Midtown Lunch

Five Guys Times Square Opens Today

9 Comments

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  MJP:

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enSYlCEz5VI

  “In the tourist wasteland of Times Square, they were forced to eat Five Guys. And there was much rejoicing.” “yaaaay…”

  Jun 25th, 2012 at 9:09 am  
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  meyekull:

  I think it will fit in nicely in ma belly. Need more burger joints between broadway and madison in the 30’s and 40’s though. LT burger will be a welcome addition at 40th and 5th this summer if it’s not ridiculously expensive like their Hamptons store is.

  Jun 25th, 2012 at 10:00 am  
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  Midtown_Eater:

  Same slop different location.

  Jun 25th, 2012 at 11:26 am  

  • 

    Dave:

    But they’ll have an A rating, so you can gleefully eat there.

    Jun 25th, 2012 at 11:30 am  

    • 

      bcantor:

      Is that the camp we want to be in? Mocking the notion of cleanliness at restaurants? Really?

      I’m all for trying under-the-radar restaurants and escaping the thirst for generic blandness that dominates midtown but not if it means REWARDING those who don’t make the effort to assure the cleanest possible environment for their customers.

      The DOH guidelines are clearly stipulated, and failures are very clearly explained. Either keep up with code, or stop selling food.

      Jun 25th, 2012 at 11:50 am  
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      Dave:

      The camp we are in is the camp that doesn’t get all bent out of shape about the cleanliness rating of places that have consistently delivered a good lunch with no ill effects.

      It’s also the camp that doesn’t harp on that as a point of pride. The DOH system gives the consumers a piece of information, and if that’s your sole reason to patronize a place or not, hey, go for it. Those of us without delicate tendencies, and with a basic understanding of logic, will poke fun at your one-note refrain.

      Jun 25th, 2012 at 12:09 pm  
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      bcantor:

      Given that you’re relying on personal anecdotes to make sweeping conclusions about a restaurant’s safety (No one I know thinks he’s gotten sick from this restaurant, so it must be safe!!!!), I’m assuming you’re not in that camp with a “basic understanding of logic?”

      I know people who started smoking in their teens and lived well into their 90s without lung cancer. So, yep, that smoking thing sure isn’t bad for you!

      I recognize the two situations are not analogous, but the point is that you’re relying on personal instinct over carefully-crafted policy and procedure. You might like the food, but once you KNOW that the restaurant is infested with roaches or flies or employees who don’t have proper handwashing facilities, the evidence says a little concern might be warranted.

      The issue here is not me asserting that A restaurants deliver better food than C restaurants, because that’s not necessarily true. What I am arguing is that these restaurants are in business 100% to serve CUSTOMERS and blatantly disregarding the steps needed to better serve those customers is not a good way to run a business.

      Customer centricity isn’t about “good enough”–it’s about doing everything humanly possible to wow your customers. If an agency is telling you how to clean up your restaurant to make it safer, healthier and more enjoyable for your patrons, what does it say about your business if you won’t follow through?

      Jun 25th, 2012 at 12:50 pm  
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      Dave:

      Do note that if a restaurant has a C grade, it is allowed to be open and serve its food to its customers. I’m relying on the whole LOGICAL point of the grading system: if the restaurant is considered safe by the DOH, I’m not going to spend my time worrying about the individual concerns on the DOH report. At that point I’m going to rely on, yes, personal opinion and the opinions of those I trust that the food is worth my lunch money. Sometimes “wowing your customers” means doing it the way that works best for the customer and the food, and not the way the DOH has decided it should be run. One size does not fit all.

      Consider that many — not all, and I’m not asking you to set up another straw man — of the violations handed out aren’t dire threatts to life as we know it. Should a restaurant try to bump that C grade up? Sure. But there will be certain violations that some restaurants will simply accept, because the DOH rules run counter to the way a kitchen is run, or simply fail to understand certain cuisines and techniques. Look at all the Michelin-starred restaurants that got C grades or Pending before receiving their A — you can bet that their kitchen policies didn’t change permanently, the kitchen only put on a show for when the DOH came calling again.

      Jun 25th, 2012 at 1:52 pm  
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  copyboy:

  Ja. Und alles attempts at humor vill be dealt with severely!

  Jun 25th, 2012 at 11:55 am