Cheapest Manhattan Pizza

What is the cheapest pizza to be found in Manhattan?  One dollar isn’t exactly expensive, but if a slice can be found for less than a dollar, then that has to be a real bargain.  Well, now, the midtown Manhattan New Yorker can just cruise along Sixth Avenue amidst 37^th and 38^th Streets and indeed pay a mere 75 cents for a slice of pizza. 

Origins of Cheap Slices

So how did the pizza at 2 Bros. Pizza eatery get so cheap? Well, it started off with a nice neighborly brawl.  Sixth Avenue Pizza dropped their slices to 79 cents and thus 2 Bros. Pizza right next door had to respond in kind, offering their pizza slice for 75 cents too.  Not wanting to let this go, Sixth Avenue Pizza dropped the four additional cents to stay competitive.  According to the manager of that store Mohit Kumar, the aim now is for “maximum sale, minimum profit.”

Since so many Pizza places in the area already offer a slice for $1, there had to be something in these Pizza stores – the managers felt – that would draw in the clientele.  And that is exactly what has happened.  Although it seems that while these stores are competing nicely, they’re making practically zero profit on each slice, resulting in just the customers being the winners.

Thankfully neither Pizza store owner has any plan to further decrease the already ridiculously low price.  At least, that’s what they’re claiming.

One might want to keep frequenting these pizza joints though since the New York Pizza Department no longer exists. It has been replaced by the Plaza Mexican Grill on the corner of Chittenden Avenue and High Street.  Here, there are no pizzas in sight; this is a restaurant offering Mexican food.  And it’s a little pricier than the above Pizza eateries, with prices starting at $1.50 for chips and salsa to $6.99 for a taco salad or burrito.

7-Eleven Going All Out

It’s not like there is a shortage of 7-Eleven Inc. franchises in the Manhattan area.  But apparently that doesn’t bother the huge corporation that is expecting to open a further 14 stores (in addition to the 12 it has already) in 2012 in Chelsea, Greenwich Village, Midtown and the Upper East Side.  According to the company’s VP of real estate, Dan Porter, the reason is obvious: “between the number of folks living in Manhattan, coupled with the worker population, there's significant demand and opportunity.”

Manhattan’s Poor

This all seems very nice from a business perspective.  But shouldn’t we try to step aside for a bit and be kinder?  Given that over 16 percent of individuals have income below the poverty line, wouldn’t it be better and kinder for the hugely successful 7-Eleven chain spends a little of its profits on donating to the needy in society?  Well, research actually shows that one can hardly criticize 7-Eleven in this area since its corporate social responsibility program in Malaysia successfully raised RM26,220 from donation boxes placed at its outlets.  This particular recent charity drive was held in aid of the National Kidney Foundation of Malaysia (NKF).  In addition, a staggering 1,315 7-Eleven stores throughout America participated in the "Spare A Change, Save A Life" donation drive that took place last November.  NFK’s CEO Chua Hong Wee said, “NFK is grateful to 7-Eleven's kind support in this meaningful charity drive; the funds will definitely help ease the burden of our kidney patients.  All the support and kindness shown have enabled NKF to continue to do what we do best, providing dialysis care to poor kidney patients and also educating the public on kidney care.”

7-Eleven Cares

So it’s all about karma and it probably thus should be welcomed that 7-Eleven is doing so well in the world of corporatism and capitalism.  Rather than be bitter about this corporation’s success, one should be supporting it. It’s all very well bemoaning these large companies and complaining they are running out other companies as Tweeter Hyun Kim did recently by Tweeting, “Support your local bodega before it gets taken over by 7-Eleven or is forced to close by 7-Eleven,” but at the end of the day, we should be congratulating and encouraging the company to continue what it’s doing as it is clearly helping those in need in a huge way.

 

Times Square Post-Super Bowl Bash

Of course the party had to carry on in to Times Square, following the victory of the New York Giants at Sunday’s Super Bowl.  It was quite a scene as tons of fans emptied out of sports bars yelling “Giants! Giants! Giants!”  Drivers were shouting the same out of their windows and passers-by were roaring.  Police officers tried to ensure the situation was kept under control through crowd-management but it seemed like they were overwhelmed by the sheer volume of people coming out in their blue-and-white Giants attire.  And keeping it all under control and pleasant is important given what happened the last time the Giants were in the Super Bowl four years ago.  At that event, a staggering 176 drunken driving arrests took place in New Jersey which marks the second highest total in the state for a Super Bowl Sunday.  There can be a lot of fun and celebration; but it has to be kept under control.

