Plate to Mouth
Where: Carribean Kitchen – One Penn Plaza, New York, NY 10001 (between 33rd & 34th St. in an alley between 7 & 8th Avenues)
Occasion: I had to go meet with my tax person. (Ugh! Yes, it’s that time of the year again, and it sucks!) Since our meeting time of 2:00pm was right around when my fullness from oatmeal usually wore off, I planned to grab some late lunch right after. Then, I’d have enough time to do a bit of shopping before heading off to work. Perfect. So, I consulted Midtown Lunch to guide me to a cheap satisfying meal around Macy’s (close to where my tax person’s office is). I put in the location, and voilà, it gave me Carribean Kitchen.
Atmosphere: Just as described, it was located in a sort of alleyway. There it was a few feet from where I turned the corner, sharing a space with Bruce Burger, another fast food joint.
Dish: Oxtail Lunch Special – $8.50
Yes, it was fast food, but man, it tasted home cooked. I got the oxtail and requested extra gravy on my rice (just like Lunch’er Danny suggested), and I could not have been more satisfied. My $8.50 meal included rice, plantains, and amazingly flavorful chunks of oxtail that were fall-off-the-bone tender (not like Lunch’er Danny described).
It was such a sunny day out that instead of eating it in the Carribean Kitchen/Bruce Burger’s crowded indoor area, I headed back to the alleyway, where seating could be found. I snagged myself a spot, prepared my napkins for the mess I was going to make with all that sauce, and devoured my food (half of which I couldn’t finish and ended up as another meal). It was completely enjoyable, and despite wanting to call friends to tell them of this great lunch I was having, I couldn’t break away from the rhythm of food from plate to mouth, plate to mouth, plate to mouth. (It was actually tupperware, but plate just sounded better.) And you know what? I couldn’t even be bothered by the hopping of a pigeon around my feet trying to score some morsels, the whipping of my hair all over the place from the strong wind, and the incessant soundtrack of a crazy woman a few feet away from me, wailing profanities over a former lover. If anything, it made me smile. Another day in New York…a good day and a great lunch.
Verdict: YUMMY
