Irresistible Eats: Lobstercraft on 33rd Street

Lobster roll aficionados may already be familiar with Connecticut-based Lobstercraft, but for those of us who have never dined at their popular food truck or Darien location, it's a new Midtown delight (the NYC shop opened just before the holidays in One Penn Plaza).

And by delight, I mean a buttery, lobster-filled, fresh-baked-roll delight. 

Above is The Coastal ($17), aka Lobster Roll Perfection. I ordered this as I wanted to start with the basics, but next time I'm going for this:

The LBLT ($18). Take The Coastal and add fresh bacon from a local farm, romaine lettuce, tomatoes, and a topping of garlic aioli. This is a house favorite, and I can't wait to try it.

Other items on the menu include mac-n-cheese, lobster bisque, lobster salad, shrimp salad roll, lobster tacos, and more. There's even a kids menu with hot dog, mac-n-cheese, and quesadilla options, and wine and beer for adults. Big bonus for locals? If you work in One Penn Plaza, show Lobstercraft your work ID and get a free side of soup with any roll.

The atmosphere is quaint, casual, and appropriately seaside rustic with chalkboards, lots of wood beams, and lights hanging from nautical ropes. Dine-in space is somewhat limited, but hopefully come spring/summer Lobstercraft will be able to utilize their abundant patio space for dining alfresco.

Now I've got to run down to One Penn Plaza, because it's impossible to write about Lobstercraft lobster rolls and edit Lobstercraft photos without desperately needing a lobster roll, RIGHT NOW. It's worth the visit, trust me. See you there for dinner?


Lobstercraft
One Penn Plaza, entrance on 33rd Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues

Open Mon-Fri 11am-8pm

212-465-0700

Opening Tomorrow: Hooters!

Tomorrow Hooters is opening in the 34th Street District in a prime location catty-corner from Madison Square Garden. I took a tour in December before the holidays, and let me tell you: it's spectacular.

Seriously, this restaurant is huge, the bar upstairs is ginormous, it has the biggest Hooters retail section in the world (probably not true, but hello Hooters tanks), and it is going to be your perfect wings and beer destination before and after games and shows at Madison Square Garden.

The view of MSG from the second floor.

Hooters 34th Street also boasts a more streamlined and revamped Hooters decor. There is a fetching surf display, photos of Hooters girls past and present, and a history display on the second floor. But all-in-all, this new Hooters skews more Midtown restaurant than theme-chain. 

Downstairs, left, upstairs, right.

With all the TVs, clearly this Hooters will be a great place to watch the game. Then there's the Hooters girls. It is sacrilege if one writes about Hooters and does not mention the Hooters girls, right? It's all about the food, the drinks, and the girls at Hooters! So here's an adorable holiday Hooters Girls photo from their facebook page, featuring the girls from the original restaurant in Clearwater, FL: 

Let's go get wings, guys.

Hooters

Corner of 33rd Street and Seventh Avenue

Entrance on 33rd just east of Seventh

From the Archives: Choc Full o' Nuts

Today, to celebrate the opening of Broadway Bites, our 34th Street archivist Anne Kumer shares some dining history of the district. This post also appears on NYC Circa.

For many years a Choc Full o' Nuts lunch counter occupied retail space in the ground floor of the Hotel McAlpin, now, Herald Towers building, at 34th and Broadway. Like most restaurants in Midtown Manhattan, it was packed around lunchtime. 

December 1954, Alfred Eisenstaedt. Photo: LIFE via this blog post.

Choc Full o' Nuts opened its first store near Times Square at Broadway and 43rd Street, in 1926. The company continued to grow, opening its first cafe opened in 1932, and following with food trucks.

Possibly the first store, c. 1926 Photo: Pinterest

Food cart from the 1930s or 1940s. Photo: here

The company's founder was William Black, who, as his business grew, also became a well respected philanthropist. He donated a lot of money towards medical research, and in 1957 founded the Parkinson's Disease Foundation with an initial donation of $100,000.

One of Choc's most well known employees was famed baseball player Jackie Robinson. Shortly after retiring from baseball in 1956, he was hired as the company's Vice President and Director of Personnel. Mr. Robinson was an extremely vocal Civil Rights advocate as well. NARA has a great collection of his letters. 

William Black and Jackie Robinson at a store opening. Photo: NYT

The comments section of this post by Ephemeral New York includes many fond memories of the franchise in the city.

For a while, Choc Full o' Nuts at 34th Street and Woolworth's supplied Midtown workers with two solid lunch options flanking Herald Square. The 34th Street lunch counter closed in 1990.

Where do you go to get an Egg Cream now?

Stella 34 Trattoria at Macy's Herald Square

So many beautiful things have been happening with the renovation of Macy's Herald Square, that one would think they could not work any more miracles. Then they open Stella 34 Trattoria, a beauty of a restaurant on the sixth floor overlooking Herald Square.

The view into Stella 34 from inside Macy's.

There is something magical about a department store restaurant, right? It evokes a different era of shopping, one that perhaps involves matching hats, gloves, and handbags. But the department store restaurant has been making a comeback, and Stella 34 has entered the lists with major style. 

The caricatures, the windows, and the view out the window of Herald Square.

Our digital team visited Stella 34 for lunch on opening day, and sampled a variety of dishes from this modern trattoria. Overall, it was an A+ dining experience. The waitstaff was knowledgeable, attentive, and guided us well with recommendations. The restaurant's ambiance is lovely. There is a lot of light (check your makeup before entering), feels very roomy, and is elegant but not stuffy. Once a diner walks into Stella 34, the shopping floor of Macy's is left far behind and a chic dining experience immediately begins.

