Midtown Lunch

Since Bill’s Bar & Burger opened in the Meatpacking District late last year, I was under the impression that it was meant to compete with Shake Shack. I can’t speak to the original location, but after eating at the new Rockefeller Center location (51st btw. 5+6th), I can tell you that Shack Shack has nothing to worry about. This comparison isn’t about the quality of the food (we’ll get there), it’s just that Bill’s offers a completely different experience.

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The wait is finally over… Bill’s Bar & Burger is supposed to open in Rockefeller Center today (on 51st btw. 5+6th), so I swung by after work to see how things were shaping up. There was plenty of activity inside as employees were running around and the space looked ready to go. A sign in the window announced they’d be open 11am-9pm, and that hours would expand to 11am-11pm starting Oct. 4th. Chris got a preview of Bill’s back in July, during Rock Center’s Taste of Summer event, but the burgers weren’t even close to made to order. They had a friends and family event yesterday, but we’re still waiting for our first official taste. Early adopters, let us know how it is in the comments.

The recently reopened Bull Moose Saloon (on 44th btw. 8+9th) has a lunch special that not only leaves some Washingtons in your wallet but also satisfies that Summer thirst. For measly $5.85 you get a cheeseburger cooked to order with hand cut fries and a beer. For those inclined, you can also get 10 crispy hot wings with a beer for the same price. Yes, all this for under $6. Workers on the far Westside rejoice, eastsiders… well.. we’ll give you a moment of silence to mourn…

Ok that’s enough, time for burger porn!

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In my book, nothing can replace my favorite Blarney Stone (3rd btw. 44th+45th), but some of my fellow office drones don’t feel the same way I do. “I’ve seen roaches there,” is a normal excuse to not go, despite having some of the best and cheapest burgers around. Meanwhile, Connolly’s was never on my list of lunch spots simply due to past experiences of subpar food at high prices. So when I was passing the 47th and 3rd Connelly’s location and spotted that they had begun $9 Bar Specials, I was hesitant to try it out… but this is exactly what Midtown Lunch is for.

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High end restaurants offering lunch specials that dip into Midtown Lunch range is a common ploy to increase midday business. For me, the appeal of these deals (and what makes them worth technically going over $10 with tax and tip) is that you get something special, something you can’t normally get for that amount. Del Frisco’s legendary, and now defunct, steak tips deal is perhaps the best example. Recently, we got tipped off to a $10 burger at the decidedly un-Midtown Lunch-ish Uncle Jack’s Steakhouse, so I headed over to the (slightly out of bounds) 9th Ave. location btw. 34+35 (the other location is on 56th btw. 5+6th, right near Beacon- who have a $10 burger of their own available from their new “Side Door”).

See if Uncle Jack’s is a worthwhile contributor to this phenomenon after the jump.

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My 11:45 am trip to Shake Shack (on 44th and 8th Ave.) on Monday morning was smooth sailing (great for me!), but that relatively short line on the first real day of Midtown Lunch service wasn’t a very good indication of what the mob scene has now become. As the week has gone on reports have poured in between Noon and 2pm from the new Shack- and, no surprise, it can get pretty bad.  It’s only a matter of time before they Disneyland the sidewalk up with a rope line and “Your Wait Time From Here…” signs.  In the meantime, as a service to Midtown Lunch’ers, we have created a thorough guide to determining how long the wait is going to be.

So before you throw your arms up in disbelief and head to Schnipper’s, gauge how long the wait will really be after the jump…

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The burger craze is definitely in full effect in New York these days, so you knew it was only a matter of time before the fast food corporations dipped their toes into the game. Obviously we’re on high alert for the new Shake Shack opening soon on 8th Ave… but they’re not the only ones going through training right now.  Remember the Burger King on 40th and 7th that was slated to be turned into a Whopper Bar?  I walked by today and saw that the posters are up, and people are being trained inside. As far as fast food burgers go, BK’s isn’t the worst, so we might keep an eye out for this one… or not.

As if Midtown didn’t already have enough new burger places popping up… yesterday, Lunch’er “Diamondjim” dropped this bomb in the comments re: the newish branch of 2 Bros. Pizza (on 46th btw. 5th+6th):

“Tucked-away signage spotted inside 2 Bros. today:

Burger Bros.
$1.50 burger
$1.75 cheeseburger
$2.75 double cheeseburger
$1.00 fries
$??? milkshake (didn’t remember the price)!!!”

$1 pizza is one thing, but burgers?  We touched based with the owner of 2 Bros. who confirmed the news…

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We’ve been longtime fans of the Burger Bar at Beacon (on 56th btw. 5+6th) and Mamacita recently enjoyed their bar deal… but it looks like they have finally introduced something that is truly a Midtown Lunch. This week, Beacon started a little lunchtime pop up called “The Side Door”, selling a limited menu- literally from their side door.  For $10 you can get their wood grilled burger with or without cheese plus chips and a soda or bottled water. (The same burger that Mamacita got during happy hour.)

But wait, there’s more…

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If you were wondering what was going to take over the now shuttered Juan Valdez on 41st and Broadway, we finally have an answer, and it’s more burgers! Thanks to Lunch’er Douglas for sending along this article in the WSJ (gated, requires subscription) which tipped us off to the news… apparently The Counter, a 7 year old Los Angeles based burger chain with locations all over California (and a few other states) is taking over the space. Combine that with the new Shake Shack coming to 8th Ave., 4Food opening on Madison, the new Bill’s Bar and Burger coming to Rock Center, BLT’s Go Burger Truck and planned brick and mortar franchises, plus-according to the same WSJ article- a new Goodburger opening in Columbus Circle, and what we’ve got is a full fledged burger onslaught.

What makes “The Counter” different? It’s a “build your own burger” situation, featuring 4 kinds of burgers in 3 sizes, 4 different buns, 12 different kinds of cheese, 30 toppings, and 21 different sauces (they boast over 300,000 different combinations you could make.) Construction hasn’t started on the location, but they’re hoping to open “Fall of 2010″.