Midtown Lunch

Coming off the heels of this week’s massive Choice Eats, Village Voice has announced the date and started selling tickets for their slightly smaller food event on the Intrepid. The 2nd annual Choice Streets will happen on Tuesday, May 7 and will feature food and drink from over 25 food trucks. So far only six vendors have been announced (including Souvlaki GR and Phil’s Steak’s), but more will be revealed soon. Last year’s event brought the first sighting of the Chinese Mirch Truck and the start of Kelvin Slush’s season, so I’m sure more than a few surprises are to be expected. General admission tickets, which includes all food and drink sampling, are $40 (VIP tickets are all sold out). Tickets can be purchased here. No doubt they will sell out (like all of these events), so get your tickets early.

While we didn’t see much of Bongo Brothers in Midtown, we sure enjoyed their food downtown and in the Flatiron. Word came from Twitter this week that the brothers have re-branded their truck and will be selling Miami-style food (so, still Cuban?) from a flashy truck. They’ll be launching Miami Food Machine today in the Financial District and one of the owners told me they hope to come to Midtown East on Monday. The menu has also changed quite a bit. No more Cuban sandwiches or ropa viejo. Now it looks as though they’ll be following the same format as 80% of the food trucks on the streets by offering their versions of tacos, sliders, and bowls. The new menu can be viewed on their website here and they have a new Twitter feed here.

Like most of you, I was heartbroken when Menchanko-Tei called it quits last year, but happy that next-door neighbor, Katsuhama 55, was willing to pick up some of Menchanko’s dishes, with the exception of Rachel’s favorite Midtown oyako-don. When I feel like splurging the extra $0.75 more than the regular midtown lunch, or when I’m just flat out cold because winter is intruding on spring, you’ll find me choosing between the “black” or “red” ramen at Katsuhama 55.

On my most recent ramen splurge this week, I noticed that something new is being constructed at the old Menchanko-Tei location at 43 West 55th Street. Building permits and some Internet sleuthing have led me to believe that the forces behind Natureworks Restaurant at (113 East 31st between Park & Lex) could be behind whatever’s going on at the old Menchanko-Tei location. Until the new restaurant is unveiled, I’ll just keep my fingers crossed for something a bit more interesting than a salad bar…

Last night, Village Voice hosted the 6th annual Choice Eats at the 69th Armory. The lines were massive, the food was diverse, and nobody left without a healthy case of the meat sweats.

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Last week we were thrilled to try the new truck on the block: The Old Traditional Polish Cuisine Truck. Though their menu has started off pretty simple with pierogies and kielbasa, word on the street is that they’re starting to serve paczki on Wednesday! (Turns out the truck had to undergo maintenance so they’re not out today.) However, questions you may have are 1) what’s a “paczki” and 2) how do I even pronounce this word?

Well, a paczki is simply a Polish donut with a sweet filling, such as plum jam, or the ultimate traditional filling: rose jam. And, paczki (the plural of paczek) is pronounced “punch-key.” You can thank the Internet for schooling us on this one.

Last Wednesday the truck was parked on 51st and Park, but you’ll want to check their twitter or the ML Twitter Tracker to confirm before heading out.

As I was walking down 45th Street last week, I was startled to find the windows of Lebanese spot Karam papered over. New York Magazine named the chicken shawarma at their Bay Ridge location one of the 101 best sandwiches in NYC, but I guess their Midtown location couldn’t hack it.  Last year, I enjoyed a lunch there but found the pitas a bit tough and dry and Jen agreed. When Bread and Olive became Karam, the change over wasn’t that drastic, so here’s hoping that we’ll still have a tasty North African option when the doors open again. And while we’re at it, let’s hope they get better pita bread, too!

The other day I happened to come across 44th Street Minar (between Lexington and 3rd ave) in the old 44 Curry House/Grill 44 space. For a brief while, I was convinced it was an entirely different establishment from the Minar on 46th Street and 6th Avenue (first reviewed by Zach in 2006), but after doing some Internet research, they actually look to be related (I guess the identical sign should have been a dead giveaway.) I’m always in the mood for quick and affordable Indian food, so I was happy to try out this other location of a Midtown Lunch staple.

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Jamaican Dutchy has had a tough couple of years.  After upgrading to a truck and moving their cart Downtown, the Dutchy had trouble parking in their old spot on 51st and 6th. They moved to 52nd, and then to Midtown East. There were rumors he was selling his cart, and then at the end of last year- boom.  He was back on 51st and 6th 7th. But if you believe Facebook, it looks like the run has come to an end. The Dutchy Facebook page posted that they will be leaving Manhattan for good.  No word yet on if they plan on popping up somewhere else, or if they’re just closing the business down- but either way it’s sad day for Midtown Lunchers.   Thanks to Lunch’er Jill for the tip.

As a general rule, the more options a restaurant has, the more likely they are to be mediocre ones. Think about it. Who’s more likely to make a better torta? A Mexican joint that only makes tacos, burritos, and tortas, or a deli that makes tortas plus a plethora of other sandwiches, plus soups, salads, ramen, and who knows what elese? Hint, it’s the Mexican joint.

That’s why you wouldn’t expect a place like Treehaus (3rd Ave. btw. 50+51st), which has a menu that reads like a Russian novel, to do one thing really well. They’re far more likely to do a few things pretty well. Still, when I saw that Treehaus had a small section of its menu dedicated to ‘smashed’ burgers, I had a feeling that might be one area where they excelled. Having eaten a couple, I think I was right.

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