Midtown Lunch

Every Friday we go south of the ML boundaries in search of a delicious lunch. Sometimes it’s Murray Hill south or the Flatiron District, sometimes Gramercy and everything in between- but we just like to call it Flatiron Lunch.

New York got its first taste of Schnipper’s Quality Kitchen when the Midtown branch (8th Ave + 41st) opened up a while back, and it seemingly became known for its burgers. Late last year, the second location opened on 23rd at Madison, almost directly across from Shake Shack. I think we all know whose burgers are better, so when I stopped by the Flatiron Schnipper’s this week, I wanted to try something else, maybe something for the token vegetarian in your group who always complains when you hit up the Shack that there’s nothing for them, but fries and deep-fried mushroom sandwiches!

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I happened to walk by Schnipper’s Quality Kitchen last night, and noticed that they posted a sign stating that they’ve shut down their breakfast service. This is a darn shame, for as much as we’ve enjoyed their burgers; we’ve never had a chance to try their breakfast offerings. I guess we’ll have to stick with Tri Tip Grill or ‘wichcraft for gourmet breakfasts.

In the two years that it has been open, Schnipper’s Quality Kitchen has always seemed to covet a spot amongst New York’s burger elite. Initial reactions to their signature offering were good, but not great. While Schnipper’s was quietly stepping their ground meat game up, by cooking patties to order and switching to LaFrieda beef, Shake Shack opened a few blocks away and the stakes got higher. Schnipper’s burgers have seemingly been climbing up the ranks of public opinion for a while now, so I decided to celebrate their 2 Year Anniversary with my first visit, and one of their new and improved cheeseburgers.

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Congrats to Schnipper’s Quality Kitchen (on 8th Ave. & 41st), who turns two years old on Thursday.  To celebrate their anniversary hamburgers, cheeseburgers, and PBR will be only $2 each (limit 2 per customer) from 10am to 10pm.  But wait… there’s more.  From 2-4 pm Hamburger America author George Motz will be there signing copies of his book, and the Hickory Bacon Blue (his favorite burger) will be only $2 during that time.  Plus the first 20 guests to show up at 2pm get free signed copies of his book. This could be crazier than the day Bobby Flay taped Throwdown…

The now shuttered City Burger taught us that using Pat LaFrieda beef (the same meat purveyor famously used by the Shake Shack and HB Burger, as well as the Minetta Tavern) doesn’t guarantee you a good burger. But it certainly doesn’t hurt either… especially if you are serving burgers right across the street from the brand new Times Square Shake Shack. According to @dmanburger Schnipper’s Quality Kitchen (on 41st and 8th) is now making their burgers from LaFrieda meat (according to Serious Eats they used Master Purveyors when they first opened .) Owner Andrew Schnipper confirmed to us that they quietly made the switch a “few months ago” to a custom LaFrieda blend made just for them. Clearly it looks like a Schnipper’s burger redux is in order…

Related:
Schnipper’s Bros Respond to Chest Bumping Accusations & Impending Shake Shack Invasion
Apparently It’s Not LaFrieda’s, It’s What You Do With It

Schnipper’s Quality Kitchen (on 41st and 8th is celebrating their first anniversary this Friday by giving away a free milkshake or a free beer with purchase of a hamburger. Offer good from 11am to 11pm on Friday, January 29th only.

I’m not sure if the New York Times cafeteria is back open after last week’s health scare, but Andrew Schnipper sent me an email last week wanting to make it clear that him and his brother would never take joy in the sickness of others. He also reiterated how excited they are to have the Shake Shack opening just 3 blocks away from their spot.

Hi Zach:

I hope you are well. I generally enjoy your blog and reading about your well thought out recommendations for midtown lunchers. I think you do a great job of discovering good values and interesting places for people to eat that they might not find on their own. However, I was disappointed [Thursday] regarding your comment that my brother and I would be “chest bumping” because we might get some extra business due to the fact that some people were made sick from a competitor. I can assure you we don’t ever want to see people get sick and certainly don’t want to benefit from it. Fortunately for us, business is great and we were busy [Thursday] as we usually are on a Thursday. And if we could help a neighbor and have prevented any food bourne illness, we would gladly do so. You clearly don’t know my brother and I well enough to think this would make us happy and I just wanted to set the record straight. I have no idea whether they have reopened the cafeteria, but let me be the first to tell you that I hope they did and that the employees who likely lost hours of pay yesterday will be back to work today.

But wait, there’s more.

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