Midtown Lunch

In my book, nothing can replace my favorite Blarney Stone (3rd btw. 44th+45th), but some of my fellow office drones don’t feel the same way I do. “I’ve seen roaches there,” is a normal excuse to not go, despite having some of the best and cheapest burgers around. Meanwhile, Connolly’s was never on my list of lunch spots simply due to past experiences of subpar food at high prices. So when I was passing the 47th and 3rd Connelly’s location and spotted that they had begun $9 Bar Specials, I was hesitant to try it out… but this is exactly what Midtown Lunch is for.

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If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, Meru from the Biriyani Cart (on 46th and 6th) should be incredibly flattered this week! A new cart called “My Biryani” has popped up on 44th and 6th selling “Bombay spicy biryani”, and kati rolls.  We can’t imagine it’s better than the Biriyani Cart, but there could be some spillover action?  (The lines on 46th have gotten pretty long.) Early adopters, let us know how it is in the comments.  And thanks to Lunch’er “Adam Prato” for the tip and photos.

Last month’s Flatiron news post mentioned that the East Village’s Michelin-starred Thai restaurant, Rhong Tiam was opening an express branch in the Flatiron/Gramercy area. As of last week, it’s here and serving up plenty of Midtown Lunch-ranged options. With just a week under their belts, there’s a lot they still need to work out. So, today we’re going to take a first look instead of a full on +/-.

Check it out after the jump.

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• Now the Famous Dal Cart is missing! [Midtown Eating]
• Here’s where to find rotisserie chicken in Midtown [Midtown Eating]
• Get 50% off Wild Ginger on East 51st [Midtown Eating]
• Dishes in GCT makes a good chocolate pudding [Midtown Eating]

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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