The Stage, with Anne

While M. is off gallivanting about Japan, I am meeting book club friends at beloved places like The Stage. When I woke up this morning I debated very briefly between pierogies or meatloaf but meatloaf won hands down. Usually the deep fried meatloaf comes covered in gravy but it wasn't today and I think it was even better that way. Each bite had a pleasing combination of crunchy breadcrumbs and crumbly bits of meat. I also like each forkful laden with vegetables and mashed potatoes. At the end of a very long and tiring week, I am holding on to that delicious memory for awhile.
Stage Restaurant, 128 Second Ave, NY, NY 10003 (btwn 7th and 8th Sts)

Markt

A lot of talking about meat before lunch time, combined with the wafting scent of street meat made me really crave a steak. So I went and got one.
Markt, 676 6th Ave, NY, NY 10010 (at 21st St)

Wei Mah Fast Food

You can probably tell from the photos that M. is away for a bit. This one is unabashedly blurry, despite trying to hold my hand really still in the low lighting. While at a job site meeting that ran over into lunchtime, I realized the rest of the site had gone silent as all the workers were busy eating what I instantly identified as the fried chicken leg over rice from Wei Mah. After that, no matter what thoughts I might have anticipated for lunch, I couldn't do anything else but go get myself a fried chicken leg over rice.

Wah Mei Fast Food, 190 Hester St, NY, NY 10013 (btwn Baxter & Mulberry) 

4:27pm chocolate cranberry cookie

In its prime, this would have been a truly delicious chocolate cranberry cookie.

Once Upon a Tart, with Thu

After a crushingly disappointing meeting with a plan examiner at the DOB not really interested in helping forward a project along, I walked up to west Soho to meet a sister for lunch at Once Upon a Tart. We wholly satisfied ourselves with a shared lunch of potato garlic soup, cucumber salad and our ever favorite roast loin pork sandwich, happily restored to its original sandwich bread.
Once Upon a Tart, 135 Sullivan St, NY, NY 10012 (btwn Prince and Houston)

Lenny's

There is very little in terms of ambiance at Lenny's that makes it worth staying for awhile, except when you're eating alone and thoroughly engrossed in a good read. I got waylaid by the Italian combo and was more than pleasantly surprised to discover a more than above average hero. It was big to be sure, but the light touch of Italian dressing, the shredded lettuce, and the bits of spiciness made for a rather tasty solo lunch. I guess there is little incentive for them to change the space, but man I wish it were a more pleasant dining environment, one reflective of the rather good eating experience.
Lenny's, 16 West 23rd Street, New York, NY 10010 (between 5th and 6th Avenues)

Pret a Manger

I overbooked today and only just managed to remember to grab myself a sandwich as I was picking up morning coffee. It's cool though, if I'm going to eat and run, then the Pret a Manger roast beef parmesean is a solid companion of choice.
Pret a Manger, 350 Hudson St, NY, NY 10014 (at Charlton St)

5:24pm quinoa muffin

I wonder if we could make a career out of picking desserts that have a good shelf life. This quinoa muffin I picked up Monday morning from Smile-to-Go surprised me today Wednesday. It's probably not as devastatingly good as the counter girl told me it would be, only because it doesn't have the crunchy outer shell of a freshly baked muffin, but it's still damn good.
Smile to Go, 22 Howard St, NY, NY 10013 (btwn Crosby and Lafayette) 

Shanghai Cafe Deluxe

Necessary errands bring us back to our old beloved neighborhood which we miss dearly. It was hard to pick the one place we wanted to eat at. Well, not really perhaps. Shanghai Cafe Deluxe brings instant and guaranteed happiness into our day, so it was kind of a no-brainer. Without a third lunch companion, we only ordered 2 of our 3 favorite dishes, but we also noted that it was utterly satisfying to get  soup dumplings each, where we usually trade off who gets 3 and other gets 2.
Shanghai Cafe Deluxe, 100 Mott St, NY, NY 10013 (btwn Hester & Canal)

4:04pm apple galette

It's not that we're not eating afternoon dessert, it's more that we're overwhelmed with choice. Weekends find both of us sourcing desserts to eat at the office on Monday so we both come in with choices. So of course we chose nothing. Today we had the apple galette from O Cafe before it was a total disaster, having been sitting on the desk for two days. Surprise! It was still really good. Happy us.
O Cafe, 482 6th Ave, NY, NY 10011 (at 12th St)