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Lucky Sunday

Saturday, August 29th, 2009 by virginia

After our last peking duck debacle, Josh was still craving the crispy/fatty goodness of properly prepared peking duck so we went through the pile of menus that have been slipped underneath our door and found the one for Lucky Sunday. We placed our standard Chinese food order over the phone and our food arrived a short while later.

The peking duck visibly just looked better than the one from Empire Szechuan Kyoto. It didn’t look like it had been deep fried, and the skin was crispy and glistening. The pancakes they brought us were still warm and pliable, and they also provided a big pile of scallions and cucumbers to wrap with the duck. The duck itself was moist and fatty in a good way. The only thing I didn’t really like was the hoisin sauce, which tasted more bbq-y than what I’m used to.

Peking duck and accessories

We also got two egg rolls that were still warm and crispy, though the filling was kind of bland. I had to use a lot of duck sauce to get any kind of flavor, which was pretty disappointing. I probably wouldn’t order egg rolls from there again.

Bland egg rolls

The cold sesame noodles were also lacking in flavor and seasoning. They didn’t put enough sesame sauce on it so the whole thing was really dry and bland. There was also a weird hint of coffee taste to the sauce, which I found kind of unpleasant. I was not a fan of this dish.

Bland sesame noodles

On the positive side, the sesame chicken was much more enjoyable. The chicken was a bit fattier than normal but that helped keep the pieces more moist and tender. Usually sesame chicken is made with all white meat chicken and it tends to get too dry. The breading ended up being a bit soggy but the sauce was sticky and gooey without being overly sweet, and was perfect for spooning over rice. They also included pieces of broccoli with the chicken, which were a nice crunchy addition.

Sesame chicken with broccoli

Overall the food from Lucky Sunday was kind of a mixed bag but they fared better in the items that mattered more to us – the peking duck and the sesame chicken. While they weren’t the best versions that we’ve ever had, they were pretty good, especially since these dishes don’t usually hold up well when factoring in delivery time. I would probably order in from here again, though next time I would stay away from the appetizers.

Lucky Sunday
858 8^th Ave. between 51^st and 52^nd St.
New York, NY

Tags: Chinese, Delivery, Midtown, Peking Duck
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Revisiting Margon

Thursday, August 27th, 2009 by virginia

I was a bit disappointed with my last visit to Margon but like I said in my review, I know their Cuban sandwiches can be inconsistent depending on how busy they are. So when Josh told me he was meeting up with his cousin at the restaurant for lunch, I invited myself along because I was eager to give them a chance to redeem themselves.

This was my first time actually eating in the restaurant but luckily they weren’t super full so we were able to snag a table. We started out with an order of tostones while we were waiting for the sandwiches to be prepared. These did come topped with mojo this time, much to my relief and delight. And they were better than usual because we were eating them fresh at the restaurant instead of carrying them out in a tinfoil container where they tend to get cold and soggy. These tostones were still warm, a little bit crunchy on the outside, and doused with the deliciously tangy and garlicky mojo. Yum!

Tostones topped with mojo

After we worked our way through half of the tostones, Josh went back to the sandwich counter to pick up our Cubans. At first glance these sandwiches just looked so much better than the ones I got last time. The bread was pressed flat and had toasted marks on top, and the melted cheese was oozing out.

Crispy and hot pressed Cuban sandwich

The verdict? Perfection. The bread was crispy on the outside and the sandwich was still warm enough to burn my tongue a little. The flavors of the meat, cheese, garlic, and pickles just all work so well together. The sandwich guy asked Josh if he wanted hot sauce on the sandwich, to which Josh replied yes, but I didn’t taste any hot sauce. Not a problem, I didn’t miss anything. The sandwich was absolutely wonderful as is.

Autopsy shot

I don’t know if eating at the restaurant was the difference, but maybe now we’ll start eating in more often rather than taking it out! I hope every trip I make to Margon will be as good as it was on this day.

Margon
36 West 46th St. between 6^th and 7^th Ave.
New York, NY

Tags: Cuban, Lunch, Midtown, Sandwiches
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Go Go Curry

Wednesday, August 19th, 2009 by virginia

I first read about Go Go Curry on Midtown Lunch and now it’s part of our regular lunch rotation, though we can’t get it too often because I always feel incredibly full after eating it. Josh and I always share a Grand Slam order, which is a massive mound of rice covered in curry and topped with a huge chicken katsu, a pork katsu, two sausages, a shrimp tempura, a hard boiled egg, and shredded cabbage. The container it comes in weighs a ton and it’s just a crazy amount of food. We can’t even finish off one order between the two of us.

