Midtown Lunch

For those of you who just love Thanksgiving so much you want to keep eating it – or those who aren’t indulging in the ginormous feast scheduled to take place on dinner tables across America tomorrow – Pret is offering a holiday sandwich that should scratch that itch.

Comprised of “roasted turkey breast (antibiotic-free), a pork sausage, pancetta and apricot stuffing, tangy cranberry sauce, crispy onions, and fresh spinach nestled in 9-grain bread” (yes that was copied directly from the press release), just $8.49 will have you flashing back to those family fights and uncomfortable silences in no time.

Drunk uncle screaming about politics not included. Well, you can take your sandwich around the corner and find someone doing a good imitation, I’m sure.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Pret a Manger, Multiple Locations

A new Pret A Manger is opening in Penn Station tomorrow – exact location above because I could not personally describe to you where anything inside Penn Station is. While I haven’t personally posted about them here on Midtown Lunch, I go there a little more often than you might think – mostly for their amazing chocolate chip cookie, which Serious Eats declared the best chocolate chip cookie in midtown some time ago (while I have a different place I think would take the top prize now, I can’t justify buying 8-10 cookies all the time). That post even caused a temporary shortage of Pret cookies…

All that to say, I get cookies from Pret whenever I need a quick pick me up. And now if you work in the Penn Station area, you have one more location from which you can do so.

In celebration of their first transport hub shop in the city, during the grand opening today, they will be giving away tote bags throughout the day (while supplies last). The newest location will have seating for 30+ and boasts 1,900 square feet. Also, like at every location, unsold food will be donated daily to City Harvest.

Store hours will be:
Monday-Thursday: 4am – 12am
Friday: 4am – 1am
Saturday: 5am – 1am
Sunday: 6am to 12am

Freeloaders, engage!

In a sea of overpriced gourmet grilled cheeses (see: Exhibit A, Exhibit B, and Exhibit C), it’s easy for us to roll our eyes at a new contender. But here’s the thing: a girl still gets a craving for a good grilled cheese and tomato soup combo every now and then, and she’s gotta get it somewhere. On a recent dreary day, I noticed that Pret has a new Grilled Cheese Toastie on the menu, and when I saw that one of the rotating daily soups that day was Tomato & Basil, I knew what I was having for lunch.

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After reading Lunch’r joer’s recommendation of the steel cut oatmeal at Pret, I headed over to check it out this week. I tend to go for my breakfast late-ish in the morning, so I was disappointed to discover that they finish serving their oatmeal at 10:30, but while I was there the limited edition Pret Holiday Toastie ($6.69 + tax) caught my eye.

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Last month, Lunch’er NYCguy posted in the forums that Pret, of all things, would be taking over the space formerly occupied by the Judaica store that had been in that 45th street spot (between 5th and 6th) forever. Sadness! I passed by today and saw the coming soon signage still there, so I became curious. A quick call revealed they plan to open December 12. With 11 locations already open in Midtown West alone, I can’t imagine anyone’s clamoring for this one to open, but in case you are, there you go.

Of the chains that populate midtown, I admit that I have a soft spot for Pret (what can I say, I love their chocolate croissant). The other day as I was walking around Rock Center I noticed that they’ve added a “Summer Light” menu with new sandwiches and salads and returning soups like gazpacho and Pea and Mint soup. But I was most intrigued by their buffalo chicken hot wrap ($6.49) which was comprised of Murrary’s grilled chicken, marinara sauce, sweet chili dressing, romaine, blue cheese, and “Pret seasoning” in a tortilla wrap. Marinara, chili dressing and blue cheese? What? It would either be an abomination or kind of awesome, I couldn’t resist. Read more »

The other day I was getting my morning coffee at Pret when I noticed signage for their new Toasties–toasted to order sandwiches. Looks like Pret is trying to get in on the toasted sandwich market. Are “toasties” the new grilled panini (remember when every generic deli/lunch spot was selling grilled round paninis?) Seeing as I was lunch-less, I decided to give the new sandwiches a shot and picked up a Ham & Cheese toastie ($6.50) from the case. Read more »

While Pret is at most an occasional lunch spot, owing to the high price of their sandwiches, I do make frequent morning visits because their coffee tends to be darker and stronger than the other joints in the Rock Center area and it’s made with organic milk for less than the cost of a similar cup at the ‘bux. And they offer a 10% Rock Center discount with the Privilege Card (I have a card, somewhere, but I’ve never had a problem just asking for the Rock Center discount). Anyway, I like the morning ritual of settling at my desk, getting the lay of the land then going out to get cup of coffee. Usually I just get coffee but if I missed breakfast I might get an egg sandwich, too. The other day, I overheard that the Pain au Chocolate ($1.99) had just come out of the oven and quite frankly I have a hard time saying no to any Pain Au Chocolate. Dark chocolate in a buttery, flakey pastry? Yes, please. Somehow I had avoided the siren song of Pret’s chocolate croissant… until now. Read more »

As far as chains go, I’m not a Pret hater. Yes, their sandwiches tend toward the pricey. But they do use good ingredients and they are always switching up the menu with new items. Case in point this their new “Vietnamese Baguette” which to my way of thinking is their dummy’s way of saying bánh mì.
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