4:15pm rosemary apple pie

Saha sent me a note this morning - pie in the office. He didn't specify from where so I went over before lunch to grab/save me a slice for later and boy was I pleased to see a Four & Twenty Blackbirds label. That's pretty much guaranteed goodness.
Four & Twenty Blackbirds, 439 3rd Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11215 (at 8th St)

Eisenberg's, with O

At 1:30pm Eisenberg's was packed, we took two seats at the bar. I haven't always loved bar eating but I do lately. I love how easy and intimate it is, elbows almost touching, the grillman right there to gauge your attention to the food. It's perfect for solo dining or dining with one friend. More than one friend and I'm afraid only a table will do.
Eisenberg's Sandwich Shop, 174 5th Ave, NY, NY 10010 (near 22nd St)

4:20pm brownie

Sometimes, actually, often, I eat afternoon dessert with a fork so I don't get my hands dirty and have to compulsive wash them three times in a row. I have been saving this exceptional second piece of brownie by Heidi and it is just as good today. Today the saltiness was more pronounced and did I detect some hints of coffee?

Birreria, with Rich

One of the things I find Mario Battali does exceptionally well is salads. It's not something one often get lauded for but I love all his salads across all his restaurants. They're always well proportioned, light on the dressing and the most pleasing assortment of textures. Oh haha, I see that last time we had lunch at Bierreria, we also had this salad.
Birreria at Eataly, 200 5th Ave, 14th Floor, NY, NY10010 (at 23rd St)

4:10pm banana bread

It doesn't help to save old bananas in the freezer for banana bread if no one in your house likes banana bread. Good thing everyone in the office does!

Bibimbap Backpackers

In a total space cadet move, I canceled a lunch with some friends because I had a 1:00pm call but this morning Tia wrote to remind us about the Bibimbap Backpackers event we had agreed to go to. Well I guess it's lucky I canceled lunch with my other friends since apparently I already had lunch plans that I had completely forgotten about. Bibimbap Backpackers is a group of young people traveling around the world to introduce and demystify Korean food, particularly bibimbap. Well I'm down with that mission. We had pajeon (pancake), japchae (glass noodles), fried mandu (dumplings) and the piece de resistance - make your own bibimbap! Super fun because they put out a table's worth of ingredients and you could put whatever you wanted on the rise, which for Gordon and I, was pretty much everything there. A tasty lunch.
Bibimbap Backpackers, hosted at Take31, 15 E. 31st St, NY, NY 10016

4:30pm brownies

Bless her heart Heidi, who sent along two pieces of a batch of brownies for my birthday last week. I had one yesterday, after my moldy morning, and I'm pretty sure the dark chocolate with bits of saltiness helped clean out my system. I saved one for today because they are pretty exceptional brownies. (Hear that Heidi? Exceptional!).

Chipotle

I am causing all sorts of lunch travesties today - having a salad from a chain, at my desk while talking to Pittsburgh via skype. I think my brain was addled from the hour or more I just spent in a moldy doctor's office that we're going to renovate into a religious sanctuary. Great challenge I know! The space has been abandoned since October and is a warren of rooms, layers of ceiling peeling off, debris and leftover equipment scattered throughout. I needed all that salad and tart tomato to clear out the stale air clogging my lungs.
Chipotle, 680 Sixth Ave, NY, NY 10010 (btwn 21st and 22nd)

7:45pm eclairs

This is technically from yesterday, but you'll forgive me right? I can't seem to keep up with the dessert posts with M. still away. But I had to share these delicious eclairs from the bakery at newly opened French eatery, Lafayette. Andrew Carmellini seems to have no shortage of funds for new restaurants, the old Chinatown Brasserie has been so thoroughly eradicated, the space completely revamped to his style of upscale interior. John got me the birthday eclairs, whose chocolate interior was pleasantly bitter.
Lafayette, 380 Lafayette St, NY, NY 10003 (at Great Jones)

Hill Country, with Suj and Heimi

I took my old and dear friends visiting from Switzerland to Hill Country because I knew they would want to eat only non-Swiss things and what could be more fun than down and dirty Texan barbeque. We shared a mess of things, finishing off every last little bite. Yum delicious.
Hill Country, 30 W. 26th St, NY, NY 10010 (btwn Broadway and 6th Ave)