Midtown Lunch

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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If you’re looking for something to do tonight, Mamacita filled you in on all the St. Paddy’s Day sweets and drinks specials but what celebrating St Paddy’s day at lunch? On a recent Rock Center concourse jaunt, I noticed that Pret a Manger is now stocking new Corned Beef and Pickle Sandwiches made from Niman Ranch Corned Beef. Could be a good choice if you are looking for your corned beef fix without the pub crowds, though the price tag seems a bit steep at $6.89. If you’re willing to brave the hoards of drunken revelers, Blarney Stone on 3rd Ave has a lovely looking corned beef sandwich that Zach calls his “favorite St. Paddy’s Day lunch.”

Pret a Manger (various locations)
Blarney Stone , 710 3rd Ave (btw 44+45th St)

Where was I at 2pm today?  At Pret of course (along with god knows how many other Midtown Lunchers), trying the chocolate chunk cookie that Serious Eats: New York dubbed best in Midtown yesterday. Soooo good.  Crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside, good mix of chips and chunks.  (You may say the secret ingredient is the warming case.)  I went to the Pret on 7th Ave. and 36th and while I walked north, enjoying my cookie, I passed by a girl coming out of the Pret on 39th and 7th holding her cookie. (Coincidence?  Possibly… but whatever.  It’s more fun to think everybody is rushing out to eat cookies because of NYC food blogs.)

There are almost 20 Pret a Manger locations in Midtown, so you should have no trouble scoring one in our neck of the woods (if you haven’t already.)  With only two locations Downtown, our lunch friends to the south might have some problems.  This was twittered by @ahemler at 1:15pm today: “Pret on Maiden lane sold out of choc chunk cookies. You guys are savages.” Doh!

Related:
Pret Wins Best Midtown(ish) Cookie