There are almost more Pronto Pizzas in Midtown than there are generic delis. If you are in the mood for dodgy free street sushi you can go to the one on 55th St. If you are yearning to bite down on a terrible looking gyro, then head to one of the two Prontos on 48th (I don’t know what the other one is good for.) But if cheep-ass beer and pizza in an … umm … “unpretentious” atmosphere is what you’re looking for, than the 41st Street Pronto is the dive for you!

Pronto Bar is the place you go to when you are ready to go postal on the tourists in Times Square and need to run away, or when you are desperately seeking a safe haven from the bleak misery of a maddening job. I can pretty much guarantee that whether you come here for a beer or a slice, for lunch or for dinner you will not run into you boss. That is, unless you work retail or in the service industry. In that case I’m pretty sure your boss will let you buy him a drink.

The pizza parlor and bar are divided apart squarely down the middle all the way to the back by a short median with seating on both sides. Just like The Force, there’s a light side and a dark side. On the right is a shadowed bar and on the left you have a bright pizza parlor. Greeting you at the entrance is a big burly gentleman, just chilling on a chair —all laid back and casual. He seemed like a bouncer, but the whole time I was there he was just flirting with the ladies/greeting people, but not actually getting up or doing anything else.

I sat on the dark side (naturally) and found out that all tap beer was $3.50 a pint. We ordered a few Peronis and Blue Moons. All are pints came in Yankee’s glasses, so Met fans might want to look the other way. Sadly, Pronto is only a deal for beer and pizza. A premium martini rings up at $11 and top shelf mixed drinks are $8. But really, you are in a cheap pizza joint. Do you want a martini with your fat cheesy slice? No! You know what you do want?? The take out beer special! Oh yeah, for $5 you get a Big Gulp filled with draft beer, but only from the cashier on the pizza side. Your beer comes hidden deceptively with a Coke label. Perfect for those drunken strolls through Times Square. A straw is included; cause that’s just good manners when drinking your booze out of 32 ounce container.

The pizza itself is nothing to rave about but gets the job done. Obviously this Pronto is not about serving NY’s best slice. Plain cheese slices are $2.50 and what you get is a thick doughy crust and tons of greasy cheese. The mushroom and pepperoni slice I had were more than enough to fill me up.

What I most enjoyed were the patrons. The crowd is a lively and gregarious bunch with zero pretension. As I was leaving I remembered I needed a photo of the inside. As I tried to take one all these guys exuberantly jumped out of their booths and asked to be in the photo and invited us to party with them. So this pretty much sums up a Friday night at Pronto:

THE + (What somebody who likes this place would say)

• $3.50 drafts
• Sucking on a $5 big gulp of Blue Moon beer while heading home on the subway: priceless!
• Very much a local hangout with blue collar and retail workers
• Big slices of pizza to go with your cheap beer
• Great place to grab a drink anytime, with friends or if you need to escape the office
• Friendly customers that will invite you to party with them over a pitcher of beer

THE – (What somebody who doesn’t like this place would say)

• Expensive mixed drinks
• I don’t drink beer
• Drinking beer out of a straw in big disposable cup is pretty ghetto, no thanks
• There are way better places to get a slice of pizza than here

Pronto Pizza & Bar, 135 West 41st St. (btw. 6th+B’way)

What I found was a big surprise… 

Mexican food!  Burritos, tacos, enchiladas, tortas, pork chops (?), and more.  I’m down with that.  They always had decent quesadillas, although considering they are usually stuffed with fresh mozzarella, basil, and tomato, “Mexican” is not exactly the word I’d use to describe their quesadillas.  Everything on the new menu is sold in plate form (so you can’t just order an individual taco) and ranges in price from $7 to $10.   A little pricey, but I will admit to being cautiously curious.  With incredibly low expectations I ordered the roast pork burrito, praying that I had just found the answer to our burrito woes…

One look at my order, and all those prayers were dashed. Burritos are not meant to be eaten with a fork and a knife.  It’s shameful.  For $10 it’s a hefty lunch, but I say keep your salad with avocado, and charge me $7. No salsa in the burrito (sad) and the meat was slices of chewy pork- rather than a much more preferable pulled roast pork situation.  The meat issue could have been overlooked with some good flavoring, but that was missing as well.  Don’t even get me started on the watery green excuse for guacamole poured over the top of this thing.  “Wait Zach, are you sure that wasn’t just some sort of salsa verde?”  Uh… if it was salsa verde, why was it made from avocados?  And why did it have no flavor?  No spiciness.  Nothing.  I let the tears I was crying fall onto my plate in the hopes it would improve the sauce.

There are two reasons I’m not ready to give up.  #1.  I like Fashion Soup.  It’s a great small business that makes excellent homemade soups. Do you want Hale and Hearty to take over the city?  If the answer is no, than start going to places like Fashion Soup.  #2. There are a lot of things on the menu, and maybe there is something good.  Pork chops?  Tacos?  Has anybody else been?  Is there something worthwhile, or should they just stick to the soups?

If you do go to try the Mexican food, be prepared to wait. They make everything practically to order, one dish at a time, and each order takes about 3-5 minutes.  So if anybody ahead of you is waiting for Mexican food, you’ll have to wait for them to get their order before you get yours.  There were 4 guys ahead of me, and I waited 20 minutes.  It sucked. (And was made even worse by having to listen to annoying Fashion Week attendees blab on about nothing, and being in line with a guy whose shoes probably cost more than my entire wardrobe. I’m guessing these people will be gone next week.) Ordering ahead is probably the best plan…

The last You Decide didn’t work out so well… and then the place closed.  Hopefully that won’t happen this time!

