Midtown Lunch

Oh baby… you know how excited I get about food on conveyor belts, and Blondie and Brownie have just posted about this place in Saks Fifth Avenue with a conveyor belt full of desserts. I can’t imagine myself stepping into Saks Fifth Avenue for a $4 brownie, but in my wildest dreams I could imagine being situated on one end of that conveyor belt with my mouth open (ala Homer Simpson in hell being forcefed doughnuts by Satan.)

Photo courtesy of nycblondieandbrownie

Macaron fans, prepare to get really excited… Blondie and Brownie are reporting that macarons from Itzy Bitzy patisserie are now available at Tafu, the Japanese tea house and bakery on 51st btw. Lex+3rd. Previously these macarons, which Serious Eats called the best macarons outside of Paris, were only available through mail order, or at the Brooklyn Flea. This is great news for those of you on the East side who don’t want to trek to Bouchon Bakery (Columbus Circle) or the Macaron Cafe (36th btw. B’way+7th) for your french cookie fix.

Tafu, 569 Lexington Ave. (entrance on 51st btw. Lex+3rd),   212-980-1310

Now available at ‘wichcraft. Photo by nycblondieandbrownie

It just got a little bit easier to enjoy a treat from the Sullivan Street Bakery.  You could always trek all the way to to the actual bakery on 47th btw. 10+11th, or you can visit one of Midtown’s many Dean and Deluca locations, and now, according to Blondie and Brownie you can visit ‘wichcraft for your Sullivan Street Bakery fix.  The sandwich chain, which has a number of Midtown locations, is now offering up Sullivan Street Bakery pastries, including their very famous bombolini, which B&B call “a mighty fine doughnut.”  Indeed it is.  Indeed it is.

Today is National Brownie Day, but with the Treats Truck (my goto brownie source) parked Downtown, I’m kind of at a loss. Anybody have a brownie recommendation for those of us looking to celebrate this most important of holidays? Feel free to put it in the comments… (yes, I’m using this stupid thing as an excuse to eat a brownie today.)

Midtown Lunch has always been a community effort, and I have no problem turning the site over to contributors.  Especially when it comes to desserts.  I love the sweets just as much as the next fat guy (or skinny girl), but if given the choice between dessert, or an extra entree- I’m going for the savory.  So when Danny from the blog Food in Mouth offered up a post about his “all dessert, under $10 lunch” I was like… uh… yeah! -Zach

Awhile back one of the Profiled Midtown Lunch’ers posed a question about Midtown desserts that got me thinking. “What if I just ate desserts for my $10 dollars? What can I get with that?” I know how this must look- guy forgoes street food, pizzas, or a hearty sandwich in place of… banana pudding. Might as well trade in my fantasy basketball team for the current issue of Vogue or spend my Saturday nights watching Sex and the City instead of catching up on Heroes and Chuck. I don’t really have a response, so I’ll get started on the actual eating…

First up was Magnolia’s Bakery on 49th and 6th Ave. You could probably spend ten dollars here without going anywhere else. Some of you might take exception to their cupcakes, which sometimes lack moistness. Instead, try the banana pudding which is on-par with most other cupcakeries in the city. It’s rich, lucious, and velvety. It’ll remind you of Ivanka Trump, and it’ll disappear just as fast as she did during that free food giveaway.

Read more »

I guess they couldn’t stand being the only dessert Vendy Award nominee without a regular Midtown spot… the Van Leeuwen Ice Cream Truck is parked on the NE corner of 57th st and 5th Ave right now. Their other truck is still in its regular spot in Soho, but they hope to park this second truck in Midtown at least a few days a week. We’ll see how it goes…

They’ll be at this spot until 4pm, and then will probably move somewhere else. (I’ll keep you updated on this post if they move today.)

The CW11 Blog is falsely (?) reporting that the new location of Crumbs (on Madison btw. 52+53rd) is opening this Monday morning at 8 a.m. and giving away 1000 free cupcakes.  But I was just told by somebody at Crumbs, this is not true and the planned grand opening is next Friday (10/24). Cupcake fans, mark the 24th on your calendar (in pencil of course…)  Overly suspicious cupcake fans?  Feel free to do a walk by on Monday morning and let us know if there’s anything going on!

Added to Midtown Lunch Flickr Pool by nycblondieandbrownie 

Fans of mediocre cupcakes, your day of joy has finally arrived.  Magnolia Bakery is set to open their 3rd location in Midtown next week on 49th and 6th, in the space formerly occupied by Citarella. Brownie from Blondie and Brownie crashed their opening party last night, and sent along a ton of photos.  Just what we need… more lines of gawking tourists clogging up the sidewalks during lunch. Thanks, but no thanks.

More cupcake news after the jump…   Read more »

Back in June we mentioned how long the line for the Treats Truck had become on Wednesdays– the one day a week it’s parked on 45th btw. 6+7th. The owner Kim herself has told me it’s her most popular spot, which may lead one to wonder- “Why don’t you park there more often?”  The people want it.  It would be good for business.  What’s stopping her?  Two words.  Mister.  Softee.  Last spring, when the weather started to warm up, and the Mister Softee truck returned to its regular spot on 45th & 6th, a “conversation” ensued.  Kim was told she couldn’t park on that block, but a “deal” was struck between the two vendors allowing the Treats Truck to park on 45th and 6th one day a week.

And that’s the way things were… until the Wafels and Dinges Truck arrived.   Read more »