Quick NYC Lunches: Margon in Midtown and Cuchifritos in East Harlem

Was in the mood for Cuban food and in the Times Square area and stopped by Margon, a no frills, Cuban restaurant.  The prices for lunch were reasonable for the midtown area, with most combos under $10.  Dishes come with a dish of rice, plantains, and beans (I believe the fried chicken chunk combo was $8?)  Though the lunch rush was crazy and the restaurant was packed for eat in and to-go orders,  the wait for a table was quick due to the cafeteria style dining.

I ordered the fried chicken chunks, which were very tasty and crisp.  It came with some delicious pickled onions.

The combos come with a side of choice of rice, beans, and plantains.  I chose the dirty rice.

Walk by quickly and you will miss out on this small easy to miss restaurant.

Other recommended dishes were the oxtail, octopus salad, and Cuban and steak sandwiches.  You can read more reviews and see more of the food selections on Yelp.

Work brings me all over the city and I was eager to try some Puerto Rican food when I was in East Harlem.  I settled on Cuchifritos, a small diner type restaurant with counter seating only.  The restaurant's name Cuchifritos basically means that most things are fried (as you can see from looking closely at the window display).   

Pernil (roast pig) is one of my favorite spanish dishes, so I ordered that instead of any of the fried goodies.  I will have The pernil is a lot more tender than from most places that I've had in the Lower East Side.  At $6, it was quite a steal!  The delicious pernil comes with a mountain of rice and beans as well.

Margon

136 West 46th st

NYC

Cuchifritos

168 East 116st

(between 3rd and Lexington)

in East Harlem