The Grand Slam

The curry, however, doesn’t look anything like any curry that I’ve ever had. It’s a super dark brown color, whereas all the other curries I’ve had previously at other Japanese restaurants have been a lighter greenish color. This curry is mixed with little bits of pork so it’s definitely not vegetarian friendly. It has a thick, rich texture and is slightly sweet tasting. It also doesn’t have the same complexity of spices that is found in other curries, so it might be a bit friendlier to people who claim they hate all curry.

The curry is a deep brown color and full of pork bits

The chicken katsu and pork katsu are always perfectly fried and still remain a little crispy even after being transported in a styrofoam container. The chicken is a bit thicker than the pork, though the pork is always a bit more moist and flavorful.

Chicken katsu up close

The shrimp tempura is a large piece but it’s heavily breaded and always comes slathered in mayo, which makes it soggy. I could do without the mayo, as this dish is rich enough.

Shrimp tempura

The sausages are pretty fatty and greasy but mild in flavor. They taste more like hot dogs than sausages, which I like, since I’m not a sausage fan. I’m not sure why the hard boiled egg is there, but it’s just another protein option for this already packed meal.

Go Go Curry is basically an homage to Hideki Matsui of the Yankees. “Go” in Japanese means “five”, and Matsui’s number is 55. When Matsui hits a home run during a game at Yankee Stadium, the restaurant gives out free topping cards the next day. They also give out free topping cards on the 5^th, 15^th, and 25^th of each month. Keep in mind that toppings at Go Go Curry are things like chicken katsu, and they give you the whole chicken cutlet; it’s a pretty good deal. While I don’t know how authentic the curry is (reviews vary), I find it pretty tasty and very filling. Grab a friend and split a Grand Slam so you can get a taste of lots of different toppings. I just don’t recommend trying to finish one off yourself, but if you can, I will be super impressed.

Go Go Curry
273 West 38^th St. between 7^th and 8^th Ave.
New York, NY

Tags: Curry, Japanese, Lunch, Midtown
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Rattle & Hum

Thursday, August 13th, 2009 by virginia

Josh’s coworkers are pretty avid beer drinkers so their favorite spot for happy hour is currently Rattle & Hum. They have a huge list of beers from all over the world on tap. The beer offerings change often, and they’re printed on a paper menu that lists each beer’s ranking and % alcohol by volume. If you find too many beers that you want to try, you can order a flight that comes with four 4 oz pours. That way you can try as many beers as you’d like without getting too wasted.

A tasting flight of beer

After you’ve had a few drinks, you’re bound to want some food. The favorite here is the boneless buffalo wings that are spicy and saucy and come with celery, carrot sticks, and blue cheese dressing. They use white meat chicken so it can get a little dry, but the ample amount of sauce usually helps with that. We always order the wings hot so the sauce has a nice kick to it.

Spicy boneless buffalo wings

We also tried an order of their chili nachos, which was a huge messy pile covered in beef chili and cheese. Unfortunately the tortilla chips they use taste kind of funny, like they are the baked variety. They had a weird cardboard-y taste and texture and I found them to be pretty unpleasant. It was too bad, because the other ingredients were really tasty. We ended up only eating the top layer of the nachos, where there was the most topping to cover up the flavor of the tortilla chips. I probably wouldn’t order this dish again.

Chili and cheese nachos

Rattle & Hum is a must-visit bar for any beer lover. We go there all the time and I rarely repeat my beer orders. There are so many options to choose from and it’s a lot of fun to try all the different varieties of brews. The food isn’t the greatest but we come here for the beer; the food is to just soak up the alcohol. If you’re really hungry after all that drinking, the bar is just a stone’s throw away from K-town. You only need to walk one block and you’ll find some of the city’s best Korean BBQ joints!

