Midtown Lunch

Havana NY on 38th btw. 5th and 6th (not to be confused with Havana Central) is one of those places I would never, ever go for lunch because it’s way too expensive. As much as I like Cuban food, almost everything on the menu save for a few salads costs over $10. When I walked by it last week, I noticed a sign advertising on weekdays from 3-7 the place allegedly transforms into an affordable restaurant. Drinks and appetizers are all half price. I decided to find out if this happy hour special was truly a good deal. Lunch’ers, Havana NY is one of the places I really hoped I would enjoy, and then shout from the mountaintop that I’ve found the best happy hour deal in Midtown…

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West 37th is my old stomping grounds, having worked at an IT managed services provider. In between financial professionals screaming at us about Bloomberg having an unacceptable – UNACCEPTABLE – half-second lag and otherwise-quite-nice people reduced to blood-curdling rage when we informed them a nationwide Blackberry outage was beyond our control to resolve and no, we didn’t have an ETA to resolution – the need to take a break is always omnipresent, and the chance to do so with concentrated, swiftly-consumable caffeine, pounded in a shot like cheap pregaming vodka to burn the throat and take away the mental pain, is always much appreciated. An ML tipster passing by the old home turf sent us word of an espresso joint opening up. Worth a look!

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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.

Last week’s post about Blue Dog got me thinking about (and craving) No. 7 Sub. I haven’t been in a while. They make, arguably, the best sub in Flatiron, if not NYC (not that I am looking to start a fight). They change their menu somewhat regularly so they probably had some new sandwiches to try. Clearly, it was time for a revisit.

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Back in March, Midtown Lunch’ers were talking about the arrival of LT Burger in the forums (on 40th between 5th and 6th), a restaurant/bar with reportedly excellent burgers and interesting milkshakes. Folks were hoping the prices would be more reasonable than LT’s Sag Harbor location. The ML team reports that the menu is slightly different and also somewhat cheaper than the one on their website, but only in certain cases. Menu items tend to be between $0 and $3 cheaper, with shakes being about the same. The Standard Burger (no cheese but lettuce, tomato, pickle and onion) is $9 as compared to $11 in the Hamptons location, likely a nod to the maximum price the Midtown market will bear.

Roll and Go has been an object of derision since even before its opening. While we all love a good underdog story, we like a generic-and-indistinct-food story a great deal less. Nevertheless, I come to review Roll and Go’s pizza, not to praise it. Midtown Lunch and its readers swiftly noticed Roll and Go’s add-on $1 slice initiative shortly after its opening, which is not at all ironic given its location catty-corner from 2 Bros and down the block from a generic fried chicken joint that also decided to do $1 slices. Here on 8th, from 38th to 40th, we now have three dollar slice options. One is 2 Bros, which was our flagship $1 Slice-o-Rama review, and one is our current target. Does Roll and Go compare? Only one way to find out.
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About a month ago, the ML Team reported on the Homefront Deli (41st btw. Mad+Park) renovation closure. At the time, a construction worker said the store would not change hands again. I walked by the other day and noticed the doors were open and welcoming, and I stopped in to investigate and grab lunch. I found out from staff that Tuesday was its first day back in business.

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Do you wonder what the ML contributors do when they’re not eating lunch in Midtown? (We’re actually pretty easy to stalk!)

Brownie’s pile of pork at last weekend’s Pig Island. Photo by Brownie.

Brian tried the Sizzling Sisig at Maharlika, Blondie ate a Hot Mess of a meal in a mason jar at Fort Reno, Brownie took her boys out to Pig Island and Rachel cooked a tarragon corn chowder at home.

Elsewhere in the ML universe… Andrea reports on the opening of All Good Things in Tribeca, Zach speculates about whether the new Hummus Express in Santa Monica is worth getting excited about and Jamie tells Zagat her favorite hidden lunch spots in Philly.