Naples 45 (aka The Pizza Deal of the Century… if you can hold out)
As you can tell, lunch time is very sacred for me. I am definitely not one of those “whenever I have time to go” kind of lunch people. With me, it’s more of an “Only 17 minutes left until the socially acceptable lunchtime of Noon” kind of thing. I still don’t understand how people can forget to eat lunch. I don’t care how busy I am, I could never forget lunchtime. In fact, if I haven’t eaten by 1pm, there’s a decent chance I’ll just pass out. I’ve never tested this theory, but I’m pretty sure that’s what would happen.
Of course, there are occasions when I do go for a “late lunch”. Usually these days coincide with times when there is some sort of free food in the kitchen to serve as a mid-morning snack, or I’ve eaten a late or extra large breakfast. On these days, I get to take advantage of all the late lunch specials that midtown has to offer. If you can wait to eat, there are some great deals to be had in Midtown and hands down, my favorite is Ho Yip. I have a soft spot for cheap chinese food, and I love by the lb. buffets- but the price always kills me. Ho Yip solves this by lowering their price after 2:15pm. A great deal, and my favorite place to eat a late lunch. I’ve also heard that alot of chain delis charge less for pre-packaged sandwiches at a certain time.
A few months ago, a reader tipped me off to another one of these late lunch specials. Naples 45, a nice sit down pizza place in Midtown, lowers their take out slices to $1.25 after 2pm. For months I have been waiting for an opportunity to take advantage of this deal… and finally last week I was looking for something to eat around 2pm- so I headed over to Naples 45 to check it out.
What I found, pizza porn and the +/- after the jump… Read more »
Posted by Zach Brooks at 9:42 am, April 9th, 2007 under 45th btw. Mad+Van, Italian, Naples 45, Pizza.
I take for granted sometimes that everyone knows about every kind of food I write about. I spend 17 posts writing about a strange bulgogi cart outside my building, but I feel like some people still don’t actually know what the hell bulgogi is. The same could probably be said about Bi Bim Bap. Maybe it’s just Korean stuff. Despite being a short walk away from Koreatown, it seems as if people are still not versed in the delicious ways of Korean dining. Well, if you’ve never eaten Bi Bim Bap, here is a quick primer. 
Bi Bim Bap is basically a deconstructed Korean rice dish. You get white rice, a number of vegetables (usually carrots, cooked spinach, bean sprouts and others) and sometimes a little bit of meat. The dish is then topped off with a fried egg, which you are supposed to break over the whole thing. It all gets mixed together with this sweet and spicy red sauce to make a rice dish/meal. It’s delicious, and in the past few months, it seems to popping up at delis everywhere in Midtown. I’ve had a decent pre-packaged version at 
I’ve always been content with the Cafe Duke version, despite the fact that it was pre-packaged- but after discovering Ambrosia, I think Duke has been unseeded. While Korean food is a unique option for Midtown Lunch’ing, Ambrosia is not. It’s just another one of those generic delis that serve everthing under the sun- complete with sandwiches, salads, pizza and the requisite by the lb. buffet. Although I’m sure some have partaken in the Mexican Fiesta station, I suggest ignoring it all and heading back to the Korean Food window in the back of the store.
There are no shortage of expensive sandwiches in Midtown. 
When opening a new business, there are two ways of going about finding a location. #1. Find an underserved area, where your presence will fill a niche that is currently not being addressed. Or there is #2. Find a successful business that is similar, open up next door, and either benefit from their overflow, or crush them under the weight of your greatness. (Or fail miserably.) Either way, I’ve seen #2 happen all over Midtown. Kobe Club & Quality Meats, the M&M store & the Hershey Store… and now- Indian Food Carts!
There are a lot of reasons to travel. Some people travel to see sights, experience different cultures, meet new people. I travel to eat. To me there’s nothing more exciting than visiting another country and experiencing the food. Get to a museum and find out it’s closed… eh, no big deal. Force me to waste a meal on bad food, and you will see one pissed off traveler. It helps that I’m pretty much willing to eat anything, so the language barrier is not a huge issue. If it looks like it tastes good, and people are eating it- I’ll eat it too. Pig intestines in Bali, anything off the street in Thailand… bring it on.
Last week, I found a place for lunch that made me feel that way, without leaving Midtown. It’s Chinese, and in the Garment District, and eating there made me feel transported to a different country. I’m not saying the food was the best, most authentic Chinese food I’ve ever had (far from it). I’m saying that this place was a dirty hole, packed with people speaking a different language. I had no idea what I was ordering, sat at a cramped table with three people I didn’t know (who also didn’t speak very much English)… and I loved every minute of it. 
When I write about a Midtown Lunch, it is supposed to be quick, easy, usually something different or interesting- and most of all cheap. Burger Heaven is not really any of these things, but a little while back I found myself eating lunch there with my wife and a bunch of her co-workers. I had never been there, but judging from the crowds it is pretty popular. Apparently there are a lot of people in Midtown who find things like a waiter, a chair, and proximity to their office more important than price and value. (These people all make more money than me.)
The burgers are actually similarly priced to the other places in Midtown ($6.25) before you start adding stuff like cheese and french fries (and tax & tip), but I ignored all this in favor of the Patty Melt- my favorite kind of hamburger, and a stand out on any menu. The Patty Melt is pretty basic when you think about it… it’s just a cheeseburger on rye bread with grilled onions- but difficult for many places to make, because you need rye bread, and a griddle- something that many of the new specialty burger places don’t have (Burger Joint, GoodBurger, etc.). So for a good old fashioned Patty Melt, you need a place like Burger Heaven.
