Well, this is my first real experience with blogging, so I hope you’ll all forgive me if I bore you to death. I just thought that this would be a good place for bored and not so bored mothers to share their stuff. I guess that would be anything from TV to Biking (not to mention sushi and men) so here goes!

• Musings and Travels
• Alive and Safe and maybe never going whitewater rafting again!
• My Next Vacation
• I can breathe in Yosemite

Midtown Lunch has a new home located at

www.midtownlunch.com

If you are interested in reading about Chiyoda, you can go directly to this page:

http://midtownlunch.com/blog/2006/12/07/chiyoda-sushi-aka-more-japanese-fun/

Midtown Lunch has a new home located at

www.midtownlunch.com

If you are interested in reading about Todai, you can go directly to this page:

http://midtownlunch.com/blog/2006/11/06/todai-aka-the-buffet-formerly-known-as-minado-2/

After snapping the picture of the new Sophie’s Cuban Cuisine set to open on 56th St. I happened upon a place that caught my interest.  What appeared to be a generic middle of the road Midtown sushi joint, had placed a cooler/glass case in front of their restaurant and were selling pre-made little boxes of sushi and other Japanese food… and there was a line.  I love sushi, and am always looking for good, cheap sushi at lunch, but I usually avoid the restaurant places because they are a little bit more money then I want to spend, and I don’t really eat at sit down places for lunch.  I’ll make exceptions for buffets, and really good ramen places… but sushi restaurants, I tend to avoid.

But this one was selling boxes of sushi out front, and that makes it exciting!  I don’t know what it is about setting up shop on a sidewalk that makes something more appetizing to me, but it just does.   Sell fresh made delicious sushi (or BBQ, or falafel, or gyro or teriyaki for that matter), in a restaurant where I have to sit, order, wait and then tip, and I’ll hesitate.  But take the same food, put it in a to go container, and sell it on the sidewalk for the same price- and I’ll be the first one on line.   

What they’ve got, the pictures, and the +/- after the jump…

One of the biggest problems with pre-made sushi is you don’t get to order exactly what you want.  If you don’t like California rolls, than you’re in trouble- because usually every “combo” has at least part California roll… and this place is no different.  Each box has two rolls in it (12 pieces).  You can get all one thing (all California Roll is $5, all Spicy Tuna is $7, all EEl roll is $7) or two things mixed together.  California and Spicy Tuna is $6, California and Eel is $6.  They also had Salmon Skin which you could get alone (for $7) or in a combo with California roll (for $6) and a tempura shrimp roll combo (with California roll) that also costs $7.

I don’t like California rolls… so normally I would avoid a place like this.  My ultimate combo is Spicy Tuna and Eel (I like to alternate bites of sweet cooked, with spicy raw… a very nice combination), and although it wasn’t on the menu they had up on the wall- when I got up to the front of the line they had a Spicy Tuna/Eel combo!!!  Very exciting… especially because the guy in front of me ordered the very last one, and then changed his mind at the last second. 

It was a very scary moment, and I’m glad I wasn’t forced to order a California roll combo.  (I can see the headline now… “Fat Man Kills Investment Banker in Midtown Sushi Line”)  The Spicy Tuna/Eel combo is clearly a favorite and is also the most expensive, clocking in at a big $7.50.  It doesn’t come with Miso soup, but you can get a small soup for $1 (which I did).

There were good and bad things about the sushi here.  First and foremost, it’s pre-packaged so it is not going to be as good as sushi you order at a restaurant, but it was fresher then most… and because it was made at a real sushi restaurant the rice is much better then most of the sushi sold at delis.  The price is not bad, even though the sushi rolls were only 6 piece rolls (some places give you 8 piece rolls/16 piece combos) but at least they don’t use the trick containers.  Do you know what I’m talking about?  You buy sushi at places like Food Emporium, Amish Market or some deli, and they are put in these plastic containers are not very deep…. so what looks like a normal size sushi roll from the top, ends up being only half the height of a normal sushi roll.  That’s how they getcha!  These sushi rolls are of normal height, and while they don’t have a ton of filling, they are not too skimpy.

If you like the actual pieces of sushi, they had a few combos featuring that for $9 and $10 depending on how many pieces of sushi you want, etc.  I don’t usually go for straight up pieces of sushi at take out places, so I can’t speak to how good it is at this place.  Rolls are a much better bet when you’re going the cheap route.  If you want something in between (a roll with pieces of sushi laid over the top), they do have a Rainbow roll for $10.

