The “Man Bar” at City 75
City 75 is not usually the type of place I eat at (or write about), but after last week’s Profiled Midtown Lunch’er Andre said it was home to the best Philly Cheesesteak in Midtown, I figured I should check it out. City 75 is like an upscale version of all the generic delis in Midtown, but with one difference… If you make it through the girly overpriced fancy buffet by the pound in the front- there is a pretty spectacular “Man Bar” in the back left hand corner. Naturally the Philly Cheesesteak was there, along with burgers, fries, onion rings, pizza and grilled sandwiches.
Now, before you email me with “I’m a woman, and I eat at the ‘Man Bar’!!!”, I want to say this- I’m sure a lot of you women eat at the “Man Bar” in City 75- but you also read this blog… and those two things put you in the minority of Midtown Lunching Women (When I say “most women”, I’m talking about your annoying co-workers. If they are not reading this blog, they clearly have no taste in food). The simple fact is this… if the “Man Bar” wasn’t there, most men would not set foot into City 75 (it’s way too fancy, and expensive). And if the rest of the place disappeared, and City 75 was only the “Man Bar”, and nothing else, most Midtown Lunch’ing women wouldn’t eat there. It’s the perfect blending of the two that makes a nicely dressed business woman (with every intention of eating a salad) willing to eat a steak and cheese sandwich, and a guy like me willing to eat at a place like City 75.
Pics of the food, and a +/- after the jump… Read more »
Posted by Zach at 8:47 am, February 28th, 2007 under 51st btw. 5+6th, Buffet by lb., Burger, City 75, Sandwiches.
Nothing gets New Yorkers going like a good Hamburger post. You could argue about the best burger forever, and there would never be consensus. It all comes down to what is most important to you? Size? Value? Quality of meat? Toppings? Fries? Location? I don’t know what is most important to me. I’d like to think it’s value, but the Burger Joint in the Parker Meridien is no deal, yet because of the quality of the meat, and the cool “hidden” location, I seem to ignore the price. Prime Burger is one of the older places in Midtown, makes there burger with quality meat, and has a great atmosphere, yet but because you have to order from a menu, and the burger comes totally plain I didn’t like it as much because the value wasn’t there. When the Prime Burger post went up in September, a lot of people commented on it, pointing me towards “The Blarney Stone”, a place where atmosphere and value come together in a gigantic burger, where the quality may not be good enough for some- but was good enough for me! 
This was the first comment… and at the time, I sort of ignored it because it sounded like an Irish Pub, where you had to sit at a table and order from a menu (not really a Midtown Lunch kind of thing). The Blarney Stone is an Irish Pub, and there are tables- but there are no waiters. You order from a counter, and then take your food to one of the tables in the back.
Two very important details in this comment (aside from the $4 price tag). First, my burger was cooked a noticeably perfect Medium rare. Second, they give you a ridiculous amount of cheese. It’s only 50 cents, and they really don’t skimp. I don’t know if you can tell from the pic, but the thick white layer above the burger is actually cheese. I can’t be sure, but I feel pretty confident in saying there could possibly be an unheard of, 2 to 1 meat to cheese ratio. 
How much are you willing to pay for a hamburger and fries? Assuming that we’re talking about a take out place (not a sit down restaurant), and the portion is decent (not humongous), but it’s made from good meat (not McDonalds). If you are not willing to pay more than $8, stop reading now. Don’t waste your time. The place I’m writing about today will just infuriate you.
WARNING: What you are about to read was not written by a burger connoisseur. That’s right. I said it when I wrote about 
My boss is constantly asking me where he can get a good burger in Midtown. He knows I write this blog, and he thinks I have some sort of insight- but the truth is, he has been working in this area a lot longer then I have- so I’m pretty useless.
If you have ever been on a NYC food message board, then you know that nothing gets the troops riled up more then a post about “The Best” Hamburger in New York City. One thread, started two months ago, just got its 
So in my opinion to talk about “the best” or compare burger places across genres is really useless. If two places are right across the street from each other, and serve the same kind of burger at the same price- compare away. In ‘n Out is better then McDonald’s. But to compare Blue 9 Burger in the East Village to the burger at Spotted Pig is futile. (BTW, if you are a fan of In n Out, and are ever in the East Village check out Blue 9. It’s the closest thing to a good double double you’ll find in NYC.)