Unusual cuisine in Midtown?

[abloomcinti]

I am staying in Midtown for 4 nights and looking for some unusual cuisines to try. I am planning to go to Cafe Mingala one night, as I LOVE Burmese food. Do you have any suggestions for other places ... Asian cuisine preferred, but really I am game for anything. Thanks in advance!

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Cafe Mingala
1393 2nd Ave, New York, NY 10021

[s.piller]

Try Chom Chom for interesting Korean food on 56th between 5th & 6th.

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Chom Chom
40 W 56th St, New York, NY 10019

[orthorunner]

Agree with many of the excellent suggestions for ethnic cuisine (midtown west is the perfect spot to start), including Gazala Place, Toloache, Kyotofu, Tehuitzingo, and others.
If you need any more options...
Yakitoro Totto was mentioned; there is also Totto Ramen on 52nd which is a hole in the wall but has lines down the block for ramen.
Azuri Cafe for Middle Eastern/Israeli
Ethiopian: Queen of Sheba
South African Xai Xai

I would lean toward those already suggested or Azuri out of the options, but if you are interested in a particular cuisine, wanted to throw the others out there.
There is also a new place that just opened called Ember Room that has some well known names behind it; it is at 45th and 9th. Pure Thai Shophouse is also relatively new but has gotten good feedback.

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Tehuitzingo
695 10th Ave, New York, NY 10036

Kyotofu
705 9th Ave, New York, NY 10019

Toloache
251 West 50th Street, New York, NY 10019

Gazala Place
709 9th Ave, New York, NY 10019

Azuri Cafe
465 W 51st St, New York, NY 10019

Queen of Sheba
650 10th Ave, New York, NY 10036

Xai Xai
365 W 51st St, New York, NY 10019

Totto Ramen
366 W 52nd St, New York, NY 10019

Pure Thai Cookhouse
766 9th Ave, New York, NY 10019

Ember Room
647 9th Ave, New York, NY 10036

[citykid426]

I agree with the previous posts about Ilili and Hagi. I've been to both. Hagi is hands down my favorite in that area for underground Japanese. You have to go early though (5-6pm), otherwise you'll have to wait at least 30 minutes to get in. Lots of Asian people go there, not as many tourists because it's hard to find (down a flight of stairs, very unassuming). Ilili definitely if you wanna try Lebanese. A Lebanese friend took me here and their food is delish.

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Ilili
236 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10001

[Mr Porkchop]

Gazala's Place (Druze) and Taam Tov (Bukharan) strike me as cuisines you don't find on every street corner. I'd probably stick to Taam Tov for lunch, however.

I think Sake Bar Hagi, mentioned above, is another good choice. There are a few Ethiopian places in Hell Kitchen, which may or may not be that unique, depending on where you're coming from.

I enjoy Pio Pio on 10th for Peruvian. You might (or might not) be surprised how Asian-influenced authentic Peruvian food can be.

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Pio Pio
210 E 34th St, New York, NY 10016

Gazala's
380 Columbus Ave, New York, NY 10024

[coasts]

you know, i've been a long time supporter of Hagi, but the last few times i've been i found the food to be a turnoff. i'm still glad to go for a couple of boxes of sake and some bacon wrapped enoki, but i'll limit my dishes to just a select few. their noodle dishes, in particular, have me nauseous at the thought.

[E Eto]

Gotta agree. Most Japanese don't go to Hagi to seek good food. They go to get good value on drinks. The food at Hagi is very unspectacular, sometimes bad. You can find similar grub at other izakayas in midtown, and better grub at places like Donburi-ya, Riki, Hatsuhana, Katsuhama, Udon West, Onya, and then go up another level of quality if you go to the Totto places, Sakagura, Tori Shin, Momokawa, just to name a few.

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Sakagura
211 East 43rd Street, New York, NY 10017

Hatsuhana
17 E 48th St, New York, NY 10017

Donburi-ya
137 E 47th St, New York, NY 10017

Udon West
150 E 46th St, New York, NY 10017

Momokawa
157 E 28th St, New York, NY 10016

Onya
143 E 47th St, New York, NY 10017

[restaurantbrat]

Bali Nusa Indah on 9th Ave between 45th and 46th is a great little Indonesian joint. Not many of those in Manhattan. Really fantastic otak-otak (BBQ fishcake in pandan leaves), Sop Buntut Blora (oxtail soup, hearty, delicious) and Kari Ayam (curry chicken). Their beef rendang, cooked in a medley of fragrant spices, is tremendous. And their mee (noodle) and nasi (rice) dishes are relatively authentic.

http://restaurantbrat.com

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Bali Nusa Indah
651 9th Ave, New York, NY 10036

[Delucacheesemonger]

Hangawi, in little korea, is a vegetarian korean that is beautiful, quiet and has great food and service

[uniqueusername]

Agree with many of these great suggestions, especially Toloache and Totto but if you don't mind travelling a little, and fancy trying Tibetan, I'm a fan of Tsampa on East 9th Street

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Tsampa
212 E 9th St, New York, NY 10003

[Bob Martinez]

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/673788

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/717788

[kathryn]

Szechuan Gourmet - Sichuan, try the tongue & tripe, the rabbit, conch, frogs, sea cucumber, duck tongues...
Madangsui - Korean BBQ, oyster scallion pancakes, I think they have a 2 person minimum for BBQ though
Yakitori Totto - get there early to try skewers of chicken liver, chicken gizzard, chicken heart, chicken knee, chicken neck, chicken tail, chicken oyster ("rare part of chicken thigh")
Kyotofu
Toloache - huitlacoche or grasshopper tacos, any one?
Akdeniz
Pam's Real Thai
Tehuitzingo
Tulcingo de Valle
Chez Napoleon (old school French restaurant) - kidney, calf's brains, rabbit, quail, frogs legs, sweetbreads

For non-Western European/American
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/729498
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/731732

Foreign Street Grub
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/701278

totally obscure, odd, and intriguing menu items
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/722130

See also http://midtownlunch.com/lunch-by-food... for lots of reviews of places in Midtown.

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Tehuitzingo
695 10th Ave, New York, NY 10036

Yakitori Totto
251 W 55th St, New York, NY 10019

Toloache
251 West 50th Street, New York, NY 10019

Madangsui
35 W 35th St, New York, NY 10001

Szechuan Gourmet
21 W 39th St, New York, NY 10018

Chez Napoleon
365 W 50th St, New York, NY 10019

Akdeniz
19 W 46th St, New York, NY 10036

Kyotofu
144 W 18th St, New York, NY 10011

[bigmackdaddy]

Hagi, on 152 West 49th Street. It's a Japanese sake bar and appetizer place. No sushi, but delicious pork belly yakitori and sauteed garlic sprouts.

[Blumie]

It's hard to know what qualifies as unusual, but Ilili, a wonderful Lebanese place on Fifth Ave and 27th St, might qualify. I ate there for the first time last week and loved it!

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Ilili
236 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10001

[gutsofsteel]

Do you have to stay in midtown?

[abloomcinti]

No, but I am more interested in places closer to where I am staying.

[Riverman500]

Ma Peche is great.

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Ma Peche
15 W 56th St, New York, NY 10019

[ellenost]

Agree with Riverman500 about Ma Peche; it's one of my favorite restaurants.

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Ma Peche
15 W 56th St, New York, NY 10019