Archive for 'Eataly'

Madison Square Eats Returns Friday


Madison Square Eats returns to Worth Square (more commonly known as the intersection of Broadway, 5th Avenue and 25th Street) this Friday. They’re planning a familiar month-long stint — May 4 through June 1.

According to a recent blog post, you can expect to find a lot of familiar food surrounding the brightly colored umbrellas, as well as some new additions: Antica Focacceria, Arancini Bros., Asiadog, Bar Suzette, Birch Coffee, Caffe Moak, Calexico, Eataly, Graffiti/Mehtaphor, Gravy, Hong Kong Street Cart, Hot Blondies Bakery, ililli, La Sonrísa, Macaron Parlour, Mayhem & Stout, Mexicue, Mighty Balls, Mile End, Momofuku Milk Bar, Nunu Chocolates, Quartino, Red Hook Lobster Pound, Resto, Roberta’s Pizza, Sigmund’s and Stuffed Artisan Cannolis.

Check out our Madison Square Eats post from last spring to find about Ilili’s kafta wraps, Momofuku’s compost cookies or Bar Suzette’s savory crepes. And, in last fall’s post we wrote about Sigmund’s pretzels, Hong Kong Cart and Graffiti/Mahtaphor’s burger. I’m kind of bummed Fatty Crab isn’t back, but I am personally excited for the Mighty Balls sliders, which I was a fan of at last year’s Grub Street Food Festival. Mark your calendars, my friends, Madison Square Eats is coming fast!

Flatiron News: Openings and Closings

Here’s a bit of Flatiron Lunch news before we lay this week’s review on you…

Openings: So the good news is Eataly is opening a lunch-only spot on Monday, April 30. Ready to hear more? Sorry, bad news. Pranzo will cost $25 for a two to three-course prix fixe meal. Since it is part of La Scuola, lunch includes cooking demos, so if Educational Development is part of your lunch budget, you should be fine. To apologize for getting your hopes up, I am here to remind you that Eataly has several ML-budget friendly options: here and here.

Closings: Ultra Clay sent me a tip that Sirtaj Indian, a place he reviewed, has closed. While we are never happy to see an Indian restaurant in Flatiron close, we can only hope this will lead to an even better Indian restaurant. Stay tuned…

NY Mag Likes The Flatiron: This week, New York Magazine released its Best of New York issue and as usual, Midtown didn't get a lot of love (Don Antonio was lauded for its deep-fried montanara but that's it) but the Flatiron got some warm fuzzies. The Cannibal is said to have New York's best hot dog(!) and Eataly's rooftop beergarden La Birreria was touted as being among the best microbreweries in town. Out of price range Indian spot, Junoon also got the nod for best goat.

Midtown Happy Hour: La Birreria is Worth Breaking the Rules For

If you like to eat, chances are you like to drink (read: a lot of you are freakin’ lushes), so every week our Happy Hour Correspondent “Mamacita” will post about a different bar in Midtown that fits the Midtown Lunch mentality: unhealthy food, not lame (unless it’s lame in a cool way), and most importantly… cheap. Mamacita is taking this week off, so Clay has stepped up to the plate.

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This week’s midtown happy hour breaks some rules. First, it’s pretty clearly not in Midtown and firmly in my Flatiron Lunch coverage area, secondly, it’s not really a bargain. What it is is awesome and worth a little rule breaking to try out. When La Birreria, the new rooftop beergarden and brewery at Italian megamarket, Eataly, opened a few weeks ago, I knew I had to check it out. Beer, pork and more after the jump.

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Flatiron Lunch News: Mad Sq. Eats, Eataly, & Mexicue

Every Friday our man UltraClay goes south of the ML boundaries in search of a delicious lunch. Sometimes it’s Murray Hill south or the Flatiron District, sometimes Gramercy and everything in between- but we just like to call it Flatiron Lunch.

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I’m sure we all have our minds on the weekend at this point, so today’s post is just about some news and updates about goings on in the Flatiron Lunch area. In advance of Memorial Day Weekend, the theme of this week’s post is beer, barbecue and more outdoor eating. Check it out after the jump.

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Flatiron Lunch Follow Up: Focaccia is the Best Deal at Eataly

Every Friday our man UltraClay goes south of the ML boundaries in search of a delicious lunch. Sometimes it’s Murray Hill south or the Flatiron District, sometimes Gramercy and everything in between- but we just like to call it Flatiron Lunch.

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Eataly (on 5th Ave. and 23rd St.) has been a favorite of mine since it opened, but much more for groceries or a glass of wine than for lunch. Of all the different dining options, I’ve mostly only tried out the pizza and pasta than anything else. Let’s face it, there’s not a ton that makes it a Midtown Lunch. Still, there’s some great food here and over the weeks I’ve discovered a few really good options that fit into the ML budget and are worth seeking out.

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Flatiron Extra: Eataly Pizza Takeout is here, Hill Country Chicken, FoodParc coming soon

Here’s a few extra bits and pieces for all the Flatiron Lunchers out there…

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Italian mega-market, Eataly’s pizza may not be in ML price range, but it is now available to go. Last night Eataly tweeted that the Pizza and Pasta area now has a takeout entrance on 24th Street. Also in the twitterverse, Hill Country Chicken, which we mentioned back in July, is working the hype machine tweeting its mentions in The Times and Time Out New York. Still no official opening date, but when I called, the person on the phone said they expect to open around ‘mid-September.’ That sounds pretty soon to me.

And if Eataly wasn’t enough for you, a recent peek in the door indicates that futuristic fancy food court FoodParc (851 6th Ave) should be opening any day now. The chefs involved all tend to make food well outside of the Midtown Lunch price range, but there’s got to be something in there for us, right?  At the very least it will be open for “Carts in the Parc” the New York City Wine and Food Festival event with Andrew Zimmern, the Biryani Cart, Jamaican Dutchy, Schnitzel & Things and more.  (Tickets are still available here.)

Got any news about deliciousness coming to the area? Email us editor@midtownlunch.com

Flatiron Lunch: A Look at Eataly’s Lunch Options

Since most of you will be ditching out of work tomorrow (but not me, thanks boss!), it seemed like a good idea to bump Flatiron Lunch up a day. Enjoy!

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You might recall reading about Mario Batali’s new mega-market Eataly here in Flatiron Lunch a month or so back. Or maybe you read about it here or here or maybe you caught Eater’s live-blogging of the opening Tuesday night. I passed through opening night to scout out this Big New Thing, and as you can imagine the place was packed. What I didn’t quite expect was that there would be lines out the door at lunchtime the next day!

Who has time to stand in line just to get into this place, and then meander through the cavernous space trying to figure out if anything’s worthy of being considered a Midtown Lunch? So… I figured I’d do it for you.

Eataly’s Midtown Lunch’ish options (plus a splurge or two) are after the jump.

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Flatiron Lunch: Free Dessert, $1 Pizza, Eataly and More

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Today’s Flatiron Lunch is going to be a little different than usual. There’s been a lot of news on the food scene in the area lately and I wanted to catch us all up on the new and upcoming food options.

Upcoming Thai food, Barbecue, Classic Brooklyn Pizza, free desserts and more after the jump.

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