Fashion Soup,  124 W. 41st. (btw. 6th & B’way), 212-704-0909

While Pinkberry continues its quest for Frozen Yogurt World Domination (according to Eater, two more locations are opening soon in Midtown), blatant rip off Yogurberry quietly opened inside of the Cafe Duke on 41st & Broadway yesterday.

The menu, prices, and general concept are exactly the same.  As for taste, I don’t really know since I’ve never eaten at Pinkberry (and only ate the Yogurberry because they were giving away free samples).  My thoughts on the subject of the new Frozen Yogurt Craze are perfectly summed up 1 minute and 56 seconds into this amazing Gakwer Video.

Whatever pre-conceived notion you might have about a place called “Fashion Soup Corp” it’s definitely wrong.  There’s nothing about this place that is fashionable (unless you count the fashion magazines strewn around the counter for patrons to read).  It’s actually so bare bones, you wouldn’t be surprised to hear that they opened up just for Fashion Week attendees once a year (like those Halloween stores in the mall)… but that is not the case.  Fashion Soup has been on 41st St. btw. 6th & Broadway for years- and the brother and sister duo who run it make a delicious array of homemade soups, sandwiches, quesadillas and empanadas for a menu that changes every single day.

What I got, and the +/- after the jump…

I’m not a huge fan of soup.  I don’t *not* like soup… it’s just not at the top of my list of things to eat.  It’s great on a cold or rainy day- but in general, I don’t really go to “soup” places.  I’ve probably been to Hale & Hearty Soup twice, and both times got the soup and sandwich meal.  After all, soup alone is no kind of lunch- unless it’s a big bowl of ramen.  (Those soups are pretty sweet… but even they could still use some gyoza on the side.)  Anyway, while the soups at Fashion Soup looked good enough, the fact that you could pair it with an empanada or 1/2 a quesadilla is what sold me on the place.

First the soups… then I’ll get to the other stuff.  The menu consists of about 12 soups that are all home-made with fresh ingredients and change every single day.  The lady behind the counter (the sister half of the duo) happily (and by happy I mean begrudgingly) informed me that all the soups were made fresh daily, all from fresh ingredients… no canned stocks or anything.  For $3.75 to $7.50 you get a regular 12oz soup (the more expensive soups being the ones with seafood in them).  A large 16oz soup will run you $6.50 to $9.50 (with the same sides) and the XL 32oz soups are too large to mention.  Please- do not try to eat one of these on your own.  Humans were not meant to eat that much soup, and it could be fatal.  All soups ordered ala carte come with a piece of bread, cookie and fruit

Two of the soups are considered “Soups of the Day” and can be ordered as part of the “Value Meal”.  The value meal consists of a 12oz cup of the soup of the day and an empanada or half a sandwich all for $5.50.  For $5.95 you can get it with 1/2 a quesadilla.  Clearly I needed the “Value Meal” which is both a value, and a meal.  (Don’t get me wrong, fruit, bread and a cookie are delicious- but I’m all about the quesadillas & empanadas).

I decided to go with the Lentil Soup and 1/2 a quesadilla.  The soup was hearty with a good peppery flavor.  The quesadilla was surprisingly good (I’m pretty sure the owners are Eastern European… so I’m not sure where the quesadilla or empanada thing comes from).  It was a thick quesadilla with what seemed like fresh mozzarella cheese, tomato and avocado, sandwiched between a thin, tasty tortilla.  Not your typical quesadilla, but really good (especially if you like mozzarella, tomato and avocado).

For the sake of thoroughness (not because I’m a fat man who loves to over order), I decided to get a chicken empanada to try.  These are the sacrifices I’m willing to make for you people! (Although my wife would probably say I was eating like this long before I started writing this blog…)  Anyway, the empanada had a nice flaky crust, with a dry ground chicken filling- which I like.  There’s also Ground Beef Empanadas, Beef & Mozzarella, Spinach & Mozzarella, and Broccoli & Cheddar.  They range from $2.25 to $2.75 (or you can get it as part of the Value Meal).

All in all it’s a a great place for soup and non-soup lovers.  If you love soups they’ve got tons of them, and the menu changes every day.  And- the best part is, they post the daily list of soups every day on their website: http://www.fashionsoup.com.  The day I was there, they had a Tomato, Basil & Mozzarella (supposedly the one soup that they have every day), Corn & Spinach, Potato and Leek Chowder, Chicken & Sausage Gumbo, Chicken w/ Barley & Corn, Italian Wedding Soup (I love mini meatballs!), Chicken w/ Corn & Spinach, New England Clam Chowder, and Creamy Crab and Shrimp w/ Spinach.

If you just “like” soup, but wouldn’t go somewhere for soup and soup alone- then the Value Meal is the way to go.  Pair up one of their soups of the day with a delicious quesadilla or empanada… but try to eat them there if you can- they don’t do so well on the walk home.  They have two counters with stools where you can enjoy your fashion soup, and there’s reading material to boot! (As long as you like Vogue…)

THE +

• All the soups are made daily using fresh ingredients
• Great variety.  The list of soups change every single day.
• They have an updated menu of soups every day on their website… so you can check out what they’re serving before you leave the office
• Forget about soup and sandwich… go for the soup and empanada, or soup and 1/2 quesadilla
• Avocado in the quesadilla… hello delicious!
• Quick, easy and cheap
• Free fashion magazines to read while you eat

THE -

• The decor is pretty bare bones- so it doesn’t make for a particularly comfortable lunch with a co-worker.  Best to take it to go… but the quesadillas, and empanadas don’t do to well on the walk back to the office
• If you do decide to stay, there aren’t very many stools to sit at (and no tables- just a counter, so it’s not recommended for more then two people unless you don’t care about looking at each other)

Fashion Soup Corp., 124 W. 41st. (btw. 6th & B’way), 212-704-0909