Archive for 'Italian'

Soho Sandwich Legend Alidoro Comes to Midtown

Alidoro, the downtown sandwich shop that has a list of rules about what they will and will not serve you, is bringing its tasty Italian sandwiches to 39th St. btw. Madison & 5th, starting Thursday at 7 a.m. Word is that they won’t be quite as militant about the approach to sandwich making at this new outpost, and will be serving more than huge sandwiches. Find out what else you can expect, straight ahead.  Read more »

New Chain Va Presto Pasta Bar to take over Satya space

New signage at the old Satya space proclaims Va Presto -Something-  is moving in. Anyone want to buy a vowel? “Go Quickly _____” in Italian sounds like an ominous name for a space vacated so quickly by the previous tenant. A permit posted on their 8th Avenue door gives some clues. Apparently we’re getting a pasta bar with alcohol (yay!) being opened by the Scottos, a family with a group of expensive (boo!) Italian restaurants throughout Long Island. Sorry, this carless New Yorker can’t say she’s been to any.

But wait… there’s more.

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La Trattoria Serves a Great Grandma Slice and Chicken Parm

I like to try new restaurants, but for certain foods, I tend to stick to one place. Pizza is one of those foods, and for my lunch needs, Previti is the place to go. But sometimes you have to force yourself to try something new, so this week I stopped by La Trattoria (corner of 2nd Ave. + 45th St.)

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Fagiolini “House of Lasagna” Lives Up to Its Name


Since I’ve been working in Midtown, I’ve walked by Fagiolini (Lex btw. 40th+39th) almost everyday on my way home, and always wondered if it was any good. Certainly, any restaurant that calls itself the “House of Lasagna” had better be able to back it up. Alas, I never stopped in, mostly because its prices are outside the ML limit. At least, they used to be, until I spotted a chalkboard sign advertising an $8.50 express lunch special.

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Flatiron Lunch: Contorno’s Serves Up Decent Italian In Holiday Inn Lobby

Every Friday we go south of the ML boundaries in search of a delicious lunch. Sometimes it’s Murray Hill south or the Flatiron District, sometimes Gramercy and everything in between- but we just like to call it Flatiron Lunch.


I realize that I am going to take some flack for this one, but yes, that is a Holiday Inn sign peaking out in the corner of the above photo, and yes, Contorno’s is an Italian restaurant in a Holiday Inn lobby. It’s always fun when we are able to bring you a restaurant in a non-traditional, almost hidden location (in my book, nothing will top El Sabroso), and Contorno’s not only qualifies as an unexpected and worthwhile lunch destination, but also brings better-than-average Italian food to the table at ML prices.

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Salume’s Kiosk Can’t Take The Cold

The inevitable happened: it got cold. When the flimsy Salumè kiosk opened last summer, I wondered what would happen to them come winter. Well, here we are, and now that we’ve had a couple days of frigid weather, they appear to be wondering the same thing, because they’ve gone missing. But let me back up a sec.

On December 24, Salumè tweeted that their kiosk was moving due to the holiday festivities. That makes sense — the other kiosks also moved around a bit, too, as they did during Thanksgiving. But, while everyone else is back in their rightful spots (actually, Snack Box has moved down the block from 47th to 46th street, FYI), Salumè is nowhere to be found…

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Are Salume Kiosk’s Cheese Sandwiches Worth Ordering?

Part of what we do at Midtown Lunch is try the stuff you don’t want to and let you know if it’s worth your time. Enter the non-meat sandwiches at the Salume kiosk in Times Square. While checking whether Snack Box had opened (it had not), I passed by Salume this afternoon. I couldn’t help but wonder why in the world anyone would order off the vegetarian menu at a store that clearly prides itself on its authentic sliced and cured Italian meats.

So, I ordered two.

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Your First Look at Harry’s Italian Pizza Bar

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When I passed by Harry’s Italian in the concourse at 30 Rock on Monday, I took a few other photos of the new shop. Get a closer look, including a menu shot, after the jump.

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The Italian Sausage at Mondello Makes Me Wish I Had Ordered a Chicken Parm

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I decided to begin my search for a proper Italian sausage hero close to home at Mondello (on 37th btw. Mad+5th). Their chicken parmigiana hero has been a favorite of mine since I started working in the area nearly seven years ago.

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Desperately Seeking Sausage Subs

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Grinder’s, heroes, subs, whatever you want to call them, I’m a longtime fan and I can’t seem to think of a single place in midtown where I can find a good one. I’m talking about coils of hot and sweet sausages sitting on a griddle with piles of onions and peppers, served up on a hero roll thick enough to soak up all the resulting grease. Carts selling them seem to pop up all over the city at summer street festivals, but the rest of the time, they seem to hibernate.

Last week, Andrea’s Downtown Lunch post about Dominic’s reminded me that I never did track down a decent Italian Sausage sub after the sad, sad halal cart sandwich last year. My first thought would be a pizza shop, but most of those leave their sandwiches as a second thought, drying out on steam trays for hours along with rubbery calzones and strombolis. I’m told Papa Perrone sells them, but I haven’t made it up that far north to investigate. What do you guys think? If anyone has ideas, chime in in the comments.