Midtown Lunch

I walk by 696 Gourmet Deli everyday, but never once did I think about going inside to get breakfast or lunch. I have looked at their lunch specials but only when I’m on my way to grab lunch from somewhere else. Then one day I found myself craving a sandwich. Not just any sandwich: a really messy, gut busting, nap required after eating sort of sandwich. I had thought about the crazy chicken sandwich I had at Previti that was as big as my head, but I wanted somewhere closer. While wandering around, I found myself checking out 696 Gourmet Deli and their lunch specials, and I ended up getting the roast beef sandwich ($6.50). So was it the messy gut busting sandwich I was craving for?

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Last month, we announced that Cafe Today was moving in next to Chipotle on 52nd between Lex and 3rd Ave. I erroneously thought it was a Portland chain (thanks, commenters, for your diligence), but it turns out it’s actually a huge generic-ish deli serving, well, basically everything under the sun. We’ve got (deep breath): a hot sandwich station, a cold sandwich station, a salad bar, panini counter, soups, hot buffet, cold buffet, custom teriyaki bowls, stir fry, udon noodle soup, sushi, bibimbap, dessert, and probably much more. It was extremely crowded for its grand opening, but can a place with this many options do everything well?

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Over the past several months, rumors started flying amongst friends and co-workers about a new bodega on 8th Avenue with an eclectic but intriguing variety of international foods. European friends murmured about their hefty line-up of Kinder chocolates and Cadbury confectioneries, and Korean friends spoke of their impressive stock of kimchi, banchan, and packaged noodle soups. The bodega that they were referring to, was none other than Midtown West newcomer, Bread & Honey.

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Good Nature Deli looks so generic on the outside that most people probably don’t even notice it when they walk by. I went in randomly one day when I needed to grab a soda and I was extremely surprised at what I found. It may look like just your average corner bodega, and it’s one avenue out of bounds.  But Good Nature Deli has some surprises within…

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If there was a guide to opening a generic deli in midtown, it would prescribe DIY salads, mediocre pizzas, predictable sandwiches, wan udon noodle soups, unnerving sushi, perhaps a by-the-lb buffet. The name should riff on variations of café, kitchen, market, fresh this and global that. It might also advise serving Korean food that’s practically decent, like Café Duke (on 51st btw. 6+7th), or a middling bowl of bibimbap, like the version found at Global Kitchen.
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Thanks to Lunch’er Mangostrawberry for giving us the heads up about Bread & Honey, a new Deli/Supermarket/Buffet/Sandwich/Udon noodle place on 8th Ave between 55th & 56th. Normally this sort of venue wouldn’t be worthy of investigation, but when we hear the words Mongolian BBQ station (possibly the only one of its kind in this area) all bets are off. I did a quick cruise through the store to inspect.

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Hello, my name is Chris, and I have a problem. I am (forgive me Zach) hopelessly addicted to Subway® sandwiches. Admission of guilt is the first step, and identifying a moral substitute for our shortcomings is the… 6th step? (I could never pay attention in those meetings). This is how I found myself as one of the first customers at the newly opened Submarina. Yes, like Subway, Submarina is a chain – perhaps less evil than the aforementioned sandwich shop, with only 78 national locations (vs. 33,346), an unassuming mission statement, and a suitably proletariat past. But my quest was to kick my $5 foot long habit, and I was lucky enough to pass by Submarina yesterday, which happened to be in the middle of their grand opening.
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Yes, we treat Korean fried chicken like it’s crack here at Midtown Lunch and track burger developments with CIA-like precision but, really, we’re just people who love lunch hour and trying our best to leave bad Boar’s Head days behind. So when I heard about the “drippingly juicy” roast beef and gravy sandwich from Eating in Translation at Best Bagel & Coffee (W 35th St. btw. 7th+8th), I obviously had to get my hands on it. Growing up in Brooklyn where corner delis abound, I became something of an expert in sliced meat, especially when served hot. So with my highly-trained Good vs. Bad French Dip taste buds, I ventured west to the Garment District to put The Sandwich to the test.

Click for more cause you gotta see it to believe it…

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There’s something about eating lunch in a building’s loading dock that is just so fun… so awesome… so… well, Midtown Lunch’ish.  The most famous two examples of this are Pick-a-Pita (which was in a loading dock, before moving to 8th Ave. btw. 39+40th) and El Sabroso, which is still serving up delicious and cheap latin food out of a counter in a loading dock on 37th btw. 7+8th.

So, when Luncher Christina told me about Nick’s Place “tucked away in a freight entrance” on 39th btw. 7+8th, I naturally had to check it out.

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In case you missed it, on Friday I was grilled over at A Hamburger Today- giving them my thoughts on the almighty hamburger. Here were my picks for best and worst burgers in Midtown:

“Tough to say. Fast food, thin burger: Five Guys (on 55th btw. 5+6th). Fast food, thicker burger: Burger Joint (on 56th btw. 6+7th). Burger from a Cart: Carnegie John’s (on 56th & 7th). As for the more expensive, sit down burgers, I haven’t had very many. But HB Burger (on 43rd btw. B’way+6th) and Beacon (on 56th btw. 5+6th) are both really good. And the worst burger I’ve ever had in Midtown was at this place called Arome Cafe on 32nd between Broadway and 7th Avenue. Somebody twittered @midtownlunch that their burger was “$5.50 and bangin’”. Against my better judgment (Arome Cafe is one of those terrible generic delis that Midtown is famous for, and Midtown Lunch does its best to fight against) I tried the terrible terrible burger. Bad meat (not unlike what I got in my Jr. High Cafeteria), bad flavor, poorly cooked. Couldn’t even finish it. Damn you, Twitter!”

Check out the worst burger I’ve ever had, after the jump…

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