Midtown Lunch

(and a very hard to photograph sign)

Like we mentioned last week, Gotham West Market (11th Ave btw 44th+45th) is now open for lunch, dinner, and snack business and I hiked over to the end of the world 11th Avenue to check it all out. The market itself feels like a post-modern food court with its glassed-in open air stalls and stainless steel seating open to all, the only break up being an entrance into the Brooklyn Kitchen anchoring the back wall. Oh, and $13 ramen.

I did my lap, checking everyone’s prices, hid my shock at blatant rip-offs (ahem, $13 ramen), and circled back to the one stall that seemed reasonable, Court St. Grocers (those of you who have been and are screaming “Genuine Roadside!” hold on, I’m getting there). Court St. Grocers had what I considered decent: a good array of sandwiches, some a little on the pricey side, but I’m willing to spend $10-$12 if it’s enough food. By that point in the day, their $5 grilled cheese was long gone and I went for the $10 Italian Combo.

The sandwich is mortadella, soppressata, hot coppa, provolone, mozzarella, red onion, arugula, Court St.’s own hoagie spread, and mayo on a Caputo’s seeded club roll. It was enough food, I even took half of the sandwich home for lunch the next day and the bread still had a crisp to it even with the spreads and refrigeration. That’s $10 well spent to me.

My companion decided to try some of the tapas from El Colmado. This is her $3.50 deviled egg (it has smoked bacalao and roasted pepper in it.) But yes, $3.50. That’s an entire dozen of my humane-certified eggs for a half of one. Not sayin’. Just sayin’.

She also picked up the crispy hominy for $4, and while we’ll chalk up the little flavor it had to second day openness, she did end up wrapping it up and taking it home for flavor experimenting. Said companion was incredibly happy that the sausage making class at Brooklyn Kitchen comes with sausages to nibble on.

That said, yes, this outlet of the Brooklyn Kitchen has classes! (And turkeys this week!) No more rushing out of your office to make a 6:30 class in Greenpoint. You can stay in Manhattan and not have to deal with that dirty borough.

After the sausage class (I need to work on my sausage stuffing technique), I realized Gotham West’s design flaw. In my swing around, I had missed Genuine Roadside (on the 44th Street side). The entrance is a bit walled off making it a little disconnected from the food court aspect, and I don’t know if my eyes didn’t catch that it was there or if my brain thought, “That’s another store. Disregard.”

But if you’re looking for a decent lunch for under $10, this is the place to go. I hear, and the menu can show, that it’s a total burger joint, except for the $12 fish tacos. I considered picking up a burger for “research,” but it might have sent me into the cold meat sweats.

If you’ve hit up Genuine Roadside or any of the other stalls, let us know in the comments!

Gotham West Market, 600 11th Avenue (btw 44+45th). 212-582-7940