buffet that costs $9.95.  (Anything under $10 is very exciting to me!!!)  Overall the food was better than Rangole (not too difficult), and for the price it is easily the best Indian buffet deal in Midtown.

What’s on the buffet, pictures and a +/- after the jump… Read more »

City 75 is not usually the type of place I eat at (or write about), but after last week’s Profiled Midtown Lunch’er Andre said it was home to the best Philly Cheesesteak in Midtown, I figured I should check it out.  City 75 is like an upscale version of all the generic delis in Midtown, but with one difference…  If you make it through the girly overpriced fancy buffet by the pound in the front- there is a pretty spectacular “Man Bar” in the back left hand corner.  Naturally the Philly Cheesesteak was there, along with burgers, fries, onion rings, pizza and grilled sandwiches.

Now, before you email me with “I’m a woman, and I eat at the ‘Man Bar’!!!”, I want to say this- I’m sure a lot of you women eat at the “Man Bar” in City 75- but you also read this blog… and those two things put you in the minority of Midtown Lunching Women (When I say “most women”, I’m talking about your annoying co-workers.  If they are not reading this blog, they clearly have no taste in food).  The simple fact is this… if the “Man Bar” wasn’t there, most men would not set foot into City 75 (it’s way too fancy, and expensive).  And if the rest of the place disappeared, and City 75 was only the “Man Bar”, and nothing else, most Midtown Lunch’ing women wouldn’t eat there.  It’s the perfect blending of the two that makes a nicely dressed business woman (with every intention of eating a salad) willing to eat a steak and cheese sandwich, and a guy like me willing to eat at a place like City 75.

Pics of the food, and a +/- after the jump… Read more »