Midtown Lunch

We got word that a pop-up location of chocolate maker Jacques Torres was opening yesterday in the Lexington Passage of Grand Central Terminal. For whatever reason, the shop had an “opening soon” sign on the door late in the day, but the inside looked ready to go- so we’re assuming they’re open today. The pop-up will be open throughout May, then closed for renovation until August when the space will reopen as a permanent fixture.

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Schmackary’s didn’t do so hot in the 2012 Readers’ Poll for desserts, which was disappointing to me, because it’s at the top of my list for cookies around Times Square. In addition to fulfilling your cookie fix, though, there are plenty other options in their arsenal of sweets, including “Schmackaroons,” or coconut macaroons with the Schmackary’s twist. Usually $3 each, and without discounts when bought in bulk, the Schmackaroons don’t come cheap. But, on Tuesdays Schmackary’s treats Schmackaroons like cookies. Instead of $3, they are the price of cookies (pricing structure in this post), and if you buy more than one, the price per Schmackaroon is reduced. So, I purchased a cookie and a Schmackaroon and forked over $5, the price of two cookies.
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There are some foods I wish I didn’t know existed. But knowledge can’t be reversed and I can’t stuff Ben & Jerry’s chocolate chip cookies back inside their puffy cloud covered Pandora’s Box. Resistance is futile. This is a battle I’m destined to lose so instead I’m going to share the burden of these habit-forming chocolate chip cookies. Read more »

Perhaps clueing in on the successes of the Coolhaus Truck and ‘wichcraft ice cream sandwich kiosk, a new establishment called Smush (40th St. btw. 5th + 6th) is opening soon among the land of gourmet delis near Bryant Park. Fittingly, it calls itself The NY Deli of Desserts, and plans to sell speciality ice cream sandwiches with namesakes borrowed from savory sandwiches. According to their website, they’ll be selling sandwiches such as the “Chocolate Covered Struben”, the “Chocolate Patty Melt”, the “French Chip” and the “Sloppy Mo'”. They also have an option for customers to build their own sandwiches. If you would like to learn more, or if you’re interested in reading about the riveting story of Smush the Penguin from Icey Mount Smushmore, their website is very informative. Obviously the ML team will keep you updated on Smush as we learn more.

Top Pot’s infamous maple bar

Before I moved to New York, I lived in Seattle for a spell. And despite having what is the complete opposite of a sweet tooth (sorry Blondie & Brownie!), I used to pop into Top Pot Doughnuts, a Seattle based doughnut chain, on a regular basis for their awesome apple fritters and maple bars (Seattle Seahawks WR, Golden Tate, is also a huge fan of their maple bars). So I was glad to hear the news that Top Pot has set their sights on expanding nationally, with an eye towards midtown Manhattan. Although New Yorkers may have had a taste of their doughnuts before – Top Pot temporarily partnered with Starbucks in 2010-11 – we could always use another source for a sugar rush. And the fact that it’s Golden Tate (and Chris H) approved, even better. Thanks Lunch’er Sam P.S. for the tip!

More wonderful news on the ice cream front this week. Quality Cakes, that colorful bar inside high-end steakhouse Quality Meats, is back for their third summer. We’ve been huge fans of their personal-sized ice cream cakes for the last two years and I’m so happy pastry chef Cory Colton hasn’t gotten tired of making these delicious little concoctions. The flavors are similar to the ones last year, including The Monster Mash, Toasted Banana S’more, Chocolate Covered Grasshopper, and Strawberry Shortcake with one new addition: The Nut & Honey (roasted pistachio cake, nougat candy ice cream, and vanilla-cherry icing).

The cakes are each $8 and well worth the dessert splurge. They’re big enough to share, but will be easy to finish solo without feeling like too much of a fatty. If you haven’t tasted these yet, I urge you to do so. If you have, than you understand my excitement. They’ll be available throughout the summer and maybe as long as October, as was the case last year.

Quality Meats, 57 W 58th Street (btw. 5th and 6th Avenue), (212) 371-7777

Schmackary’s has officially become my new favorite place to get cookies since the Treats Truck left Midtown. They just opened a couple weeks ago, and in my first visit, I was going to get something pretty standard, like chocolate chip, to be able to properly judge based on familiarity. But, apparently I’m really attracted to buttercream frosting, because instead I went with cookies covered in it. And, it’s amazing, by the way.
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Interesting news from Lunch’er Sean, who sent us this tip about a sweet new addition to Ninth Avenue:

The old Piece of Chicken [spot] has been signed by the cookie outfit Schmackary’s, which will be their first storefront. Probably not as affordable as the Treats Truck (we miss you Kim!), but I’m interested in a new sugar fix near my office in Times Square.

In case you don’t remember, Piece of Chicken, was that very affordable but out-of-bounds fried chicken joint at 630 Ninth Avenue that closed in 2010. It’s a bit of a hike to get there, but we are excited to potentially have a new reason to walk all the way to Ninth!

For years I was an avowed coconut hater. I studiously avoided anything with coconut. Over time, however, I’ve discovered that I don’t really hate coconut. I hate people who make horrible things with coconut. Coconut in the right hands can be exceptionally delicious. Take for example the macaroons from Danny Macaroons that I finally tried at Choice Eats. Blondie had been singing their praises forever, but I couldn’t see past my deep dislike of coconut to give them a shot. When I finally did, man, oh, man, they were so good, so, so habit-forming that I had to seek them out in the city and I found them I midtown at a most unexpected location: Bergdorf Goodman’s.

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It’s that time again…Free Cone Day at Ben & Jerry’s has officially arrived. According to their Scoop Shop locator, both the Rock Center concourse shop and the Macy’s location (on the 4th floor of Macy’s) will be participating. Details are the same as in years past–free cones are offered from noon until 8pm. Lines tend to be busiest at lunch and towards the end of the day but generally move quickly. And word on the street (or the twitter feed) is that they will be giving out their new Greek frozen yogurt among other free flavors. Free loaders, you know the drill. Did you get your free cone? Help a fellow Midtown Lunch’r out and let us know your wait time in the comments.