Midtown Lunch

We got word of the Broadway French Market after its opening in Herald Square, and hopes immediately ran high for some decent greenmarkety experiences within the hopefully-thin late Spring tourist crowds. Sure, tables and chairs have been present in the Herald Square area for lunchers, and I’ve had the chance to make use of ’em for Domo Taco and Taco Bite reviews when they were nearby, but more eatin’ options are always great. Anything to break the monotony of Cafe Metro’s iron-fisted grasp on the heart of Midtown South.

35th to 36th on Bway surrendered a tiny isoceles triangle of space to the market. Take my advice, stick to the sidewalk. There’s zero room to maneuver, and besides…

… that’s where the samples are at! Nuts, pickles, wine, olive oil, the works.

I love all of the olives. These guys also sold some amazing-looking stuffed grape leaves. They’re coming home with me for the grape leaf-lovin’ wife.

I got my lunch at Yona’s Delights. In addition to four or five different kinds of quiches and Greek boreka pastries, they had what looked like every conceivable type of brownie in existence for sale as well.

Two mini quiches for $5 and one boreka for $1.50, $6.50 all told. If you want to be as stuffed as I feel right now for a cheaper price, you’re gonna be getting Ming Du/Ying Du/New Li Yuan or Main Noodle House chow for sure.

The spinach and cheese quiche was a dense pack of spinach and Meunster cheese with egg perfectly fluffed in. I’m talking FLUFFY here. The bits of egg on the surface felt like they were little clouds of egg, not too dense at all. The crust couldn’t have been done better – crumbly, flaky, perfect.

If you like mushrooms, even a little bit, get the mushroom quiche. It’s as densely packed with properly sauteed mushroom and caramelized onion as the spinach one is packed with spinach. Any denser on the shrooms and you’d have a mushroomy neutron star, collapsing upon itself in an explosion of fungal power.

I wanted to love the tyropida boreka more than I did. It had a filling of four different Greek style cheeses and mint, which was one hell of a tasty combination – but so little of it! I mean, look at it – not much cheese to be had. Despite this, and the phyllo dough not being too flaky, it was still mighty tasty.

Grab a table if you can and enjoy lunch outside – mini quiches are a cheap way to have a really potent option on the cheap while feeling all look-how-French-I-am lunch. There was a little trio of musicians playing music that sounded half out of Marcel Marceaux, half out of Anatevka – but it’s a nice little Francophile experience.

The market runs Tuesdays and Fridays until November 26th, more than enough time to hit up a few spots. Taste some wine, sample some pickles, get some quiche – you could do worse in Herald Square.