Midtown Lunch

Just in time for St. Patty’s day, Food in Mouth brings the news that a branch of Lily O’Brien’s Chocolate Cafe has opened near Bryant Park (on 40th btw. 5+6th). I don’t know if the fact that this is an “Irish” chocolate company means anything (maybe everything is filled with liquor?), but Danny tried the hot chocolate and seemed pretty pleased. Apparently it goes pretty well with a cinnamon bun from Cafe Zaiya. 36 W 40th St. New York, NY 10018. 212-575-0631‎ [Food in Mouth]

Le Pain Quotidien, the bread/sandwich/salad/bakery chain from Brussels, quietly opened its second Midtown location back in October on 40th St. btw. 5+6th, across from Bryant Park.  It probably wasn’t all that quiet to LPQ fans in the area, but for this hater of expensive Midtown bread/sandwich/salad/bakery chains it went virtually unnoticed.  After Profiled Midtown Lunch’er Janine mentioned it last Tuesday, I thought maybe it was time to go check it out.  While I normally detest paying over $7 for a sandwich, if it’s done right- with really nice ingredients, I will occasionally splurge for something really good. ‘wichcraft  has managed to rope me in despite having tiny sandwiches.  LPQ will have to a little better to lure me away from my goto Bryant Park lunch.

Two sandwiches attempt to be worth $9, and the biggest cookie in Midtown- after the jump…  Read more »