Schnippers, Manhattan

Brad MarcusManhattan fast food

Finding a reasonably quick and not too expensive place to eat before a show on Broadway can be tricky. Several years ago, I found Schnipper’s. It’s fast food where everythig is made to order, so not so fast. I found it during a taping of “Beat Bobby Flay”, where Bobby was making his own spicy Sloppy Joe versus Schnipper’s version. Though I ultimately liked Bobby’s more, I became hooked on Schnipper’s Sloppy Joe and have it from time to time. This time, we were seeing a show up the street at the Nederlander Theater and whenever I go to the Nederlander, former home of *Rent*, *Mr. Saturday Night*, *Shucked* and many others, I make a point to eat at Schnippers. We even met up with an old friend from high school and lunch for the 3 of us came in at $73. Not exactly fast food cheap, but better than a lot of places around.

What to Order

My favorite here, for years, has been their Sloppy Joe. For $11.50, this sandwich is overflowing with beef, chopped onions and green papers in their house-made sauce. After that, the fish tacos are great, though not always on the menu. Schnipper’s makes great mac & cheese, which can be ordered straight or together half and half with the Sloppy Joe meat in a Mac & Joe Bowl for $12.50. They also have great salads that you can add some grilled chicken to and have a protein-filled, healthy meal. They also have great shakes using Gifford’s Ice Cream.

Good to know before you go

Hours: Monday – Thursday 10:30am – 10pm, Friday – Saturday 10:30am – 11pm and Sunday 11am – 10pm,
The Wait: Lunchtime is busy here and the line can be long during the week. For dinner, up until 6:30 there can be a wait, both for ordering at the register and for the food to be ready. For Sunday lunch, we had no wait at 12:30pm to order and only waited about 20 minutes for our food to be made.

Schnipper’s is great for families, as they have the one go-to menu item every kid loves, chicken fingers; and these are really good ones. They also have burgers, beef, turkey and impossible that can be customized as well as hot dogs, so a bit of something for everyone.