Midtown Lunch

via MyBellysPlaylist.com

I like to think I am pretty well informed when it comes to new places to get lunch in Midtown. So, when Zach sent over the link to My Belly’s Playlist (MBP), I began browsing their Midtown menu and I was shocked that I had never ordered from here before. I was immediately impressed with the options, as they offered classics such as the Buffalo Chicken Wrap as well as more unique offerings, such as The Big Dipper. Needless to say, it was time to give it a try.

Once I had been sold on the menu, which didn’t take long, I started looking for their location. Their midtown location is listed simply as “Times Square”. Well, I work in Times Square, so at least I won’t have to walk very far. I couldn’t find any sort of address on their website, so I ran a few varying Google searches – nothing. Defeated, I grabbed the number from their website and gave them a call. I was surprised to find out that they only offered delivery. “So I can’t just come by and pick it up?” I inquired, “No, delivery only”, the man on the phone replied in a manner that suggested he answers this question often.

I’m not a big fan of delivery lunch for two reasons. First, I don’t want my food sitting around. The less time between my food being prepared and me shoving it in my mouth the better. Specifically when it comes to sandwiches featuring lots of sauce and a succulent protein. Second, I actually like to get my butt out of the office during lunch (weather pending). Otherwise, I’ll end up spending the entire day locked in my office.

My qualms with delivery lunch aside, I had to give MBP a try. I assured myself that their close location would significantly cut down on the delivery time. Once again, I drafted the assistance of my office eating companion so we could split two sandwiches. The majority of the sandwiches on the MBP menu are over the ML limit, not by much, with the most expensive option being $14. The Outcast, for the record, is the $14 option and it’s actually 3 sliders featuring cabernet braised short rib.

The sandwiches come wrapped nicely in their own little box. Each sandwich order comes with a cookie, a small pickle salad, and each sandwich we ordered came with an additional container of sauce (nice touch). This time, we ordered two sandwiches – The Big Dipper, port rubbed roasted beef, fried shallots, traditional russian dressing served with a demi glace dipper on baguette. As well as the Perfect Chicken Parmesan, thinly sliced pan roasted chicken, classic marinara, fresh mozzarella, herb fried zucchini fritter on baguette.

I started with The Big Dipper, unwrapping it to see a rather shocking sight.

Wowzers, that’s a lot of fried shallots and not so much in the way of roast beef.

Seriously, a ton of fried shallots. This isn’t a bad thing if you like fried shallots, as I do, but I certainly would have preferred more roast beef. The shallots were tasty, and a nice addition to the sandwich. I could barely taste the Russian dressing, and things were beginning to taste a little dry. Fortunately, MBP supplied a very nicely sized container of demi glace for dipping. I certainly didn’t hold back, and I think it improved my overall impression of the sandwich.

Demi glace is a super rich sauce, and this was no exception, it was a little overwhelming but worked with the contents of the sandwich. I had to be careful not to get too much of the demi glace on the sandwich, but this is definitely an essential part – I don’t think I would have enjoyed the sandwich without the sauce.

Moving on, I tore into the Perfect Chicken Parmesan. The bread was far from perfect, the top piece was cutting up my mouth and the bottom piece was a little soggy.

The chicken was nicely sized, easily taking up all of the bread space provided. It had a perfectly seasoned crust. However, each bite pushed the chicken further and further out of the sandwich, and out of its breaded skin – very irritating, but I pushed on.

Contrary to The Big Dipper, the chicken parm was very moist and the sauce was really nice. Sweet, chunky and perfectly suited for the sandwich. As with The Big Dipper, MBP provided a container of their sauce on the side. The sandwich was already coated in sauce, but it was there, so I obviously used it. This was a good chicken parm, not the best I’ve ever had, but I easily enjoyed myself.

Finally, I moved onto the cookie which, in my opinion, was one of the highlights of the meal.

This was a delicious chocolate chip cookie and proved to be an excellent conclusion to the meal. Overall, I thought MBP was pretty good. However, I can’t help but make it clear that I would enjoy MBP significantly more if I could go to their store and pick up my sandwich. I’m sure this isn’t something MBP can just change by snapping their fingers, but every aspect of the sandwich seemed to suffer slightly from having been sitting around. Yes, many of the sandwiches are over $10, but they come with a delicious chocolate chip cookie. Also, as they are delivery only, you will have to shell out a few extra bucks for delivery. This will obviously increase the price of lunch, so your best bet is to get a few coworkers in on an order, and spread out that additional cost. I’m not a big fan of delivery, but if I was overcome with laziness or trapped by terrible weather, I would have no problem ordering from My Belly’s Playlist in the future.

My Belly’s Playlist, delivering to Tribeca & Midtown website