Midtown Lunch

If you’ve been far enough back in the Trini Paki cart line recently, you’ve noticed that Bluestone Lane is now open in the old STK Out kiosk. The Australian coffee outfit has already reached the coffee masses with their three other locations in the city, most notably one in Midtown East and in the Financial District.

The focus here, of course, is their flat whites and other Australian-influenced coffee drinks. But they also have pastries, wraps, and salads. And an entire menu dedicated to their avocado smash and all the available add-on’s.

Andrea raved about the smash when they opened a few years ago downtown and I also found myself forgoing meat in favor of the hearty, bright vegetarian toast when I was in the Financial District.

So I thought I’d give it a try here too. The price has been raised by 50 cents (of course) to $7 and if you want any add-ons, like prosciutto or feta, expect your bill to increase exponentially. I kept it simple and just ordered the traditional smash.

It’s going to be tough not to compare it to the one I used to enjoy downtown. And frankly, I don’t think it’s quite as good. That one was bold and acidic with a nice amount of sea salt. This one was bland and was missing a brightness. It also didn’t seem to be covered as much with avocado as I had remembered.

That being said, the avocado is fresh and the red pepper flakes are plentiful. It had a slight kick. The toast is also nice and thick, but I’m not paying $7 for toast. Am I?

Still, for vegetarians, this is a tasty option (although not as tasty as the one they used to serve downtown) and it would make a decent snack. If you pick up some pastries or chips or something, you might even be able to make it a light lunch. Or you could just get in line at Trini Paki Boys outisde and call it a day.

Bluestone Lane, 1114 Avenue of the Americas (at 43rd St.) 212-764-0044