Rattle & Hum
14 East 33^rd St. between 5^th and Madison Ave.
New York, NY

Tags: Bars, Beer, Midtown
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Margon

Friday, July 17th, 2009 by virginia

DSCN1283

One of my favorite lunch places is Margon, a little Cuban restaurant on 46^th St. There are seats in the back and at the counter, but the place is really tiny so we always take our order to go. Josh and I usually get Cuban sandwiches and an order of tostones. The food is really heavy and filling, and I always feel a bit guilty after eating it but their Cuban sandwiches really are the best. They add salami to them, which is not a traditional ingredient (though that has been debated). It adds an extra layer of flavor to the already packed sandwich, which has roasted pork, ham, cheese, pickles, mayo, mustard, and garlic sauce.

Cuban sandwich

My major issue with Margon is that their sandwiches are inconsistent, especially when you go during prime lunch hours. There is often a crowd waiting at the sandwich counter and I think it gets a bit overwhelming. Too often the sandwich is either overly toasted or underdone, as the lone man operating the sandwich press is also the one who has to put all the sandwiches together. When he gets its just right, however, the sandwiches are incredible – crispy, ooey gooey, salty, sweet, garlicky and mustardy. This time though, my sandwiches ended up a bit underdone, as the bread was still too fluffy and didn’t get a chance to crisp up. The fillings were hot though, and the cheese was still nicely melted.

Sandwich innards - the bread isn't as pressed down as it should be

After I picked up my sandwich, I ordered tostones from the woman running the register. I asked for garlic sauce (mojo) on top, and she nodded and went to get the tostones from the steam table side of the restaurant. She returned with a container, sans mojo. As she rang up my order, I again asked for garlic sauce, and she claimed they didn’t have any. Seriously? A Cuban restaurant doesn’t have mojo? Total BS.

Sad and dry tostones

I didn’t know what else to say, and there was a long line of people waiting so I just took my order and left. I don’t know if the woman just forgot about the mojo initially and then was too lazy to go back and get some, or what, but Josh and I get tostones all the time and they always put mojo on top of them for us. Their tostones without mojo are just dry, greasy, and flavorless. I wouldn’t have ordered them if I had known I couldn’t get any garlic sauce.

Luckily Josh’s coworkers leave around bottles of hot sauce at the office, so I played with a few varieties to top off the sadly dry tostones. My favorite was made from tomatillos and roasted garlic, which was nicely tangy but way too spicy for me. Next time I just won’t order the tostones until I confirm that there is mojo sauce available.

Roasted garlic and tomatillo hot sauce couldn't save the bad tostones

One bad tostone experience aside, I really do like Margon and their Cuban sandwiches. The sandwiches are gooey and greasy, but that’s what makes them so delicious. But it also means that they’re only an occasional treat for us, because contrary to popular belief, we do try to watch what we eat most of the time. At $6 each, they do make a really cheap and filling lunch.

Margon
36 West 46th St. between 6^th and 7^th Ave.
New York, NY

Tags: Cuban, Lunch, Midtown, Sandwiches
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Indus Express

Wednesday, July 1st, 2009 by virginia

DSCN0946

I first heard about Indus Express on Midtown Lunch and was intrigued by their naan sandwiches. You get your choice of filling, like basil chicken tikka or lamb sheesh kebab, and they heat it up on a griddle and wrap in into a big fluffy piece of naan. I had already tried kati rolls at the 46^th St. biryani cart but I always found the kati roll wraps to be too thin for my liking. The idea of using naan for a sandwich wrap seemed genius to me.

I met up with Josh for lunch and we decided to split a naan sandwich and a chaat. The special sandwich of the day was a mixed grill, which basically included all the meats available. It was a huge mishmash of chicken, lamb, and vegetables, all really well spiced and stuffed inside a piece of naan bread. I was excited to see them serving seasoned curly fries on the side. Those were a little cold but still tasty, and much better than the soggy homemade potato chips they served previously. There’s also a little salad on the side. It’s a lot of food for approximately $8.

Mixed grill naan sandwich and seasoned curly fries

I’ve had the samosa chaat previously and was horrified to see them microwave the already cooked samosas and then dunk them into the oil for a re-fry. This time I ordered the papri chaat instead, which was like big pieces of thick and crispy chips topped with cucumbers, potato, chickpeas, tomatoes, mango, red onion and cilantro. The whole thing was covered with yogurt and I think tamarind sauce. It was cool and refreshing and very tasty. We couldn’t even finish the portion in one sitting; I took half of it back to work and ate it as an afternoon snack later on. At only $5, this dish is a total steal.

