Midtown Lunch

Apparently the Delta Sky 360 lounge, which opened on 57th & 6th Ave. in October to “showcase Delta’s award winning in flight experience”, is still open (who knew!)… and in honor of Restaurant Week (which is going on this week, and next) they will be giving away free food samples today and tomorrow, from Noon to 2pm, courtesy of some pretty well known restaurants.

Today will feature samples of (Mario Batali’s Sous Chef on Iron Chef) Anne Burrell’s Ricotta Sformato with Artichoke Caponata, Crostino with Chicken Liver Pate and Balsamic Onions, and Truffled Deviled Eggs from Centro Vinoteca, plus Basa Rolls and Claypot Chicken from Mai House, an upscale Vietnamese restaurant in Tribeca.

Tomorrow, they will be giving out an assortment of sushi from Asian fusion palace Ruby Foo’s (a Midtown expense account staple), plus Fattoush Salad and Balsamic Glazed Short Ribs from Amalia.

I’m not one to shill for the man, but when free food is involved, all bets are off. There are also places to sit, which is great this time of year for anyone who wants to grab some street food- but not go back to eat their desk…

UPDATE: The chefs themselves are making the food as part of a live demonstration, so you may have to wait for food depending on when you show up… but there are free sodas.  Yea!

_{Posted to Flickr by Fabulman}

Don’t forget that today is the day to cash in courtesy of Taco Bell & Jacoby Ellsbury, the Boston Red Sox player who stole a base during the World Series, earning everybody in the U.S. a free seasoned beef taco.  

This promotion will test the “How far is Zach willing to walk for free food” question.  Normally, the answer is “As far as it takes”, but even I’m a little skeptical of this one.  Do I really want to walk 15 minutes for something that a) costs less than a dollar, and b) I probably wouldn’t even touch on my hungriest day.  Now, if it was a Free Chicken Gordita Surpreme, then we’d be talking…

Free tacos are available from 2-5pm, making it the perfect afternoon snack (under the “If it costs less than $1, it’s a snack” rule.)   Here are the Midtown locations of Taco Bell:

• 525 8th Ave (btw. 36+37th), (212) 216-0997
• 875 Avenue of the Americas (at 31st St.), (212) 947-0859  I could have swore there was a Taco Bell/KFC near Koreatown… did it close?  Is it not there anymore?
• 713 829 3rd Ave. (btw. 50+51st), (212) 758-5900 (sorry!)

A word of warning… the 8th Ave. location is under the impression that the promotion is from 3-5pm, so you may want to show up a little later for that one, or call ahead to see if they’ve smartened up!

I wouldn’t normally publicize such a stupid marketing gimmic, but it’s free food- and I feel it’s my duty to inform you about any food being given away in Midtown (whether it’s Chipotle, coffee, ice cream, or airline food).  Delta Airlines has opened Sky 360, a lounge for business people to sit, relax and enjoy a number of different things that will apparently entice you to fly Delta Business Class.  This includes magazines, newspapers, coffee, Coke, and airline snacks (like Sun Chips and other stuff), all for free. 

PLUS on Wednesdays from Noon to 1pm, they will be serving free samples from their new line of in flight meals, designed by Chef Todd English.  That’s right.  Free food.  Free soda.  Free snacks.  Awww yeah.  Ironically, if you can afford to fly business class (or have the type of job that would fly you business class) you probably aren’t going to go out of your way for a free bag chips.  I’m not complaining of course.  It just means more for the rest of us!

The Sky 360 is on the corner of 57th & 6th Ave., and will be open weekdays from now until November 10th.

This just in courtesy of Eater:

Today is New Flavor Day at Haagen-Dazs. They’re debuting two new varieties, Cinnamon Dulce de Leche and Sticky Toffee Pudding, in between 4 and 8 PM tonight.  Both flavors will be offered gratis.   

But guess what?  3 of the 4 Midtown Locations are owned by Riese Restaurants, and they are not participating in Free Flavor Day!  These are the Riese owned locations where you will NOT be getting any Free Ice Cream:

• 761 7th Ave. (at 50th St.)
• 110 Penn Plaza (Penn Station)
• 1286 Broadway (at 33rd St.) 

Apparently there is another Haagen Dazs located in Penn Station, NOT owned by Riese, but we couldn’t get info regarding their participation.  If you know of a Haagen Dazs in Midtown participating in Free Flavor Day, comment below or email me zach@midtownlunch.com

You wouldn’t know it from the weather outside, but technically today is the first day of spring.  To celebrate, Dunkin Donuts is giving away free 16oz cups of iced coffee, all day long (Weds. 3/21).  Unlike the McDonalds & Starbucks giveaways, this one I’ll actually wait in line for, because Dunkin Donuts iced coffee kicks ass (9 years in Boston gets you addicted to this stuff).  Check out this map of Midtown Locations…         [From Slashfood]

Don’t forget to get your free cup of coffee at Starbucks today from 10am to Noon.  But don’t get too excited… it’s free drip coffee. I think the timing of this promotion is a reaction to McDonalds giving out free Coffee last week to celebrate the fact that their coffee beat out Starbucks coffee in a taste test.  Not surprising considering that Starbucks’ drip coffee sucks.  How about free lattes and cappuccinos?  Then you’ll see me on line.  As hard as it is to turn down free stuff, I think I’ll sit this one out, and wait for the Dunkin Donuts Free Coffee Day next week.