Midtown Lunch » Price Hike

Piece of Chicken Price Hike

Zach Brooks — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 17:45:45 +0000

Last month I mentioned that the just out of bounds Piece of Chicken (on 45th btw. 8+9th) had raised the price of their breast and chicken livers, and now Grub Street has discovered why: “Owner Alberta Wright tells us it’s because she’s been undercharging (for the breast meat, especially) since she opened. ‘I’ve not been charging the right prices. I need to make more money on that breast,’ she says.” [Grub Street]

Two Pop Burgers Now $7!!!

Zach Brooks — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 12:00:00 +0000

As if the Gray’s Papaya news wasn’t bad enough… this hit the inbox yesterday afternoon about Pop Burger (on 58th btw. Park+Madison): ”Not sure when it happened, but the price of the two pop burgers at the 58th street location are up to $7. They also can’t get much more dry. Just not worth it anymore.” With Five Guys Burgers and Fries on 55th btw. 5+6th, I have to say I totally agree. Reminder: When this place opened less than a year ago, two burgers were $5.

Even ‘Recession Special’ Hit By Recession

Zach Brooks — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 20:00:47 +0000

The New York Times reported yesterday that Gray’s Papaya, which has a Midtown location on 8th Ave. and 37th Street, will be raising the price of its famous “recession special” (2 dogs and a drink) from $3.50 to $4.45. *Sigh* Is nothing sacred?

Steak Truck Implements Fastest Price Hike Ever

Zach Brooks — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 21:00:21 +0000

Now this is ridiculous. On Thursday of last week (that is 3 business days ago for anybody who needs help with the counting) I posted about the sign on “The Steak Truck” (on Park Ave. and 47th) advertising a $4.99 foot long steak and cheese sub. Yesterday, I walked by again- and the sign had been replaced with this:

Shame on you Steak Truck. Still haven’t tried it though… and now I’m not sure I want to. (Yes, I pout. And yes, I hold grudges.)

A photo of last week’s Steak Truck, after the jump…

File This Under ‘Things I’d Rather Not Know’

Zach Brooks — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 13:00:43 +0000

In the comments about Five Guys Burgers & Fries (on 56th btw. 5+6th): “They have updated their menu with calorie info: Cheeseburger is 840, small fries is 620 (no mention if it includes the overflow).” Also, prices have gone up. According to one lunch’er: a Little Cheeseburger with fries is now $8.99, up from $8.19.

Price Hikes: The Good, The Bad and the Ugly

Zach Brooks — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 13:48:17 +0000

It’s been a month since I posted the Price Hike list, and not surprisingly a lot more places have raised their prices… but a few haven’t. Let’s start with some good news…

In a total shock, the 3 rolls for $10 takeout sushi deal is still available at Aoki on 48th btw. 7+8th. I thought for sure when I wrote about this in April they would pull a Del Frisco’s but, in a delightful surprise, the best sushi deal in Midtown is still available. Just remember, you have to take it to go. It’s $11 for 3 rolls if you sit in the restaurant. 2+ months and counting…

Photograph by nycblondieandbrownie

Now the bad… plenty of places have raised their prices recently, but it’s always more upsetting when it happens at a Midtown Lunch standby. All three Kwik Meal carts have tacked 50 cents on to most of their items. The falafel on pita is already on the small side, and for $4.50 I’ll have to think twice about buying two (a standard Kwik Meal order.)

The ugly, after the jump…

I swung by Ambrosia (on 45th btw. 5+6th) yesterday to see if there was anything new going on at their Korean stand in the back. What I discovered was totally shocking… the bi bim bap with meat is now $10.95. The vegetarian version was raised to $8.95 (a complaint that was posted last week), but I didn’t realize the meat version was so expensive! It explains why there was no meat in my $9 bi bim bap the last time I went, so I guess it has probably been this way for awhile… but I certainly didn’t realize it. Shocking. I haven’t been to Cafe Duke in a minute, but it looks like I’m going to be returning very soon.

Got any news of your own to report? Post it in the comments, or email me at zach@midtownlunch.com

And Then There Were Two (99 Cent Pizza Now $1.49)

Zach Brooks — Fri, 23 May 2008 15:30:35 +0000

I promised I wouldn’t cry post about all the price increases, because there were just too many, and it is starting to sound like a broken record at this point… but some things are much bigger than a Price Hike List (which I put up on the left hand Navbar on Wednesday). For example- the $1 slice of pizza, which is hands down, the cheapest Midtown Lunch there is. Well, I’m sad to report that Z Deli on 8th Ave. btw. 48+40th has upped the cost of their slice from .99 to $1.49 (a 50% increase!!!), leaving 99 Cent Fresh Pizza (one location on 43th btw. Lex+3rd, and one out of bounds location behind Port Authority) and the Prince Deli (on 3rd Ave. btw. 43+44th) as the only two remaining purveyors of the $1 slice of pie in Midtown.

The Z Deli slice was barely worth $1, I can’t even fathom anybody paying $1.50- but more importantly, what will 99 Cent Fresh Pizza do if the cost of flour, and cheese continues to rise. Shut down, or change their name? Either would be incredibly upsetting…

NY Post Exposes Me for the Fat Bastard I Am

Zach Brooks — Wed, 21 May 2008 13:48:07 +0000

This morning’s NY Post has an article listing all the daily food items we buy that have increased in priced since the beginning of the year. I’ve complained so much about the rising cost of Midtown lunches, they asked me to comment on it for the piece, and this is the quote that got printed:

“It used to be that $9.95 was the standard price for an all-you-can-eat lunch buffet. Now it’s hard to find. It’s very upsetting to me. I want to be able to stuff my face for under $10, pretax.“

I suppose there is no denying that quote. (It sounds like something that would come out of my mouth.)

Coincidentally enough, after talking to them, I discovered another buffet has raised their prices. Find out which one after the jump…

The International Food House Buffet on 35th btw. 7+8th recently upped their all you can eat buffet price from $8.95 to $9.95. Thankfully, at under $10 it’s still technically a Midtown Lunch, and with the steep increase in the price of rice, flour and just about everything else, it’s tough to be mad. Paying $9 for their extensive, and delicious Latin buffet was borderline criminal.

For the first few months of the year, I tried posting every time the price of a Midtown Lunch was raised, but it just got to be too much. Almost everything is more expensive than when I originally started the site almost 2 years ago. So I’ve decided to start a price hike list, which will appear on the left hand table of contents. On it, you can see a list of all the places, that I know of, whose prices have gone up since I originally wrote about them here on Midtown Lunch. I know it’s not comprehensive, but it includes every place that I’ve gotten an email, or reader comment about. Feel free to add more in the comments or email me at zach@midtownlunch.com and I’ll add them to the official list.