Papri chaat

Indus Express is close to my office so it’s easy for me to pop in and grab a quick lunch. There are lots of tables in the back as well so you can eat in if you’d like. I’ve ordered the lunch specials before but I wasn’t the hugest fan of their curries. Everything was a bit watered down and not as flavorful as the curries I’ve had at other Indian restaurants. The naan sandwiches and the chaats are really good though, and I’ll keep going back for more. They really do make a cheap and filling lunch.

Indus Express
48 West 48^th St. between 5^th and 6^th Ave.
New York, NY

Tags: Indian, Lunch, Midtown
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Amadeus Pizza

Monday, June 15th, 2009 by virginia

After all the Chicago pizza we had over the weekend, I was craving good old NY style pizza, so I decided to try out a different pizzeria on my quest for the perfect go-to place to order in from. A quick look on seamlessweb showed Amadeus Pizza on 8^th Ave. between 51^st and 52^nd. I guess it was formerly a Ray’s pizza (whatever that means these days), but the menu had all my standard favorites, plus they were offering a 20% discount on all orders – sweet! So even though I’m on my own this week, as Josh is still in Vegas, I ordered all the things we would normally order, and figure that I can just pop any leftovers into the freezer for a quick reheat later on.

After the discount, my chicken parm hero, an order of garlic knots, and a large cheese pizza came out to just around $22 total, including tax and tip. Not too shabby. But how did it taste? It was by far the best pizza that I’ve had in a while. Please note though that we’re talking basic NY pizzeria style pizza, not the fancier kind, a la Grimaldi’s or Lombardi’s or even John’s. Those are a separate category, and are not included in my quest for the best ordering-in place.

Large plain cheese pizza

The chicken parm hero was seriously huge, though not as hot as I would have liked.

The chicken parm sub is almost as large as a bottle of wine

The chicken parm sub is almost as long as a bottle of wine

The chicken was meaty though, the breading wasn’t too soggy, and the sauce was well seasoned and nicely tangy. The cheese could have been melted a bit longer (I like when it turns a little brown and bubbly), but the bread was great. It’s a softer Italian roll without a crispy crust, but it was supple and chewy in a good way that complemented the sandwich. It kept everything together nicely and didn’t fall apart from the ample filling.

Chicken parm innards

The garlic knots were also a bit cold, but tasted great. Lots of real garlic, herbs, and just enough oil to keep it soft and moist, but not too much so that it drips on your hand and makes you feel gross.

Garlic knots topped with lots of fresh chopped garlic

The pizza was a bit floppy in the middle (I couldn’t get a good upskirt shot because it sagged too much), but the outer rim of the crust was super crispy and snapped audibly when I folded a slice in half. It wasn’t hard or brittle though, just crackly on the outside and chewy on the inside. The cheese was a bit salty, but otherwise, it was a pretty darn good pie.

Underside shot

I’m almost tempted to stop my quest right here but it’s not much of a quest if I quit after two places, right? So I’m moving on for now, and who knows, I might find a place that’s even better!

Amadeus Pizza
856 8th Ave. between 51^st and 52^nd St.
New York, NY

Tags: Delivery, Midtown, Pizza
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Quickie Recap: Emmett O’Lunney’s

Thursday, June 4th, 2009 by virginia

DSCN8460

I met up with Rodney for quick lunch so we decided to try some place new near our offices. He suggested Emmett O’Lunney’s, an Irish pub that I’ve been to for drinks after work, but never for food. We both opted for cheeseburgers with swiss. Mine was cooked medium rare to order, and had a nice thick layer of swiss, but the fries were a huge disappointment. They had that outer coating, similar to Burger King fries, that are supposed to make them crispier but just make them brittle and weird tasting.

Cheeseburger with swiss

Autopsy shot

Overall I’d still come back here for a drink, as it’s a large space and good for happy hour crowds, but I wouldn’t come back for the food. The cheeseburger was pricey at $12.95, and really not worth the expense. There are better places to get a bite to eat in the area.

