Midtown Lunch

Every Friday we go south of the ML boundaries in search of a delicious lunch. Sometimes it’s Murray Hill south or the Flatiron District, sometimes Gramercy and everything in between- but we just like to call it Flatiron Lunch.

Tappo (on 24th btwn 5th & 6th) opened just as I was leaving the Flatiron area, but with a menu full of lunch specials and combos at or under $10, my curiosity was piqued when I first stumbled across Tappo back in the fall. And once I saw Blondie’s post about their chicken parm, that settled it. I was hitting the place up the next time I made it to the neighborhood. So, when I had a lunch meeting with someone who had just recently started working nearby, I jumped at the opportunity to take a look for myself.

Sit down pizzerias rarely manage to make it into the ML price range, so a place that sells both slices and sub-$10 personal pies is impressive. That’s not to mention the foot long sandwiches and soup and salad options. Given how much they tout their thin crust pizza I decided to give the plain personal pie a try. My companion chose a salad and a half sandwich.

I got a salad, too. Yes, really. The plain personal pie comes with a drink and a small salad ($9). I’d usually have tossed it as garnish, but it actually comes as a whole other course. I picked at it a bit and much to my surprise, I actually liked it. Well, the dressing. Roughage is roughage, but the sweet, citrusy dressing was actually good enough for me to eat the whole thing.

My friend chose to upgrade his selection, pairing a large arugula salad with his half sandwich for a $13.50 total rather than the regular small salad for $8.

His sandwich, a chipotle chicken, was still a respectable size and came with yet another salad.

My pizza turned out to be a good size as well.  Volume-wise it’s probably about the same amount of pizza as you’d get with two and a half regular slices, I’d guess. As advertised, the crust is remarkably thin and crispy, while still maintaining a pleasant chewiness.

I’d point out that the crust is thin enough so that I don’t have a lot of faith that it could hold up to many of the toppings available. Personally, I’d stick to lighter weight toppings like pepperoni or prosciutto rather than heavier items like andouille or ricotta (all $2.50 each on a personal pie).

The rest of Tappo’s lunch menu has plenty of other tasty looking options that make me wish I was back in the the neighborhood often enough to properly explore it. At these prices, I could have sit down lunch every day without worrying about breaking the bank.

The + (What people who like this place would say)

• I love thin crust pizza.
• They’ve actually got a salad you might want to eat.
• Lunch combos offer variety at a good price.

The – (What somebody who doesn’t like this place would say)

• I hate thin crust pizza.
• Who cares about salad?
• Half a sandwich is never enough, even with a soup or salad.

Tappo, 49 West 24th Street, (212) 807-9200