'ESSEN — Restaurant in New York

It’s the best midtown lunch “deli” option on 8th Ave. or as I like to call them: the Vegas smorgasbord from heaven or hell, depending on the hour of the day.

Their buffet is both standard and wildly surprising, depending on the day. Besides the usual hot buffet midtown staples, you could walk in on a Wednesday and see a whole suckling pig or some crazy lobster tray.

Breakfast goes away at 11am but it really slowly gets taken away around 10:30. That said- that’s when you wanna get here for the first wave of lunch launch. Their braised proteins are the move, especially the Korean or Asian flavored varieties. Salads are on point if you’re basic.

That said, it’s $13.99 a pound. If you’re a novice at the midtown buffet process, lunch can end up being $20. Opt for the smaller container -if you’re a rookie- to keep yourself from overdoing it, which can easily happen because this place is like a Vegas casino. They know we have no self control and that’s how they get you. You’re welcome.

The Korean hot section on the left when you enter is underrated. Entree and soup is cheap for midtown.

Made to order sandwiches and salads are in the back. They’re standard.

It’s relatively clean, in general, even in the dining area.

POS transaction is typical midtown lunch: fast, efficient and indifferent.

There’s no other spot like this on 8th in either direction in this hood. The pandemic really killed a lot of these...

New favorite - IGK (same block) is in deep trouble. So far for lunch have tried Chicken Quesadilla which was very good / priced right ($7.95) and sushi. Sushi is very fresh and much cheaper per-piece compared to competition nearby. Runs around $6 for a pack of 10 piece (I tried the Salmon avocado and eel avocado, both high quality.) Lots of sushi selection too, we'll see if they can keep up with demand during lunch rush, but so far so good. Took a little while for quesadilla, maybe 5 minutes, but that is expected. They offer delivery if you don't want to wait.

Great breakfast sandwiches - they don't skimp on the bacon and eggs are very fresh.

Also - my new go-to for iced coffee. Variety of flavors available as well as cold-brew. I like to mix mine with half cold-brew and half french vanilla coffee. Better than Gregory's coffee and Starbucks iced coffee in my opinion. Milk / creamer options are kept cold in dispenser machine. I prefer this over "counter top" pour which is often warm and been sitting...

Horrible management. good quality food, but pricey. Tried to order a pastrami and egg breakfast sandwich, but was told they only have pastrami for lunch. What? You literally have it, but refuse to sell it before lunchtime?...They lost a sale and I went to another place. Self-serve ice tea looked inviting, but when I got back to my office, it was ice coffee. NOT what I wanted. Came in at 11:05 to get lunch, but they were switching over from breakfast. I asked when I could order a sandwich and was told that started at 11:30. Fine. I saw pre-made chicken cesar wraps in the display case (about 20 of them) and asked the man if I could take one of those. He said no. So, the sandwiches will just sit there for 25 minutes before I can purchase? I said, should I really walk out and go to another place? Just got a blank stare.

3 strikes Essen, this is a busy area, I can go elsewhere and tell all my friends and co-workers of your horrid customer...