Midtown Lunch

With so many quality burger places open in Midtown these days, each place needs it’s own special thing to differentiate themselves from the others.  The way I see it, Burger Joint has the sweet location, Five Guys is for free toppings and freshly cut fries, Pop Burger is the choice if you want sliders, and while the newly opened City Burger is still working out their kinks, it’s clear they’re working off the notion that you wouldn’t mind having some chicken wings or mozarella sticks with your burger.

Goodburger, on the other hand, has never done enough to get me back there on a regular basis.  There is no doubt it is a tasty hamburger, made from quality beef, but it’s always been expensive (the value meals are over $10), and the patty is just not that big.  With all the other options (and my willingness to travel more than a few blocks away from my office) I just didn’t really have a reason to go… until now.

At the beginning of March, Goodburger introduced the “Crabby Patty” to their menu, a deep fried Maryland crab cake sandwich for $7.99.  It’s not on the menu screen, and sometimes they forget to put out the little stand that advertises it, so make sure you ask for it specifically.  I stopped by last week to check it out, and was pretty pleased with the results.  Read more »

Last week, my boss made the trip over to 45th btw. 5+6th to try the newest Goodburger location, and when he returned asked me a pretty good question. 

“Why arent you on Goodburger’s wall of quotes?”. 

Good question wise and all knowing boss.  Why isn’t Midtown Lunch up on that wall?

So I went back and read my original post on Goodburger from a year and a half ago, and realized the problem.  Quotes like “it’s just another fast food place in Midtown- that happens to use quality ingredients” and “once you resign yourself to paying the money it’s a good Midtown Lunch”, aren’t going to get me up on no wall.  I hear you talkin’ Goodburger.  You want something with zazz!

So, in an effort to get up on Goodburger’s quote wall, I realized I needed to come up with something awesome.  A perfect quote, ready made for them to use, and posted on the site.  And after I do that, how could they deny Midtown Lunch burger wall immortality? How’s this…

“Goodburger is the best burger and fries combo meal in the city (if only it was $2 cheaper).”

They can leave out that last part if they want…

Once again, I’d like to congratulate burger lovers working in the 40s.  You finally have a burger place to call your own.  If you haven’t been to any of the Goodburger locations, and want to read about the food- almost all of what I wrote in November of last year, about the location on Lex., still applies, the one notable exception being that now the combo costs $10.35 instead of $9.95, which means- technically for this to be Midtown Lunch, you will need to forgo fries or a drink.  It’s just not right.

The new location on 45th btw. 5+6th (which opened yesterday) is a lot larger than the location in Midtown East, and has an upstairs seating area. 

An actual goodburger, plus a sign worthy of being put on Suicide Food, after the jump… Read more »

No sleet is keeping me away from the new Goodburger loation on 45th btw. 5+6th, which is now certified officially open (Eater take notice…) No more trekking north to the 50s or east to 3rd Ave, the heart of Midtown Lunch’ing finally has its very own overpriced burger place.=

The Fish Sandwich at Kim’s Aunt Kitchen Cart comes on a hero roll!
Posted to the Midtown Lunch Flickr Photo Group by “The Flooz”

• The Treats Truck is (again!) hoping to park  parked on 45th & 6th today, in a space vacated by a hibernating Ice Cream Truck.  Check their website for updates… 
• At Sun Yip/Ho Yip on 45th btw. 5+6th, the price of the by the lb. buffet after 2:15 has gone from $3.75 to $3.99.  
• Serafina at the Time Hotel (49th btw. 7+8th) opens tomorrow
• The Goodburger on 45th btw. 5+6th is still a “few weeks away” from opening
• Sakae Sushi (with the conveyor belts) on 43rd btw. Lex+3rd isn’t even close to opening
• The Yolato near Grand Central is *supposed* to open on Tuesday the 13th.
• FreeFoodsNYC is starting to come into its own.  Saw a little bit of a lunch crowd in there yesterday
• If you live in Brooklyn (or are looking for an excuse to go there on a Wednesday night), tonight is the 1 Year Anniversary Party for The (Amazing) Brooklyn Kitchen (Williamsburg’s version of Williams Sonoma, on Lorimer).  It’s taking place at Union Pool, and there will be food, and music, and THE BODEGA CHALLENGE (which I will be participating in, in a judgemental role).  And the best part is, it’s free… so come check it out.

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.

I was planning on going for Chinese food on Monday as my post-Thanksgiving day lunch (you’ve gotta do something to get that taste of turkey out of your mouth) but decided to stopat the newest Good Burger location on Lexington & 54th, to see what was going on.  The line was about 5 people long (and about 10 people were waiting for their food) and I had a realization…  There will never be fewer people in this place at peak lunchtime.  That’s right.  Monday, 5 days after the opening was my best shot at not having to wait forever for a burger and fries… so I decided to forgo my Chinese food and check out the newest Midtown burger place.

WARNING:  What you are about to read was not written by a burger connoisseur.  That’s right.  I said it when I wrote about Burger Joint & Prime Burger, and I’ll say it again.  I like a burger just as much as the next guy, but I don’t know if I can determine the nuances between a burger made from USDA Prime or other fancy meats.  I don’t eat McDonald’s or Burger King, but I love In N Out Burger.  I love the Burger Joint, and I’ve always wanted to go to the Shake Shack.  I’ve always thought the prices at those two places were high, but mentally I wonder if I don’t mind paying the price because one is outside in a park, and the other is tucked away in a hidden part of a fancy hotel lobby.

Goodburger doesn’t have either of these things… it’s just another fast food place in Midtown- that happens to use quality ingredients (thereby justifying the price to some).  The one thing they do have (that I complained about Prime Burger & Burger Joint NOT having) is a combo meal.  Who doesn’t love a combo meal?  It’s a price break for ordering a group of items together.  How could you not like that???  At Goodburger, the hamburger, fries and soda combo is $9.95.  So basically, they are admitting that when you combine their three basic items, it will cost you more than $10.  That’s crazy!  The price of the combo sent me into a math coma, hurriedly trying to add up different combinations of items in my mind… trying to beat the “combo system”.  Desperately trying to see if I should get the combo, or just resign myself to paying $10+ for my “fast food” burger lunch.

That being said- despite my wishing it was cheaper, I resigned myself to paying the money and decided to go for the Hamburger and Fries ala carte at a price of just over $9.00.  Pictures and the +/- after the jump…

Read more »