Tuscany

"Healthy" and Italian don't blend in very well together--sorry mio amicos. That's okay because their foods are (mostly) are mouthwatering.

This might not look like your average bodega or pizza parlor but rather some dark, shady deli you wouldn't dare step in. I digress; I LIVE for hole-in-the-wall food places because most of them are so damn good. Too bad I watch my carbs ferociously, otherwise I'd be down here for lunch every other week because the sandwiches are to-die for!

"Cheap", "filling" and "bang for your buck" doesn't exactly fit the description of Midtown lunch but that's why you have to dig graves to find hidden gems. I got the eggplant parm sandwich; one bite and I took myself to the streets of Italy. Super cheesy, tasty and most importantly, the toasted sesame bread was delicious! A little pricey on the side ($8) but it's worth every cent; I couldn't even finish it all at once and it was still good....a few hours later.

Yes, it looks shady. However, it's one of my favorite lunch places in the area. The workers are always friendly and accommodating. My only complaint would be that you could be waiting quite a bit to get your food.

Loveee the chicken parm sandwich. The bread is so good. And it's massive. Then there's the roast beef and cheese on garlic bread. No worries, there's a lot of healthy options too - I like the salmon mango salad with ginger dressing.

The pizzas always look good but I still have yet to try those..

I'm normally totally hesistant to get fish delivered to me (well, that's a lie...I do it with sushi all the time). Let me revise: I don't really trust anyone else to COOK fish for me unless I'm in a fine dining establishment. I just always assume it will be overcooked and underspiced.

Boy was I surprised with Tuscany's Lemon Pepper Salmon. It's so perfectly cooked, I have a hard time remembering it's delivered. I always sub the ridiculously large bed of rice that they serve it over with their Veg of Day and it makes it that much better.

Also really fab is the Citrus Salmon Salad - the caramel walnuts are the best part - ask for extra!

Mild prices. For a pretty reasonable fee (for NYC) I had a catered lunch for 130 employees including an assortment of pizza, salads, hot and cold sandwiches, and three deep pans of pasta. Bread and all dipping sauces were included and delivery was on time. Major plus.

We definitely had enough food to go around and I 100% will be ordering from Tuscany again. It only gets 4 stars because when it comes to healthy options, they really only seem to have salads. But that's your fault if you are trying to order healthy food from an Italian catering company.

Tuscany is so good that I don't like people who don't like this place. I make it my personal business to avoid these people.

Seriously, it's cheap, the portions are huge, and it's delicious. A true hole-in-the-wall where you get to eat delicious food and there are no tourists. What the hell is with this bread here? Why is it so good? No idea, Alex. No. Idea.

You can mix and match too. Like "Give me the baked ziti....BUT with 3 meatballs" Or... "give me the penne vodka sauce....BUT with chicken parm." If you have American dollars, these guys will hook it up. Patriotism at its finest

Discovered this place on Midtown Lunch today after looking for cheap Italian. I usually go to the deli around the corner to "choose my own pasta" but I wanted better quality today. Walked over to Tuscany and was a bit intimidated by the long line of office workers all ordering promptly and decisively while I peered over the glass to see which pasta looked best - spaghetti and meatballs or baked ziti? After watching the guy make up a plate of the chicken parm/baked ziti combo, I knew that was my order. He first put some tomato sauce on the bottom of the foil take out container, then put a huge mound of baked ziti, added the baked chicken parm strips, then added freshly shredded mozzarella on top and stuck it in the pizza oven to melt the cheese. All this for $8.50. After the plate came out, he added even more sauce on top.

It was really good and completely satisfied my pasta craving. I couldn't even finish half of it so I have yummy leftovers for tomorrow!

Their pizzas looked amazing too, especially the sicilian slices. Will have to try next time.

Real time lunch review is back, y'all! The picture of the Lemon Pepper Grilled Chicken with Rice Pilaf looked SO phenomenal that I had to try it, along with the Soup of the Day: Mushroom Spinach Bisque.

Estimated delivery time: 45-60 minutes. Order confirmed at 1:36 pm. Arrived at 2:15 pm. And the soup was in a tightly-sealed, leak-proof container. Off to a good start!

The soup serving seemed to be on the small side at first. But, after I was finished, it was the absolute perfect size! And OH SOOO GOOD!!!! It arrived warmish: enough to eat, still be creamy, not congealed...but I did have to nuke it for a wee bit. Still, awesome! And LOVED the fresh bread served on the side.

And that salmon with pilaf?? LOVED IT!!! A VERY generously-sized filet, butterflied, seasoned, and grilled. Fluffy and moist pilaf, little lettuce on the side, squeeze of lemon from the wedge.....all this for $22, including tip??? YES, SIR!!!!!

I live practically next door to this place and have only just realized that they make food for the common hungry person. Maybe it took me 8 months to finally try this place, but I'm sure glad I did! Based on other reviews I tried the Chicken Parm sandwich..... DELISH!! The bread was really tasty (half-seeded roll), the cheese was plentiful, the sauce was flavorful, and there was a plenty of well-seasoned chicken too! Highly recommend!

Now I have to find time to go back before my lease is up... Gotta try that Roast Beef sando everyone is talking about ... and the lasagna, ziti, and pizza all looked great too! Yum!!

The lasagna is SOOOO good!!!!!!!!!! My husband ordered the lasagna and I ordered the chicken parmesan. Each dish was about $8 and came with bread, which was also delicious. The portions are huge! The chicken parmesan was good, but I would definitely order the lasagna if we went back.

This place is a complete hole in the wall and doesn't offer any seating, but the staff is extremely friendly and let us pull up a seat (even letting my husband sit on a crate) at their serving line. They were more than accomodating and we'll go back any time we're in NYC!

Disclosure: I've seamless web'ed Tuscany about 50 times and have never actually visited in person.

As anyone who always orders in knows, it's nice to reach out and try new spots, as they can catch on for a couple weeks, but you more often than not will grow tired of the new place, and then fall back on a few core staples. Tuscany is one of my staples (for reference, my other staples are Cer-te and Hale & Hearty).

Tuscany's hot sandwiches totally kick butt (side note: do you get filtered if you use a swear word in a Yelp review?). Their cold sandwiches are unique and in their own style, but I turn to Tuscany when it feels like a hot lunch day (which also may or may not coincide with hangover days).

Sometimes their deliveries can run a little bit slow, which I think due to the fact that they do a lot of larger scale catering. However, they've never completely abused me on delivery time. And, more importantly, the food has never been stale when its finally arrived.

Seamless Web doesn't disclose reviews to business users, so if you're looking for an order in spot, they are in my rotation.