Midtown Lunch

Most of you may be thinking “What New York needs is more fried chicken sandwiches, more food chains, and more waiting in line.” Well, you are in luck because Gothamist reported yesterday that Chick-Fil-A will be opening thier second location in Midtown this spring. It will be on 46th and 6th less than ten blocks away from its Herald Square location on 37th and 6th. Perhaps this will mean the first location will have less of a line situation, but I somehow doubt it.

Over the weekend, I noticed an unusual thing. There was no line at the normally mobbed Chick-Fil-A. Turns out it’s because they’ve been closed since Christmas. That was when the Department of Health stopped by and gave the fast food chain 59 points (which warrants a C grade) due to things like filth flies and food not protected from potential contamination. They decided to voluntarily close to make changes, but were supposed to re-open yesterday. According to Grub Street, they will remain closed until further notice. Now where will Midtowners with too much time on their hands wait in line??

UPDATE: The location reportedly reopened this morning. 

In case you live under a rock, Chick Fil A finally opened up their first ‘real’ NYC location at 37th and 6th Avenue. Lines have been crazy long but well-organized based on some things I’ve seen on my Facebook feed, so I imagine the protesters and controversy surrounding the chain hasn’t really done much to dampen the enthusiasm for fried chicken sandwiches.

There was a crazy opening ceremony that included their giving away “Chicken For A Year” to 100 lucky winners, which is described in explicit detail over at Gawker. Be warned – that’s a super long story that is entertaining and fun to read, but the bottom line is: that Gawker reporter is a genius for masking his (her?) Maker’s Mark as sweet tea by using lots of ice, but that Gawker reporter is also a complete moron for ruining his/her $4000 Macbook by waiting in the rain to be a part of the contest and winning what amounts to roughly $400 of fast food fried chicken sandwiches.

In any case, any early adopters out there? Let us know in comments what you think about Chick Fil A, or where we can find really delicious fried chicken sandwiches elsewhere in midtown that are under the $10 mark… and I will eat them all.

Chick Fil A, 1000 Avenue of the Americas (and 6th Avenue), New York, NY 10018
Phone: (212) 704-9920

Political disagreements aside, there’s no denying that the the food from Chick-Fil-A is delicious. For those of us who grew up in the suburbs of the South, chicken nuggets with dipping sauces was our childhood. We have written extensively about the fast food company on these pages and you’ll forgive us, but we have to write about it a few more times. Because Chick-Fil-A is opening their first stand-alone restaurant in Midtown. And it is a massive one.

Crain’s reported that a three story, 5,000 square foot space will open on Sixth Avenue and 37th Street in late summer. Just like all their other locations, this Chick-Fil-A will be closed on Sunday. Not sure how that’s going to sit with the tourists, but it doesn’t affect us too much. While it is hard to resist those Chick-Fil-A waffle fries, it will be interesting to see how the business fares in this city, considering the owner’s stance on same-sex marriage.

Chick Fil A, 1000 6th Ave. (at 37th Street)

Chick Fil A Giveaway in Bryant Park. Photo courtesy of Ex_Flexitarian

Wow. Just… wow.

Was it worth it?

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Chick-fil-a has long been high up on the long wishlist of food options that Midtown Lunchers have been clamoring for. With the exception of a sole location in the NYU food court (closed for the summer), the entire city is without the combination of luscious chicken filets wrapped between soft, buttery rolls and topped with a tangy pickle. And if that weren’t bad enough, a couple years ago, the company started making annual trips to our fair city offering their delicious sandwiches for free to the media elites on “Cow Appreciation Day”. It’s so upsetting, we felt the need to issue PSAs warning Lunchers to not get too excited if they saw Chick-fil-a employees wandering around Midtown with giant cases full of southern delights.

Well, Chick Fil A has finally responded to our pain!

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Got this frantic email from Lunch’er Steven today: “Hey Zach, I just saw like 5 people in yellow Chick-Fil-A shirts with those domino’s pizza heat bags filled with food I imagine, go into one of the elevator banks in 30 rock. WTF?! Where could this be coming from?”  Well Steven, I’d love to be able to tell you that the only NYC Chick-Fil-A, located in the NYU Weinstein Hall food court, was now doing delivery but it’s nothing that exciting. Midtown Lunch friend Lisa Fain, from the blog Homesick Texan, confirms that Chick-Fil-A was in town today bringing food to various “media outlets”.

Her anger inducing photo is after the jump…

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