Midtown Lunch

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

High end restaurants offering lunch specials that dip into Midtown Lunch range is a common ploy to increase midday business. For me, the appeal of these deals (and what makes them worth technically going over $10 with tax and tip) is that you get something special, something you can’t normally get for that amount. Del Frisco’s legendary, and now defunct, steak tips deal is perhaps the best example. Recently, we got tipped off to a $10 burger at the decidedly un-Midtown Lunch-ish Uncle Jack’s Steakhouse, so I headed over to the (slightly out of bounds) 9th Ave. location btw. 34+35 (the other location is on 56th btw. 5+6th, right near Beacon- who have a $10 burger of their own available from their new “Side Door”).

See if Uncle Jack’s is a worthwhile contributor to this phenomenon after the jump.

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Beacon (on 56th btw. 5+6th) just expanded their “Side Door” take out menu. In addition to their famous Beacon Burger, and the Mr. Pink’s double dog, you can also now get a cobb salad or a vegetable and fruit salad (all are still $10). But more intriguing are the new desserts, including a dark chocolate cupcake with peanut butter brittle for only $2 and four chocolate chip cookies for a buck. Can we officially call Beacon a competitor for the best happy hour AND best lunch deal now?

See the menu after the jump Read more »

Sad news from Lunch’er “Rose” yesterday… Mantao, the Chinese sandwich shop that moved from Tribeca to Midtown East back in July of 2009 has closed. Their website is still up, but they haven’t twittered since February and their phone is disconnected. But that’s not the only news from 52nd btw. 2+3rd… Busan, the fancy pants Korean spot that was mentioned in the forums once, has also closed. Hopefully something good will replace both spots soon.

From Lunch’er Ben:  “Just an FYI — I was craving one of Mia Dona’s gelato/brioche sandwiches yesterday and trekked over there yesterday evening. Couldn’t find the cart in sight so I went into the restaurant and the manager happened to be up front so I asked him about its whereabouts. He said they stopped serving them because they just weren’t popular at all. He said he was only selling about 10/day, so it just didn’t make sense anymore. He mentioned getting a ton of press about them but that that unfortunately did not transfer into sales. They won’t be bringing them back sadly.”    You know what’s more sad than that?  They didn’t even give it a month.  (How expensive can it be to sell ice cream sandwiches in front of your restaurant!?)

Metromix interviewed Bizarre Food Host (and Midtown Lunch hero) Andrew Zimmern the other day, and chose a location that is near and dear to our hearts: the Biriyani Cart! The interview was promoting Carts in the Parc, the street food event that AZ is hosting at this year’s New York Wine and Food Festival.  It takes place October 10th in the park inside the Eventi Hotel (on 6th Ave. btw. 29+30th), and tickets are kind of pricey for Midtown Lunchers ($100) but it includes beer, wine and all the food you can eat from a great list of NYC’s finest street food vendors (plus Zimmern himself will be serving up a dish along with a “special guest”!)

We actually helped them choose some of the participants, so you won’t be surprised by most of the list. Check out the full list of vendors, plus buy your tickets here. (And don’t wait too long!  The Vendy Awards sold out this past weekend… it’s only a matter of time before this one does too.)