Schnipper’s May Have the Best Mac & Cheese in Midtown

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It’s funny how different people can view a restaurant in completely different ways.  Take Schnipper’s Quality Kitchen, the newly opened self serve diner in the New York Times Building (on 8th Ave. & 41st) opened by the original founders of Hale & Hearty Soup.  When Josh Ozersky, Profiled Midtown Lunch’er, burger expert, and editor of the Feedbag, went to Schnipper’s he saw a burger operation trying to be The Shake Shack. When I went to Schnipper’s I saw a fast food/diner concept, where burgers were just a small part of the operation (unlike the Shack, where they are all of the operation.) In fact, I completely ignored the burgers- and why wouldn’t I?  I knew that any place that serves a burger thicker than 1/4 inch, but forces you to get it cooked medium, was not going to replace any of my favorite burgers in Midtown.  So why bother trying it? 

Instead I zeroed in on the real heart and soul of the Schnipper’s menu.  The mac and cheese, and the sloppy joe. There are plenty of people who will go to Schnipper’s for the burgers, or the salads, or the hot dog, or the chicken sandwich.  But the real Midtown Lunchers know there are better and cheaper versions of all of those things to be found in Midtown.  What you can’t find anywhere else is Mac & Joe- the mac and cheese topped sloppy joe that I’ve been wanting to try at Schnipper’s since the first day I saw their menu. After failing on my first visit, I finally got a chance to try this monstrosity… and I wasn’t disappointed.

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Yes!  The sloppy joe was pretty heavy on the grease, but tasted way better than my junior high school cafeteria version.  But surprisingly, it was completely overshadowed by the mac and cheese. People have been asking for Midtown mac & cheese recs since I started this site, and I could never point to one definitive version in the area… until now.  It was really good, and I finished every bite of the four cheese mess pretty easily.  (The incredibly rich sloppy joe was a little harder to polish off, and probably would have benefited from being served on bread, in sandwich form.)  I can’t be completely sure I was getting an untouched taste of the M&C, but since it was resting on top of the sloppy joe, I’m guessing the flavor wasn’t effected too much by the sloppy joe base.

The other two things I couldn’t ignore were the onion rings (love ’em) and sweet potato fries (nice!).

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Both were super tasty, but $3.50 for six onion rings is outrageous, and $4 for that amount of sweet potato fries is not really worth it either (unless you’re filthy rich, or expensing your lunch.) In fact, aside from the burgers only coming out medium, the only other thing to really complain about at Schnipper’s is the price.  $7 for the mac and joe is also right on the border of being too expensive, but when you consider what you are getting- it’s not completely outrageous.  Although next time, I think I might just get all mac and cheese.

Schnipper’s Quality Kitchen, 620 Eighth Avenue (at 41st),   (212) 921-2400

43 Comments

  • those onion rings look like the tastiest ripoff in midtown.

  • what the what?!?!

    scallions on mac and cheese?!?!

  • What about this place is “self serve”? The burger is good, but pricey as hell.

  • You’re lucky. When I got my onion rings to go, I only got 4 for $3.50… I agree about the mac & cheese though.

  • Had frites done in duck fat in Bruge over Xmas for €2.00 best chips in the world(lotsa malden salt and malt vinegar…and real mayo)….those sweet spuds are a bloody rip off.

    Anastasia would stab Mamacita with a fork if she tried her spudulary at $4 a pop.

  • Au Bon Pain’s mac and cheese tastes pretty good. It’s only missing the crunchy baked crust aspect…

  • The sweet potato fries are pricey, but it’s a relief to find a place that serves a consistent product. Does anyone have other midtown suggestions?

  • too expensive!

  • Hard to understand why they wouldn’t be more aggressive with their pricing in this environment. They have been hearing it from many people on numerous sites now.

  • Not sure I buy it Zach. That sloppy joe sounds like it clouded your mac & cheese judgment (and taste buds)

    We need a head-to-head plain mac & cheese face-off with Supermac

  • Just got back from getting the Mac and Joe. I agree, the mac and chesse is awesome. With fries it was $11, kind of pricey.

  • Just spent a total of $7.48 on plain Mac n’ Cheese. Very, very delicious! While the portion was filling, I kind of expected something tremendous for that price. Quality wise- perfect, creamy cheese. You can tell they took some quality cheese and melted it all up in a big pot, probably with more butter than I want to know. There were some bread crumbs scattered on the top, but no scallions. My friend who got the Mac n’ Joe got scallions, so I’m assuming it only comes on the mac n’ cheese when the sloppy joe substance is also present. I feel heavy and ready to go to bed, but it was a well above average lunch experience.

  • No tipping necessary and free drink refills.
    This place is awesome. You can’t find awesome tasty quality like this in a quick service setting plus I save on tipping.

  • I work in the Fashion industry and have been here almost everyday and yes bother trying the burgers the “classic” I had yesterday was delicious. You can taste that this is super delicious premium meat and their probably not even making a profit. Prices are very fair compared to other sit down places and I think this is one of the best burgers I’ve had. I am also addicted to the fish tacos reminiscent of California’s for those who know and the Salted Carmel Shake unreal! Maple Dipping Sauce with the sweet potato fries is yummo-I feel like I’m eating French Toast!
    They also are getting beer and wine and I found out they have outdoor seating in the warm weather!

  • ^anonymous sounds like an employee

  • Is your favorite baseball player Kurt Schilling?

  • I can’t decide if he previous two Anon comments (from the same person)are shills or not (my hunch is they are), so I’m going to let them go… But I can’t in good conscience let you recommend the fish tacos. They’re too expensive, an even worse than that- they’re grilled! The best California fish tacos for “those in the know” are always breaded and fried!

  • Have I posted a full comment-review yet? I don’t remember. My honest opinion, shill-free: the Mac N Cheese is good. The sloppy joe is missing something for me (but my favorite sloppy joes were created lovingly by the lunch ladies at St. Francis of Assisi Elementary in the Bronx and I can’t replicate the sauce or find anything as good). The burgers are fine if you don’t mind that they’re medium-well standard. I actually really liked the grilled fish tacos. The sweet potato fries are very, very good, but I don’t care for the maple sauce for some strange reason. The prices are high, which puts the restaurant in occasional splurge territory for me, right along with City Burger.

  • Speaking of fish tacos, where can I get a really good one? I agree with Zach that they are supposed to be breaded and fried…
    I tried the fish tacos at Pita Grill and was shocked how good they are.. they’ve raised their prices but you can get 2 for 8 bucks I think. Tilapia and a great pico de gallo sauce.

    I’m still looking for a TRUE fish taco though… I remember even in Colorado there were fast food restaurants where that’s all they sold! YUM!!!!

  • I got jipped on the maple dipping sauce!!! What a bunch of BS

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