Midtown Lunch

House of Pita has become the little falafel stand that could, re-opening their operation on 8th Ave. btw. 39+40th, in the space formerly occupied by Mandler’s Sausage Co.  This comes a little over a month after their 2nd location, on 46th btw. 5+6th closed after 6 months in business.  According to the owner, the 46th St. location was always only going to be a temporary location- they were just forced out a little earlier then they expected.

The new House of Pita on 8th has the same falafel, salads and pickled veggies you loved at the original 48th St. window, but they are now serving meat dishes, most notably- chicken shawarma.  Because House of Pita was always a dairy (no meat served), and the new location will serve meat, the owner felt it would be misleading to keep the original name, so he plans to change it to… Chicken Bar.

Why does that name sound familiar??? Read more »

I finally made it out to the Midtown branch of Mandler’s Sausage Co. which finally opened a few weeks ago (after numerous delays).  I love it when new places open in Midtown, and it’s especially gratifying when that new place is a transplant from a better lunch’ing area of Manhattan.  If Midtown is good enough for the Mandler family, than maybe it will be good enough for Mamoun, or David Chang or any of those people who make cheap Banh Mi in Chinatown!

And now… for the first time ever- I present a Midtown Lunch +/- in pictures.  Who needs my terrible prose, when you can just see the food for yourself!

THE + (what people who like Mandler’s would say about it)

(+)The selection.  With 11 different kinds of sausages, 12 different toppings, schnitzel, crepes, breakfast and more- there is something for everyone.  There’s also a Kosher sausage, a turkey sausage and a veggie sausage for people with dietary restrictions.

(+)The Mustard Bar.  If you are a fan of the dipping sauce (and quite frankly, who isn’t), then Mandler’s may be your favorite place in Midtown.  A whopping 6 different mustards (plus ketchup and mayo), and it’s self serve- so you don’t have to be embarassed asking the cashier for 17 sauces.  Horseradish, Vermont Maple, Roasted Garlic Dijon, Amber Ale Honey, Three Peppercorn Dijon & Smokey Garlic Dijon.

(+) The combo meals (and side dishes that come with them).  There’s something very comforting about a combo meal.  Even if it only saves you 50 cents (or zero cents, like at some places), I like it when places offer an option that *forces* you to eat more.  And the best part about Mandler’s is the side dishes that comes with the combo meals.  It makes it easier to forgive the $9 price tag when you are getting these sides!  With your choice of sausage, you can get regular fries (seen above)… or delicious zucchini fries! (seen below)

You can also get your sausage with a cheese, zucchini or potato pancake (seen below)

Or the greatest side dish of all time…. after the jump Read more »

Posted to the Midtown Lunch Flickr Photo Group by joshbousel 

So I want to clear up any confusion among those of you who might have seen the Mandler’s posting on Thursday afternoon.  Around 3pm I received this email:

From: “Gil Mandler”
To: “Zach Brooks” zach@midtownlunch.com
Subject: RE: Mandlers.com Contact
Date: Thu, 15 Mar 2007 11:53:33 -0700

Hi Zach,

I’m glad you emailed me; we’ve actually had some minor set backs so we are pushing the opening back one week. I’ll let you know if something new arises.

Thanks,
Gil

… and posted this on the blog: 

I reported last Friday that Mandler’s is opening a Midtown branch on 9th Ave. btw. 39th & 40th.  They were trying to be ready for this Monday the 19th, but it doesn’t look like it is going to happen.  As of right now, the opening has been pushed back one week to Monday, March 26th. 

That means 11 more days before sausage, zucchini fries, corn fritters, potato pancakes, and a serve yourself mustard bar in Midtown.  Check out the menu for yourself and get excited.  There goes my plans for Monday!   If anything changes, I’ll let you know…

Well apparently things have indeed changed! There was leakage in the basement that threatened to push the Mandler’s opening to the 23rd.  Shortly after the post went up, they seemed to have found a solution to the problem, and fully intend on opening this Monday (“barring any new surprises”). 

All this toying with my emotions is just wrong.  C’mon people- I’m just a fat man who wants to eat sausage.  Wait- that doesn’t sound right…  let me re-phrase that.  I’m just a fat man who wants to eat corn fritters & zucchini fries (with a sausage).  Mildly better.

Anyway, the short of it is.  Mandler’s.  Midtown.  Opening this Monday.  (Hopefully.)  If it does, I will be there!

UPDATE: Monday, March 19th.  Mandler’s is NOT open yet.  When it opens, I will let you know.
 

People,  I’ve got some big news.  You’ll probably want to sit down for this one (although chances are you’re already sitting- unless you have some sort of weird “stand while you work on your computer” thing going on).  I will now dispense my amazing information in the form of a photograph:

That’s right…  Chicken & Waffles has arrived in Midtown!!!  If you are unfamiliar with the concept, it’s pretty simple.  Take a waffle.  Put some fried chicken on top.  Cover the whole thing with syrup.  Enjoy!  (A final step of pounding on your chest to ward off a heart attack may be necessary)

I was first introduced to the Chicken & Waffle phonomenom at Roscoe’s Chicken & Waffles (an amazing L.A. institution), but apparently it’s a restaurant/jazz club in Harlem that takes credit for inventing the dish.  They claim it was created in the 30s to serve late night patrons who couldn’t decide between breakfast and dinner (would Gladys Knight lie!?!?)

From the moment I heard that you could get fried chicken served on a waffle, I knew it would be good.  How could it not be???  Fried chicken.  Good.  Waffle.  Good.  Syrup.  Always good.  I had heard that Amy Ruth’s in Harlem (116th btw. Lennox & 7th) is one of the best places to go for this amazing treat, but I haven’t found time to make the pilgrimage.  Well, I guess they got sick of waiting- and have now decided to bring the Chicken & Waffles to me!  The owners of the famous, always a line out the door Amy Ruth’s in Harlem, have opened Ressie Mae’s Soul to Go in Midtown, across from the Port Authority (on 8th Ave. btw. 39th & 40th.).

Surprisingly, there are some who are not with me on this chicken and waffles thing.  Those people are communists (I don’t even know what that means… but I’m sure it’s true.)  These are the same people who probably eat every last bite of their eggs and bacon before biting into their pancakes.  Craziness.  Lucky for them (and all of us for that matter), Ressie Mae’s serves up all kinds of delicious soul food, all made from the same recipes used at Amy Ruth’s… and their lunch specials are so cheap it makes me wonder how we got so lucky.

The rest of the food, more pictures and the +/-, after the jump…

Read more »