Midtown Lunch

As I’ve mentioned for the last couple weeks, a ton of new places have opened this fall in Flatiron Lunch bounds. With so many new places popping up, I’d be posting ‘first looks’ for the rest of the month, so I decided to consolidate them into one handy post. After the jump, get a closer look at two Midtown transplants and a fancy, but budget friendly Italian spot.

My location and aversion to lines has made me something of a conscientious objector in the burger wars. I haven’t paid much mind to the Schnipper’s/Shake Shack rivalry since a special trip to Port Authority and a hour-long wait in line would be required for me to do anything like a comparison. But now, the new Schnipper’s Flatiron branch (23rd, btwn Madison & Park) is just half a block away. It’s also huge and seems to have a few more registers and a much bigger kitchen.

Beyond burgers and shakes, the menu is pretty extensive. They’ve got Mac & Cheese, sloppy Joe’s, and over a dozen sandwiches and salads. One could spend weeks exploring the options.

Shorty’s, the Hell’s Kitchen bar with the Philadelphia lineage is up and running 66 Madison Ave. As I’ve pointed out before, it’s the only place I know in New York where I can get anything like a real Philly-style Roast Pork Sandwich with broccoli rabe and sharp provolone. To prove their pedigree, they make a point of noting again and again that the bread dough they use is driven up straight from Philadelphia and baked on premises.

Though we don’t condone lunch-time imbibery and it technically breaks the ML price point, I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out their $12 beer and cheesesteak deal, which runs from the lunch hour through happy hour. Given the selection of 20 beers on tap, it sounds like a bargain to me.

Also note the teaser for a Shorty’s On Wheels ‘coming soon.’ The menu lists shortysonwheels.com as the place to follow their food truck, but a quick visit returns a Go Daddy placeholder page, so soon’ may be relative.

Finally, I stumbled onto Tappo (49 W. 24th btwn 6th & Broadway) at random the other day and almost walked by it because it looked too ‘fancy’ for our budget range. I decided to glance at the menu and discovered that the prices were pretty reasonable.

It doesn’t look like a slice joint – and it’s no $1 pizza place – but with lunch specials mostly under $10, it’s definitely worth further investigation.

These days there’s a good deal going on in the greater Flatiron area – certainly more than when I took over for Jason a good year and a half ago. If you follow my twitter feed, you’ve already heard that I have a new job near Rock Center, much further away from the 20’s & teens. As such, this is going to be my last regular Flatiron Lunch post. Over the next few weeks, I’ll be back to reporting from Midtown Central and we’ll be rotating contributors for the Friday post until we’ve got someone to take over full time. Thanks for all the comments through the months, it’s been a pleasure.