Finally, they had a couple of bento box options which looked pretty good.  I’m a pretty big fan of the Japanese fried chicken covered in sweet sauce ($6), and Yakisoba (Japanese stir fried noodles for $6), but both of those are served with California rolls.  I guess you can’t win them all.  Edamame and Seaweed salad are both available for $2, but with those you start pushing your lunch closer to the $10 mark.  Although for a nice and quick sushi lunch, I guess it’s not so bad…

The +

• It’s made at a “real” sushi restaurant, so the rice is much better than a lot of the deli sushi
• It’s pretty cheap
• The stand being outside makes it pretty quick and easy
• They had a combo with Spicy Tuna and Eel, which is a big plus for me! 
• They have other bento boxes besides sushi
• There aren’t as many choices as some of the delis, so it is probably made more often and fresher

The -

• Places like this live and die by their combos.  If you don’t like the choices, than you are screwed.  Most combos come with California roll, so if you don’t like California roll, you probably won’t be into this place.
• You don’t get as many choices as some of delis which larger selections.
• The rolls are 6 piece rolls/12 piece combos… instead of 8 piece rolls/16 piece combos
• It doesn’t come with free miso soup
• It’s still pre-made sushi… so it’s not going to be as good as ordering it fresh at a restaurant

Kiiroi Hana (To Go), 20 W. 56th St. (btw. 5+6th), 212-956-0127

I think I’ve said this before, but I’m going to say it again.  I love food courts.  What’s there not to like?  It’s like 20 cheap restaurants, all under the same roof.  Sure I always get the Chinese food, or the Chinese food knock off (bourbon chicken I’m looking at you)… but having the options (whether you use them or not) is great- because if you go with other people, everyone can get what they want.  So when I want Chinese food (which I always do), my wife and I can go to a food court even if she doesn’t want Chinese food, because there’s other things for her to get!  It’s a fool proof scheme…

There aren’t many food courts in Manhattan (you’ve gotta go to a mall in the suburbs for that), but there are a few.  And one, that seems like it should be amazing, is the Grand Central Terminal Food Court.  One walk through this place, and you’ll think you’ve died and gone to food court heaven.  No wasted space on generic fast food joints like McDonalds or BK, and they have all the requisite food options (Chinese, Sushi, Indian, Cajun, Caribbean, BBQ, Pizza, and more.) 

And yet, for a food court- with a ton of options- right in the middle of Midtown, it’s not nearly as crowded as you would think.  None of the places have lines, and we didn’t have too much trouble finding a place to sit.  To top it off, I get emails all the time recommending places to eat in Midtown.  Very few “good” (a relative term of course) or popular places have gone unrecommended.  And yet, nobody has ever recommended the food court, or singled out any of the choices in an email.

A superficial look at the options, more pictures, and a call to arms… after the jump.

Here’s a look at some of the more interesting options at the food court, with some initial thoughts (none of them from actually eating the food…)

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  • Feng Shui – The requisite Chinese option.  Doesn’t look great, but I’ve seen worse.  Ironically, it seems as if all the flies in the entire building have flocked to this corner of the food court (in much the same way the Manhattan flies seem to hover around Chinatown).  Maybe it is part of the “positive energy flow” of the restaurant set up…
  • Golden Krust Carribbean Bakery - I love Golden Krust.  They actually have a bunch of locations around Manhattan where they sell different kind of patties, and various curried meats.  The one in the terminal is a kiosk with a limited menu, but they have jerk chicken patties (which is enough for me).  Despite being in a kiosk, the patties are baked fresh on premises.
  • Dishes – A smaller version of the enormously popular soup, salad & sandwich place on 45th btw. Madison & 5th
  • Jaques-Imo’s To Geaux - A to-go version of the Cajun restaurant on the Upper West Side, that is a New York version of the famous Jacques-Imo’s in New Orleans.  Their specialty is fried chicken.  (Full review, coming this week)
  • Chirping Chicken – Rotisserie Chicken with sides.  Looked pretty good (aside from there being nobody there)
  • Two Boots – Another outpost of this “not your average” pizza place.
  • And the rest of the bunch… Cafe Spice for Indian, Hale & Hearty Soup, Mendy’s, Junior’s, Masa Sushi, Eata Pita, Brother Jimmy’s BBQ, and Zocalo.

Having eaten at Jacques Imo’s to Geaux, and Golden Krust (in the food court), I can see why people aren’t flocking to recommend these places.  If you’ve ever eaten at the real Jacques-Imo’s in New Orleans, it is easy to be disappointed by the po-boys and fried chicken at the New York version (full review coming later on this week)… and Golden Krust,  like many of the restaurants in the food court, was more expensive then it’s other locations in NYC ($3.50 for a jerk chicken patty.  I could be wrong, but I remember them being at least a buck cheaper at the location over by Madison Sq. Garden).