More Celebrations

Because the city was so proud of itself with its win, the mayor, Michael Bloomberg promised a ticker-tape parade and ceremony would be held for the Giants a couple of days later.  As he pointed out, “Big Blue gave us a game to remember, and on Tuesday we're going to give them a parade to remember.” An anticipated 1 million spectators were set to show up at MetLife Stadium.

 

Union Square Ventures: Hiring Tactics

 

It seems like the traditional job-hunting method of sending a resume to apply for a job may soon become passé. These days in New York, up-and-coming companies are more interested in your presence in social media.  Union Square Ventures asked potential employees to show their “web presence” such as their Twitter account or Tumblr blog and to also send in a video of themselves talking about why they would be appropriate for the job.  It is doing this because it believes this method will generate higher quality candidates since the company itself has a strong Internet-social media presence.

Indeed, according to an associate at the company, Christina Cacioppo, you don’t get much depth from a resume anyway.  She herself has blogged about the company’s hiring process on its website and got the job herself having developed a profile with Twitter, LinkedIn, etc., to show her social-media savviness and suitability for the job.  Using this method to hire people really could be the way to working out more about them, what they like and how they think.  An employer also needs to get a sense of how well matched the candidate will be socially, vis-à-vis the other employees as well as the corporate thinking.  This is an especially inventive way of narrowing down the increasing amount of people applying for jobs due to current high levels of unemployment.

Delicious Dining in Midtown Manhattan

Chic French brasserie, located in the heart of Midtown Manhattan, at 60 West 55^th Street, Benoit is marking its centenary, having opened in 1912.  It became part of the Alain Duncasse Enterprise in 2005. 

Today, together with Chef Philippe Bertineau, Duncasse has ensured the menu is a “celebrat[ion of] traditional French cuisine alongside seasonal ingredients.” It seems like the only criticism of the food is that the amazing gratinéed  onion soup – divine in its golden crusting encircling a “bubbling gooey and rich, beefy and fragrant” inside – is “exceedingly messy to eat,” according to reviewer Melissa Clark who wrote about it in an article in The New York Times.

At the bar, choose from any one of the delectable French and American wines by the glass, beers and more.  Private dining facilities seat up to 65 guests. For something more intimate, choose the Officine, which seats 10 in an antique 19^th century pharmacy setting from Bordeaux.  There, one can enjoy a personalized menu and the opportunity to select from Alain Duncasse’s private wine cellar.

Midtown Manhattan Feeds America’s Hungry

As well as being a successful business entrepreneur, Tim Bergling and Arash Pournouri are hoping to feed those with less than adequate resources. The two are currently in New York as part of their House for Hunger Tour which ultimately aims to raise $1m for Feeding America. They are performing at Midtown Manhattan’s Lavo Nightclub.

It has always been a priority for Bergling to combine philanthropy with his talents.  Pournouri felt the same.  He said that the two of them had often been approached throughout their career to do charitable events, but never complied as he was never confident he knew exactly where all the money would end up.

While they will be doing this first for America, the hope is that they will go around the world as well, having come to the realization that hunger is so much more than just confined to a third world issue.

Petula Clark Comes to New York

If you happen to be in Midtown Manhattan tomorrow, then you should try snagging tickets for a classic legend who is returning to the area to perform for the first time as a solo artist in over 30 years. Although truthfully, tickets to Petula Clark’s concert to be held at Feinstein’s from January 24 to February 4^th, are probably all sold out.

79-year old Clark did however join other performers in Washington Square Park in “an effort to energize lower Manhattan in the wake of September 11 attacks” a few months ago however.  But these performances are set to be something midtowners haven’t been privy to in quite a few decades and will probably really rock the town.

The lady has been somewhat of an icon since she was a child.  Since then, she has sold over 70 million records, the most famous of which was probably “Downtown.”  It was in the 1960s that she really became popular and successful.  In addition, Clark starred in various popular musicals including Goodbye, Mr. Chips and on stage in The Sound of Music and Blood Brothers.

While Clark still performs throughout the world, it’s been a long time since she showed up singing and dancing in NYC so this sure is big, exciting news for New Yorkers!