Midtown Lunch

Every Friday we go south of the ML boundaries in search of a delicious lunch. Sometimes it’s Murray Hill south or the Flatiron District, sometimes Gramercy and everything in between- but we just like to call it Flatiron Lunch.

A couple weeks have passed since Num Pang opened their NoMad flagship, so I headed over with two friends to see if held up to the standards set by the two previous locations. It’s hard to continue to serve some of the most delicious sandwiches ever while expanding.

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Here’s a bit of Flatiron Lunch news before we lay this week’s review on you…

Flatiron Luncher Cindyninja recently commented on my write-up about Gyro King that it closed and was replaced by Fava. I finally had the chance to walk by to see with my own eyes and sure enough… Fava. They said they have been at this location for about a month (about when my FL about Gyro King posted) having moved an avenue over from their previous location on Lexington. They didn’t do any major renovations but have managed to update the signage.

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Over the past few months I know we’ve been a little heavy in our coverage of Treehaus, the upscale deli on 51st and 3rd with fun sandwiches, a bibimbap bar, a monster burger, and bone marrow and pork belly on their by the pound buffet.  But sometimes it feels like these guys just get us.  And quite frankly, how could we not post this? Your eyes are not playing tricks on you.  That’s veal testicles, on a Midtown buffet, for $11/lb.   Over the years we’ve spotted some pretty fun and exciting things on Midtown pay what it weighs buffets (soft shelled crabs anybody?) but I think it’s safe to say that this kind of takes the cake, right?  Anybody get a chance to put these balls in their mouth today?  Let us know how they were in the comments.  And big thanks to Lunch’er Jon for sending along the photo.

 UPDATE: The owner of Treehaus checked in to let us know that due to the holiday there will not be Rocky Mountain oysters on the buffet today… but they will have lamb testicles on Wednesday! (4/3)

Maloney & Porcelli (on 50th between Park & Madison) is the kind of place that I would need to be seriously okay with spending $53 on a Filet Mignon at 12pm, and let’s be honest, I’d rather take my important business to the trucks on 51st street. But, when I heard they were offering a much more reasonably priced 1950s pop-up lunch complete with a soda-fountain and a popcorn cart, my nostalgic self had to go check it out.

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You may have noticed a new pizza truck parked on Park Avenue between 46th and 47th yesterday. This is the new Neapolitan Express truck, which was blessed by Mayor Bloomberg as being the first NYC food truck to run on compressed natural gas (which is not actually true, as the Treats Truck has been running on this since day one). Correction: Neapolitan Express is the first truck to run and operate solely on CNG, including their oven and generator.

They’re be serving organic Neapolitan-style pizza, assorted pastries, and cold sodas. Not sure the Mayor would approve of those beverage choices. Yesterday was a test run and they’ll continue with sporadic spots over the coming weeks, but will have an official launch soon. You can get updates at their Twitter feed. Did anybody get a chance to try the pizza yesterday? Please leave your thoughts in the comments below.

When talking about Cuban sandwiches, the names I see mentioned most frequently on Midtown Lunch are Cafe Cello (on 46th btw. 5+6th) and Margon (on 46th btw. 6+7th), both reviewed several times over the past few years. Being a huge fan of the roast pork platter at Cafe Cello, and having heard terrific things about the Cubano at Margon, I took it upon myself to grab a Cuban sandwich from each place in the same afternoon. I snagged a willing co-worker from the office and we agreed to eat half and half of each.

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I was on my way to grab a sandwich at the Amish Market on 45th St. – a favorite for my office – the other day, when I saw a new lunch spot hidden by recently erected scaffolding. Good to Go Organics (45th St btw. 3rd+2nd) looked like it served food you’d find at a sports stadium – hot dogs, chicken fingers, sausages, etc. – but all organic. Indeed, as it turns out, Good to Go has a location inside Metlife Stadium and started out with hot dog stands in Central Park. Simple food made with quality ingredients is an idea I can get behind, so I stopped in to try out the Midtown East newcomer.

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It’s finally here!  After a year of research, and writing, and photographing, and (of course) eating Blondie and Brownie’s street food book “New York a la Cart” is finally here.  Technically it doesn’t come out in stores until April 2nd, but it’s already available for purchase online- and the best part is, it’s within the Midtown Lunch price range.  The book features stories and recipes from some of our favorite Midtown Lunch vendors… like Biryani Cart’s , Kwik Meal’s recipe for white sauce, and Uncle Gussy’s pork chops and tzatziki.  Plus there’s a great tribute to Rolf Babiel from Hallo Berlin, and plenty more (including a forward by yours truly!)

Don’t want to order it online? On April 2nd at 12:30pm we’ll be doing a special Midtown lunch signing at Grand Central’s Posman Books (Vanderbilt+42nd) where you’ll be able to come pick up a copy, and have it signed by Alex, Siobhan, Donny and Clay (who did the photos for the book.) If you can’t make it that day, there will be another small lunch time signing on Wednesday, April 10th at the Posman in the Rock Center concourse. So come on down, meet the crew, get an awesome book, and support Blondie and Brownie!!!

Get a complete list of events and signings on BlondieandBrownie.com

Editor’s Note: This article was clearly written before Passover… Rachel is a good, observant Jew and will not be eating this sandwich this week.  But it doesn’t mean you can’t!

I’ve been meaning to try Satya Eastern Kitchen — which debuted at 46th and 8th Avenue about six weeks ago — since passing it in a cab, on my way home from a late night of work. Not because of the food, per se, but because after doing a little research on the place, it seemed to incorporate various elements of other Midtown Lunch favorite spots. The building facade and Satya’s lit up sign remind me of the Shake Shack down the street, the restaurant concept is reminiscent of an Asian Chipotle (and we have yet to get a ShopHouse outpost in New York) and the ordering system is a la Schnippers. Asian fast casual? Ok, I’ll bite.

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Photo by Pizza by Certe

Depending on how strictly you observe the holiday’s Kosher laws, Passover can be a tricky time for Jews trying to find lunch in Midtown. The observant will most likely pack lunch for the week, but for those of you who do eat out and are looking for options, relief comes from an unlikely source.

Pizza by Certe (on 56th btw. Park+Lex) is offering Matzo Pizza with tomato sauce, mozzarella & grana cheeses and basil all week. Usually I’d be skeptical, but Pizza by Certe doesn’t usually do things that taste half-assed, and that photo looks pretty enticing. We can’t vouch for Kosher for Passover certification on all the ingredients, of course, but early adopters, let us know how it is in the comments. And, if you have other Passover-friendly lunch ideas for the ML community, include those recommendations too!