I understand the whole rent thing, but everything is a little more expensive then it should be in Grand Central Terminal.  But can that be the only reason it is not insanely popular?  Are all the places just terrible, or in the end does it just come down to price?  “Let the tourists coming in on trains pay the high prices… I know cheaper places above ground”. 

In the end, I feel like it can’t be just about price.  Midtown Lunches can get pretty expensive, and these still come in under $10.  So what is it?  Are all these places just terrible, or are there some jems in the Grand Central Terminal Food Court?  Help us out people.  If you’ve eaten at one of these places, comment below on what you thought.  Is one of your favorite places to eat lunch in the food court at Grand Central?  Or all they all just wasted money.  Let us know by commenting below…

In the weeks ahead I’ll try to dedicate some full reviews to the places worth mentioning.  I’m not ready to let this food court go.  It has got to at least be better than the one below Rockefeller Center!

Midtown Lunch has a new home located at

www.midtownlunch.com

If you would like to read about Arang- this link will take you directly to the new page:

http://midtownlunch.com/blog/2006/08/07/arang-koreansushi-buffet-2/

If you read this blog every day, I’m sure you get the general idea of my taste.  I’m not really into those delis that litter midtown with their “choice”.  Choice to me is 
“Do I get my combo with the pork fried rice, or lo mein?”.  I consider most sandwiches kind of boring, and I never imagined I could eat a salad for lunch.  That is, until I met the Variety Cafe… and I let my guard down.  I allowed myself to fall in love with this Variety Cafe place, and their wonderful salad bar for fat people… only to have my heart ripped in half by their disregard for serving said salad without rodent droppings.

“I’ll never eat at a deli/salad bar place again” I said to myself (I use slashes when I talk- that’s pronounced “deli slash salad bar”), that is, until I found Cafe Duke.  From the outside it looks like your typical Manhattan lunch place.  The name, the decor, the salad bar, buffet by the pound, rotisserie bar, sandwiches and paninis, wraps and of course the sushi bar.  But, hidden in the back left hand corner is the real gem of the place… The Korean Food station!

That’s right, Bi Bim Bap, Bulgogi and Korean soup, being served in the back of a Midtown deli.  Bastards!  I can feel myself falling in love all over again…

The food porn, and +/- after the jump…
I don’t know if you noticed, but there is no cheap Korean food in Midtown.  So what do you do when you’re in the mood for some Bi Bim Bap or Bulgogi?  Well, now you have Cafe Duke.  $7.95 is not the cheapest price in the world, but it will have to do- since there is no other option.  I went with the Bulgogi (Korean Style marinated beef over rice), which I now see was a little bit of a mistake, since the meat they serve over the Beef Bi Bim Bap is the Bulgogi- so if you order the Bi Bim Bap you get all the extra vegeatables and the egg, but still get the meat (granted it’s less meat- but if you like variety, Bi Bim Bap is the way to go).  They give you a pretty decent size portion, with rice and kimchee (fermented cabbage- which tastes exactly as it sounds).

I’m a big fan of kimchee, but the one they serve is a little disappointing… so don’t expect too much from that, but the bulgogi was pretty good- especially considering it’s from a fast food deli.  The Bi Bim Bap is obviously the fresh version (no option of having it served in a hot pot).  It’s served in a plastic container that normally houses a salad or sandwich- but it looked good enough.  They also had these Soft Tofu soups that seemed to be pretty popular.

The best part is, you don’t have to convince your boring co-workers to go to some “weird” cheap Korean place.  So while they’re munching away on their $6.95 salad bar, you can be enjoying your Korean lunch that you didn’t have to go all the way to 32nd street to get!

SIDE NOTE:  If you are reading this, and YOU ARE the boring co-worker, Cafe Duke is a great replacement for Variety Cafe (and even a little bit nicer).  The salad bar is pretty comparable ($6.95 for 6 toppings), and they have a fresh deli area (where they can make any kind of sandwich you want, with freshly cut meats), a “Cosi”-like bar where they make sandwiches on wood brick oven baked flat bread, a fresh sushi bar, a Rotisserie bar, soups, and wraps.  They also have an Udon bar (the tempura shrimp Udon looked pretty good).

Everything is slightly more expensive then it should be (by maybe a dollar) but the place is really nice, clean and comfortable- plus there’s a nice seating area with a flat screen TV, although it gets filled up pretty quickly- so get there early, or be willing to wait.

