Archive for '56th btw. Mad+5th'

Obika’s Take Out Sandwiches Finally Get the Big +/-

Obika Opening Day

*Sigh* … Obika.  What are we going to do with you?  When I first heard that Obika, the Italian mozzarella bar chain, would be opening it’s first American outpost in Midtown I was pretty excited.  It sounded really good.  Actually, that’s not true.  It sounded expensive. Imported meats and cheeses?  There was no way this place was going to be in the Midtown Lunch price range (i.e. under $10 for a filling lunch.)  So, when they finally released the menu, and the take out sandwiches were all under $10, I was kind of excited.  I like cheese.  I like meat.  I like sandwiches. (And most of all, I like Italy.)  This could be good.

Not surprisingly, the opening week was pretty hectic.  They were overwhelmed and understocked, and as a result the sandwiches were running out pretty early in the day (sometimes even before the accepted lunch start time of Noon.)  Reports were coming in that they were pre-made, waiting under the glass, and kind of on the small side, especially for $8.  After waiting about as long as I could wait, I finally hit up Obika to see for myself whether these sandwiches could pass the Midtown Lunch standards.

The report, and plenty of sandwich porn, after the jump… 

Read more »

WTF? Obika Mozza Bar Has Made No Progress

DSC09957

In October of last year it was reported that Obika would be opening one of their Italian mozzarella bars in the atrium on 56th Street and Madison Ave.  Plywood went up, and everyone in the upper right hand corner of Midtown has been waiting for the arrival of what could be a pretty cool place in an otherwise desolate part of Midtown east.  On Monday I stopped by to see if any progress had been made, sticking my camera through one of the holes at the bottom of the plywood.  My strange discovery, after the jump…  Read more »

Lunch in the Glow of the Murakami Buddha

ATHLETE Director Dave's Pics - Murakami on Madison
Photo Courtesy of ATHLETE Director Dave

I don’t know how I missed this one… but if you’d like to enjoy your lunch in front of some “art”, the atrium inside 590 Madison (enter on 56th St. btw. 5th+Madison) is housing Murakami’s “Oval Buddha”, a sculpture that was too large to fit in the Murakami show at the Brooklyn Museum.  The buddha will be there until September 7th (and there are plenty of tables for lunch’ing.)

Here are some of the reasonably close Midtown Lunch’es in the area:

[via NewYorkology]