Midtown Lunch

My first thought when George Steinbrenner died two weeks ago wasn’t of Yankee Stadium or championship trophies, it was of Larry David’s voice. I guess I’m a bigger Seinfeld fan than Yankees fan. One of my favorite Steinbrenner episodes of Seinfeld is when he becomes obsessed with George’s lunchtime calzone stuffed with cheese, pepperoni and eggplant, and starts making George bring him one everyday. The spell that calzone casts on Steinbrenner always makes me crave one. So, to honor The Boss, I headed out to some of Midtown’s most notable pizzerias in search of Midtown’s best calzone. See what I found after the jump.

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Thanks to Lunch’er “Spencer” for passing along this one… the Lazzara’s (on 9th Ave. btw. 43+44th) is now selling slices of cheese pizza for $1.50. Sadly, it’s only available at the just out of bounds location (not the 38th St. one) but $1.50 is a decent price for one of the better slices of pizza in Midtown. Don’t believe us? Time Out New York included them in their Cheap Eats issue, out today.

Related:
Lazzara’s Pizza to Get a Second Location; Original Still Hoppin’

Gourmet’s Associate Art Director Kevin Demaria photographed the final days of Gourmet Magazine and has posted them to a website. It’s a sad but touching tribute to a place that meant a great deal to many people (some of them Midtown Lunch’ers), but I couldn’t help but smile when I saw the Lazzara’s pizza boxes.  A worthy last supper indeed. [via Eat Me Daily]

Part of the reason I’m just fat, as opposed to morbidly obese, is that I cook dinner at home on most nights. And most of my cooking knowledge has come from my wife (she trained me early and well), Jamie Oliver, and Mario Batali. Years ago, when I was unemployed, I used to watch Molto Mario all the time… and I pretty much learned most of what I know about cooking Italian food from that show:

Use the cloudy pasta water to loosen up your pasta dishes (which should be more about the noodle, and only lightly coated with the sauce), everything gets finished with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, and finally- you don’t put cheese on seafood. That last one always seemed weird since cheese goes good on everything, but I trusted Mario, and would always forgo parmesan on my fettuccine with shrimp (my wife never held back, and openly laughed in my face). This went on until went went to Chile and had the most amazing scallops covered in melted parmesan. They were delicious, and I finally decided… if it’s good enough for the Chileans, it’s good enough for me!

With that in mind, I visited Lazzara’s yesterday to try their entry in the Midtown Lunch Sandwich challenge.  A fried calamari and fresh mozzarella sandwich (Mario be damned!)

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The newer location of Lazzara’s Pizza, located just out of bounds on 9th Ave. btw. 44+45th, has just introduced a recession special from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.: If you purchase a soda, you can get a single slice of pizza for 99 cents (and a second slice for $1.50.) They’re also selling a full 6 slice pie for $8.99 (normally $11.50). Both deals are walk in only, and not available at the original location on 38th btw. 6+7th, but it may be worth the extra walk if you’re as cheap as I am.

Our good friend Danny from Food in Mouth visits the original Lazzara’s Pizza location and discovers that the chicken parm has gone from $8 to $9. “Even though it was a filling lunch, I still wonder about whether it was worth it. At nearly $10 and with other chick parm subs that cost less, I wonder if there are other options.” Anybody up for Labeleca today?

Midtown Lunch favorite Lazzara’s Pizza (on 38th btw. 6+7th) opened the doors to their second location today. The tiny new location is take out and delivery only, and just out of the Midtown Lunch boundaries (on 9th Ave. btw. 43+44th) but all the food is the same. As of now, it’s much less hectic than the original- but that could definitely change as time goes on. And, even though it’s not on the menu- they do sell single slices. (In fact, I found out today that they’ll sell you a single slice of cheese at the original location as well. They just don’t like to publicize it.) A single slice ends up being $2.40.

Interior shots, and why (a few of) you might care after the jump…  Read more »

The second location of Lazzara’s pizza is starting to come together nicely, and they are hoping to open the second week of September (maybe the 12th, 13th or 14th.) While the new location is slightly out of bounds (9th Ave. btw. 43+44th), it will hopefully ease the burden on the original Midtown Lunch location (on 38th btw. 7+8th.)

The new location will be take out only. Check out a photo of the inside (if that is your thing) after the jump…   Read more »

Big news out of the Midtown pizza front: Lazzara’s, the relatively old school sit down pizza place on 38th btw. 7+8th is getting a second location on 9th Ave. btw. 43+44th. Opened 23 years ago, the original Lazzara’s has been mentioned a few times on this site in the comments, usually when the discussion of best chicken parm is raised. Unlike the original, which is opened Monday through Friday and only until 9 p.m., the new location will be opened 24 hours, and according to Tony Lazzara will be standing room only, delivery and take out.  Slightly out of bounds for Midtown Lunch’ing purposes, the 9th Ave. location will hopefully lighten the lunchtime load on the original, which has some pretty long wait times between Noon and 2pm.  They expect the new place to be up and running in the next 2-3 months.

With so many cheap, order-at-a-counter-and-take-it-to-a-table pizza and chicken parm places in Midtown, Lazzara’s isn’t really a prototypical Midtown Lunch. But with food this fresh and good, and a fairly busy take out business, it’s tough to ignore. Check out what they’ve got, after the jump… Read more »