Cuisine: Lunch Smorgasbord
Another one of those gigantic, meandering midtown lunch joints with every imaginable kind of food under glass. Want a panini? They got it. Want a burrito, chicken roll, salad, slice, lo mein, bbq chicken sandwich or bag of peanuts? Well, besides being a complete pig, and having a horrible case of gas, you will definitely find what you’re looking for. Okay, if you want something really specialized, such as Ethiopian food or clams casino, you may have to look elsewhere, but you could eat here for an entire week and not duplicate a food type once. Granted, the place is kind of crowded and doesn’t seem particularly clean. But with all the foot traffic and hullabaloo, that’s not surprising. I had a chicken roll from what I guess is the pizza/baked Cosi-like sandwich counter, and it definitely didn’t measure up to one from a real pizza joint, but was certainly serviceable. Interestingly, they actually offer the chicken rolls in two different variations: breaded like a chicken parmesan, which is the more traditional approach, or grilled, which is certainly healthier, but not even close to as tasty. Seriously, I know way too much about chicken rolls, but I have to be an expert about something, right? [MF]
519 Eighth Ave.
212/279-7070