THE +

• There’s something for everyone.  Korean food for you, boring deli food for your co-workers
• Did I mention there’s Korean food?
• Cleaner then most Deli’s in the city, with a nice seating area that has two flat screen T.V.’s

THE -

• I know, I know… there’s better Korean food to be had just 20 blocks south in Koreatown- but not everybody can make it down there for lunch (For those who can, I will be reviewing Arang- a Korean buffet, next week)
• Everything is about a buck or two more then it should be, in order to be considered cheap
• The kimchee was not that good
• It’s a frickin’ deli in Midtown, and mediocre Korean food doesn’t change that

Cafe Duke, 140 W. 51st. (btw. 6+7th Ave.), 212-445-0010

Does cheap, pre-packaged sushi that’s good exist?  Or is it some sort of enigma- like cheap General Tso’s made with real chicken.  Is it even possible?  Or, is pre-packaged sushi all bad, because it is pre-packaged?

Now, I should probably quantify what I’m talking about, because the word “sushi” can mean so many different things.  I feel like when talking about good sushi, you can divide people into two main camps.  The first camp is the real fish eaters.  People who love sashimi (just the raw fish) and/or sushi (slice of fish laid over some rice).  The more you spend, the fresher and better the fish, so you don’t really want too much of a bargain when it comes to eating this kind of sushi.  If you are in this camp, and can’t imagine eating sushi that doesn’t fall into this category- you might as well stop reading… because my search is for something totally different.  You might say “The cheap stuff”.

The second category, is the rolls camp.  When someone in this camp says ”I love sushi”, they really mean, I love rolls.  Totally different animal, because in this camp the flavor of the roll doesn’t necessarily come from the fish.  In these rolls the fish comes prepared in many different ways.   Fried in batter (tempura), chopped and mixed with mayo (spicy tuna rolls), or sometimes in a special “imitation” form that isn’t actually fish (that crab stuff in cheap California rolls).  Liking rolls also means that you can probably tolerate eating at cheaper places…

Which brings us to my dilemna.  I’m one of those people who falls in both camps.  I can enjoy the $100 omakase at a real deal sushi place, but I can also eat a $4 pre-packaged Eel & Avocado or Spicy Tuna roll with the best of them.  And when it comes to having lunch in Midtown, I’m looking for that elusive cheaper, quicker option. 

With that in mind, I had lunch at Yummy Sushi the other day.  It’s a take out only, quick sushi place underneath Rockefeller Center.  It’s fairly cheap, good selection and like most cheap sushi- not particularly great.

What we ate, the +/- and my plea for help, after the jump…

Shrimp Tempura Roll, $5.95

If you fry anything, it’s going to taste good… of course if it’s pre-packaged and sits for an hour- it’s not exactly going to be hot (but it’s still sort of good).

Spicy Tuna Roll, $3.95

Not a good fish to rice ratio (as you can clearly see from the picture).  Oh, and by the way- to all you people who eat sushi because it’s “low fat”, spicy tuna rolls have mayo in it.  Sorry to ruin it…

“Lunch Box 1″, $7.95

Your choice for variety.  The shumai are probably the best part (not good or great- just best)… it also comes with salad, a tuna roll, edamame and miso soup.

THE + (What people who like this place will say)

• It’s quick and easy
• It’s cheap
• It’s at the bottom of my building (I’m guessing most people who eat there, work in Rockefeller Center)

THE -

• It’s pre-packaged sushi.  All pre-packaged sushi sucks.
• Not enough fish in the rolls
• Not fresh enough
• Once you start getting into the combos with Teriyaki and multiple rolls, it’s almost as expensive as a sit down place

All in all it was a pretty mediocre lunch, and it got me wondering if there is any good take out sushi in Midtown.  All the delis have it, so somebody must be eating it, right?  So help me out.  There’s got to be a place where they have pre-packaged sushi that actually tastes good (for pre-packaged sushi).  Here’s my guidelines:

1. I’m not a big California Roll fan.  It’s gotta be good Spicy Tuna, Eel or Salmon & Avocado or something like that
2. They’ve got to have a chef making the sushi during the lunch-time hours.  That guarantees that at least it hasn’t been sitting there since the morning
3. Take out only.  No sit down places… not even if you take it to go.  (I know there are good sit down places with good lunch specials that you can order and take it to go- but that’s not what I’m looking for)
4. It’s gotta be cheap and of course- it’s gotta be in Midtown

Just post your suggestions as comments to this post… and remember- next time someone says “I love sushi, you should try this place”,  make sure to ask them what camp they fall into… or you might be stuck eating “the best” california rolls in the city.

Yummy Sushi, 30 Rockefeller Plaza (Concourse Level), 212-459-2100