Midtown Lunch

It’s been awhile since I’ve been to Fashion Soup, a really good take out place on 41st btw. 6th & Broadway featuring tasty soups homemade by its Eastern European owner (who also works in the store during the day.) Seeing as it’s Fashion Week, I thought I’d drop by and see what was going on. In addition to being curious about changes, I was also secretly interested in seeing if business changed considering the influx of fashionable peoples under tents, half an avenue away in Bryant Park.

What I found was a big surprise… 

Mexican food!  Burritos, tacos, enchiladas, tortas, pork chops (?), and more.  I’m down with that.  They always had decent quesadillas, although considering they are usually stuffed with fresh mozzarella, basil, and tomato, “Mexican” is not exactly the word I’d use to describe their quesadillas.  Everything on the new menu is sold in plate form (so you can’t just order an individual taco) and ranges in price from $7 to $10.   A little pricey, but I will admit to being cautiously curious.  With incredibly low expectations I ordered the roast pork burrito, praying that I had just found the answer to our burrito woes…

One look at my order, and all those prayers were dashed. Burritos are not meant to be eaten with a fork and a knife.  It’s shameful.  For $10 it’s a hefty lunch, but I say keep your salad with avocado, and charge me $7. No salsa in the burrito (sad) and the meat was slices of chewy pork- rather than a much more preferable pulled roast pork situation.  The meat issue could have been overlooked with some good flavoring, but that was missing as well.  Don’t even get me started on the watery green excuse for guacamole poured over the top of this thing.  “Wait Zach, are you sure that wasn’t just some sort of salsa verde?”  Uh… if it was salsa verde, why was it made from avocados?  And why did it have no flavor?  No spiciness.  Nothing.  I let the tears I was crying fall onto my plate in the hopes it would improve the sauce.

There are two reasons I’m not ready to give up.  #1.  I like Fashion Soup.  It’s a great small business that makes excellent homemade soups. Do you want Hale and Hearty to take over the city?  If the answer is no, than start going to places like Fashion Soup.  #2. There are a lot of things on the menu, and maybe there is something good.  Pork chops?  Tacos?  Has anybody else been?  Is there something worthwhile, or should they just stick to the soups?

If you do go to try the Mexican food, be prepared to wait. They make everything practically to order, one dish at a time, and each order takes about 3-5 minutes.  So if anybody ahead of you is waiting for Mexican food, you’ll have to wait for them to get their order before you get yours.  There were 4 guys ahead of me, and I waited 20 minutes.  It sucked. (And was made even worse by having to listen to annoying Fashion Week attendees blab on about nothing, and being in line with a guy whose shoes probably cost more than my entire wardrobe. I’m guessing these people will be gone next week.) Ordering ahead is probably the best plan…

The last You Decide didn’t work out so well… and then the place closed.  Hopefully that won’t happen this time!

Fashion Soup,  124 W. 41st. (btw. 6th & B’way), 212-704-0909