Below are comments from my three dining partners, all of whom have had many more foodie experiences in Manhattan than I as they are all under 30 and actually go out to dine, as opposed to eating at home on a kiddie table while using ketchup to get the 3-year old to finish her dinner. Please enjoy their candid thoughts:

Bufala Mozzarella (mostarda di cremona), above bottom and top
K: "This was really good, and almost tasted like it was drizzled with honey? I have no idea what mostarda di cremona is. It’s not mustard."
A: "My favorite piatti, light but flavorful."
N: "A really refreshing starter."

Caponata (eggplant relish), above top
K: "Would have skipped this dish."
A: "Also could have passed on this one, but don’t generally like the texture of eggplant anyway."
N: "I was a fan of the caponata, great seasoning on the eggplant."

Arancini (fried risotto balls), below
A:  "Unsure about the curry flavor, but otherwise anything fried is good in my book."
N:  "Not my favorite. Too many overwhelming flavors that didn’t blend well for me."

Strozzapreti con Seppie (twisted cuttlefish ink pasta), and Tortiglioni (ridged tube pasta), below

K:  "First one [strozzapreti] was adventurous, second one more traditional. Both really good."
A:  "Loved, loved, loved the tortiglioni – not too rich, ham had touch of saltiness to balance the cream."
N:  "Both the strozzapreti and the tortiglioni were memorably delicious. Great texture, lots of flavor, cooked perfectly, great portions."

Diavola pizza, (san marzano tomato, salami piccante, mozzarella, pecorino-romano), below

K:  "I was fooled into ordering this, which turned out to be pepperoni (duh)."
A:  "Thought the dough was a bit soggy, wished it was crispier."
N:  "I actually really liked the dough and crust of the pizza. I like thin crust, I just wouldn’t get pepperoni again but would try the Barese pizza (tomato, sausage, broccoli rabe, and smoked mozzarella)."

Vivoli gelato

N:  "We had pera (pear) and stracciatella (chocolate chip), SO GOOD! Pricey, from Florence, but the stracciatella was worth every bite. Would definitely go back just for a scoop while I shop."

Takeaways: Get the handmade pastas, delve deeply into the piattis (small plates), stop by for gelato daily, and "salami piccante" is pepperoni. Also, Stella 34 has an extensive wine list and takeout and gelato counters for Midtown diners' convenience. Hello, home of all future 34th Street lunch meetings.




Stella 34 Trattoria
Sixth floor of Macy's Herald Square

Shop and Dine: Delmonico's Kitchen

Did you know that just north of 34th Street off of Seventh Avenue there is a Delmonico's restaurant?

Yes, I love butter. And the tuna was AMAZING.

I had the pleasure of dining at Delmonico's Kitchen last month with their marketing director, as Delmonico's has brought America's first restaurant to Midtown and would like all you 34th Street shoppers to take advantage of their culinary delights.

I started with the grilled asparagus with hen egg, and not only was the asparagus perfection but I actually said "That is the best egg I've ever had." Seriously, it was perfectly cooked. This makes sense as Delmonico's invented the best egg dish ever, Eggs Benedict. I also dug into a delicious cauliflower side dish, then was the pleased recipient of the tuna, above. This catch of the day was some of the best I've ever had. I'd recently felt burned out on tuna, but Delmonico's reminded me and my palate of the delight of a perfectly cooked and succulent piece of tuna.

Delmonico's also invented Baked Alaska, and below is the Kitchen's clever ice cream cone version. It is perhaps more delicious than it looks. I'm also a big fan of dipping sides.  

Next time I'm going to splurge on another Delmonico invention, Lobster Newburg. Classic. But don't think Delmonico's Kitchen is old-school in its decor: the restaurant is lovely fine dining but sans the stuffy atmosphere. It's perfect for a lunch date, post-shopping dinner, or after-work drinks. And the staff was exceptional. I'm sure they'll happily check all your shopping bags at the door.

Fun Delmonico's fact? It was the first restaurant to allow women to congregate in groups, and the first restaurant to have a female cashier. Click here for more "firsts" and to learn more about Delmonico's fascinating and rich history.

Delmonico's Kitchen

207 West 36th Street, just west of Seventh Avenue

212.695.5220 for reservations

Goodbye, Tad's Steaks

We wouldn't be a 34th Street blog if we didn't pay homage to the closing of Tad's Steaks on 34th Street.

Tad's today, all closed up but someone left the lights on. The Tim Hortons and Pizza Hut here are also closed.

Now shuttered on 152 West 34th Street. Incoming is a 13,600 s/f Crocs store, scheduled to open this summer. Adieu, Tad's Steaks. I can't honestly say I'm going to miss the steaks as I never partook, but those who have are welcome to lament the loss of Tad's in the comments section.

Tad's at night. Photo source.

Roastown Coffee Hits 34th Street

There's a new coffee on 34th Street. I rarely get through a 34th Street shopping trip without a coffee stop, so having an organic source pop up on the west end of the street was like Christmas in May.

Roastown coffee, find it on the northeast corner of W. 34th Street & 8th Avenue.

Next time, I'm going during lunch hour because the salad bar looks fantastic. Those avocados were begging to be photographed.

A fro-yo wall? A variety of fresh fruit options, sushi, seaweed salad, and edamame? We're getting healthy on 34th Street, which is crucial for us shoppers looking for a light bite in-between dressing room excursions. But don't visit just for lunch because this healthy food bar is open 24 hours a day.


Roastown Coffee find it on the northeast corner of 34th Street & Eighth Avenue