Emmett O’Lunney’s
210 West 50^th St. between Broadway and 8^th Ave.
New York, NY

Tags: Burgers, Lunch, Midtown
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Sunrise Delicatessen

Tuesday, May 19th, 2009 by virginia

DSCN8064

Sunrise is pretty much a generic midtown deli but it offers a quick and reliable sandwich for those days when you don’t have time to linger over lunch. It’s located right across the street from Josh’s office and therefore makes it a convenient go-to place. We usually split two sandwiches – turkey and swiss on a roll with lettuce, tomato and honey mustard, and “The Godfather”, which is a huge Italian hero (salami, ham, provolone) with roasted peppers, lettuce and tomato. The honey mustard though is the thick gooey kind that packs a punch on your sinuses if you eat too much at once, and therefore I love it.

Turkey and swiss on a roll with honey mustard sauce on the side.

One of the best features of The Godfather is the bread that it’s served on, which is a quintessential chewy Italian bread with sesame seeds sturdy enough to contain the sandwich contents but not stale or too tough to bite through easily. A container of oil and vinegar on the side, drizzled on right before eating so that the sandwich doesn’t get soggy, is the perfect complement.

The Godfather

The Godfather, which includes a side of potato chips (sometimes slightly stale but always better than no chips at all, especially if you’re feeling a bit peckish), is really a great deal at $7.25 (the turkey and swiss sandwich clocks in at $7.50). If you didn’t have two fat bellies like us, you could definitely save a half for dinner and still be satisfied.

Sunrise Delicatessen
575 7th Ave. between 40th and 41st St.
New York, NY

Tags: Deli, Lunch, Midtown, Sandwiches
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Crisp

Monday, May 18th, 2009 by virginia

When Josh’s coworkers suggested picking up lunch from Crisp I was excited. Not having fulfilled my falafel craving on Sunday, I was eager to try Crisp’s version after reading some good reviews on the Midtown Lunch blog. Midtown Lunch is one of my favorite sites and has steered me towards many great meals. I love the blog’s philosophy of finding cheap, delicious and satisfying lunches in the giant tourist trap that is midtown. Zach enjoyed Crisp’s Mexican falafel so of course I had to follow suit. Boy was I disappointed.

The falafel ball itself was standard, a fact that I was already warned about. It was comparable to the falafel balls from Moshe’s truck – good, not great. The Mexican is also supposed to contain cilantro pesto, avocado, corn, salsa and nachos with jalapeno dressing. My first impression was that the sandwich was extremely dry; the tiny container of salsa did nothing to rectify that issue. The cilantro pesto was not spread evenly throughout the sandwich so some bites would be surprisingly overwhelming in cilantro flavor. I tasted no avocado at all. And what the heck is “nachos with jalapeno dressing?” I found two slices pickled jalapenos on top, the kind that come from a jar and are standard on any plate of nachos, but there were no tortilla chips or cheese or anything resembling “nachos.” Am I missing something here? But the worst offender for me was the corn, which tasted like it was dumped straight from a can and had that chewy, tough quality to it. I guess for a place that touts how “fresh” its ingredients are, I was expecting fresh corn bursting with sweet goodness. I should have known better, especially since corn is such a seasonal ingredient and fresh corn isn’t available year round. I eventually tried to pick out as many of the kernals as I could but there were a lot of them and the tinny flavor of the canned corn had already permeated throughout the sandwich.

The Mexican

I did like the packaging of the sandwich though, as it was contained in a cardboard sleeve that prevented the sandwich from falling apart. Messiness is something I usually can’t avoid when eating falafel, and I was able to keep from spilling on myself this time. I kept the cardboard sleeve on the whole time and just pushed the sandwich up from the bottom, like one does with an apple pie from McDonalds.

Overall I was disappointed with the Mexican, but I did have a bite of Josh’s Parisian sandwich that I thought was much tastier. You really have to like goat cheese to enjoy that sandwich though, as it was completely smothered with it.

The Parisian

His coworkers tried the Athenian and the African, and both of them enjoyed theirs as well. I guess mine was a fluke? I’m not going to write this place off based on one bad sandwich experience, as I can see the potential in their different flavor combinations. And while the corn was bad, the whole wheat pita was soft and fluffy and the other ingredients were nicely seasoned. It is pretty pricey for a falafel sandwich, though the Mexican is one of the cheapest at $7.75; the Parisian is $9.75. It was a very filling lunch, however, so I think it could be worth the price. I’ll have to sample some of the other sandwiches before I pass final judgment on this place.

Crisp (multiple locations)
110 West 40th St. between 6th Ave. and Broadway
New York, NY

Tags: Falafel, Lunch, Midtown
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