Midtown Lunch

As promised, I attempted to make it up to the new Upper West Side Shake Shack today in under an hour.  Unlike the the lunch’er who made the Monday attempt, I took the 1 Train.  I also didn’t leave early, or late- I went in prime lunching hour.  Here is how it went down…

12:17 Enter 1 Station on Broadway and 50th
12:23 Get on the Train
12:30 Train Arrives at 79 St. and Broadway
12:35 Get online at the Shack, which stretches out the door
12:55 Get to the counter to place order
12:58 Food is Ready

Now at this point, you could leave and make it back- in theory. We decided to stay.

13:17 Done Eating
13:25 Enter subway station at 79th and Broadway
13:26 Train Arrives
13:33 Exit Station at Broadway and 50th

1 Hour, 16 Minutes. A few things worth noticing… 5 mins from subway to the shack. 8 minutes to get back. You walk slower after eating lunch at the Shake Shack. You can easily shave 20 minutes off this time by taking your food to go, and you could aruge that the B is faster? Not sure. So, technically we could have made it there and back in under an hour- provided our office was located at the door of the subway station. You still have to make it from your office to the station.

Either way, the burger was great- but I will not be going back anytime soon. And it has nothing to do with the time.

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Sometimes I think my endless quest for the best chicken parm sub in Midtown is exactly that. Endless. I don’t even know what chicken parm perfection would be. Obviously being cheap is an important quality. Good cheese… that’s good too. I can’t decide if I like the chicken pounded thin or left thick, but either way is fine- as long as it’s not dried out. I don’t like too much sauce, but I know some people do. And of course the bread has to be good.

I don’t know if I can pick a favorite, but the there have been decent versions from La Belleza III/La Belleca, Lazzarra’s (38th btw. 7+8th), the Tuscany Catering place on 55th btw. 5+6th, Mondelo (37th btw. Mad+5th), and Little Italy (45th btw. 5+6th). I tried the one at Park Italian (across the street from Little Italy) and remember the bread being bad. But I should probably give it another shot.

With the exception of Lazzarra’s, which is more of a sit down restaurant than a quick take out place, none of the places listed above make their chicken parm to order. Bella Vita (on 58th btw. 6+7th) bucks the trend, giving you a made to order chicken parm, in a take out setting. (No relation to the sit down restaurant on 43rd St.)

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From the Midtown Lunch inbox this morning: “Just as a heads up, I went to grab breakfast this morning from Ying Du (on 38th btw. 7+8th) and it was closed… AGAIN. They said something in “english” about construction in the basement or something and will be closed for about 3 days… Where will I get my grimy Chinese food fix?” *Sigh* No word on if this is related to their DOH closing last month, but there is only so much abuse I’m willing to put up with before I stop going back. Who am I kidding. I’ll always go back.

I guess they couldn’t stand being the only dessert Vendy Award nominee without a regular Midtown spot… the Van Leeuwen Ice Cream Truck is parked on the NE corner of 57th st and 5th Ave right now. Their other truck is still in its regular spot in Soho, but they hope to park this second truck in Midtown at least a few days a week. We’ll see how it goes…

They’ll be at this spot until 4pm, and then will probably move somewhere else. (I’ll keep you updated on this post if they move today.)

Every Tuesday I turn over the site to a different Midtown Lunch’er for his or her recommendations for the best lunch in Midtown. This week, it’s Adam- an engineer who loves chaat and was willing to fill out the profile, even though he doesn’t have a blog to promote. Now that’s balls!

Name: Adam

Age: 24

Occupation: Engineer. I don’t have a blog.

Where in Midtown do you Work?: 37th & 5th

Favorite Kind of Food: I love campfire food. And breakfast for dinner. And Turkish cuisine. And a good Paraguayan asado. And DiFara’s square pizza. And Vietnamese. So hard to choose!

Least Favorite Kind of Food: I can’t do the by the pound midtown deli buffets anymore, after an unfortunate encounter with some funky sesame chicken which left me with food poisoning throwing up all afternoon. I also detest the average heated up when you order after sitting for a while slice of pizza which is all too prevalent in Midtown.

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Midtown: I eat falafel in Bryant Park from my homeboys at NE corner 40th and Broadway at least 2 or 3 times a week. Combining the frugality of a $4.00 lunch and the pleasure of a lunch out of the office in the park with a good book is my personal favorite. My other regulars include the JT Lunchenette (on B’way and 35th) for good and hearty spanish food or a cheap pepper steak sandwich. I used to go to Indus Express (on 48th btw. 5+6th) for chaat, but that has been replaced by Taj Delhi chaat (on 6th Ave. btw. 37+38th) due to proximity to the office.  Sometimes Toyama (on 36th St. btw. 5+6th) for sushi, and when it’s really cold the Au Bon Pain 20 feet from the door of my building for soup in a breadbowl. I’ll go to Gaam (on 30th and 5th) for Indian when I feel like going out of midtown lunch price range by a dollar or two. And finally, the cheesesteaks at the truck at the SE corner of 40th and Broadway may not quite live up to my south Philly Tony Luke’s standards, but they do still hit the spot when I crave grease and cholesterol.

“Go-To” Lunch Place You and Your Coworkers Eat at Too Often? I have turned a couple of co-workers on to Taj Delhi chaat and we’ll go to Gaam for a nice long lunch once in a while but normally I eat by my lonesome. Catered lunch & learns aren’t uncommon here which can turn us all into a pack of tuna salad sandwich crazed vultures.

Place(s) you discovered thanks to Midtown Lunch? I must thank ML for my chaat obsession and for the after 2pm pizza at Naples 45 (on 45th btw. Park+Madison). Also, the former Spanish food serving Blimpie that was on 38th and 6th. I’ve been meaning to check out Biryani cart but haven’t gotten around to it yet.

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I hate supporting crap like this, but as a service to all of you dudes who I know will be into it- I feel obligated.  (And you know who you are.) According to this press release, Ivanka Trump will be outside of the Grace Building in Midtown today (on 42nd Street & 6th Ave) handing out free <product whose name is not worth mentioning because it goes against everything this site stands for>.  Unfortunately, I cannot vouch for the accuracy of the press release, because I found it randomly… in other words, stalk at your own risk.

As if the Gray’s Papaya news wasn’t bad enough… this hit the inbox yesterday afternoon about Pop Burger (on 58th btw. Park+Madison):  “Not sure when it happened, but the price of the two pop burgers at the 58th street location are up to $7. They also can’t get much more dry. Just not worth it anymore.” With Five Guys Burgers and Fries on 55th btw. 5+6th, I have to say I totally agree. Reminder: When this place opened less than a year ago, two burgers were $5.

Related: Pop Burger Food Porn May Appear Larger Than it Actually is