4:00pm cupcake

Dinner was had last night at Hill Country, which is a really fun (though mildly annoying) place to grab BBQ, tasty sides, whiskey drinks and Big Red. We were too full to consume any sweets, but I was eyeing them anyways with thoughts of today. This PB&J cupcake was chosen over the pecan pie, solely for it's photogenic looks. While we're sure there are many fans of this out there, it was a tad sweet for our tastes, though still rather enjoyable.
Hill Country, 30 West 26th Street, New York, NY 10010

Le Gamin Mobi/Truck

Way back when we first moved to NYC, Le Gamin was a cute Soho establishment where the food was pretty affordable and you could get a non-American cup of hot chocolate. Times have changed, and while Le Gamin seems to have survived, their original locations are no more. So it was nice surprise to spot a Le Gamin Truck in Soho on our way to the office the other morning. Apparently this is a new location for them, and they are seeing how it goes. We opted for the Lamb Dog Special with fries and a soda. It was tasty enough, but $8.50 is a bit on the steep side for the amount of food you get.
Le Gamin Mobi/Truck, on the corner of Greene and Prince Streets

4:00pm pineapple shortcake

I am sometimes wary of Asian desserts, much preferring Western and especially French sweets, but these pineapple shortcakes that Shawn brought back from Taiwan are quite yummy indeed.
iLu Bakery Cafe, Taiwan

Tortilleria Mexicana, with Sarah & Ted

A couple years ago we were at the border of Bushwick and Ridgewood visiting a friend who took us to a taqueria tucked inside a garage. Several years later, one New York Times article, a Health Department inspection and some renovation work, Totilleria Mexicana got legitimized. They now have a full-on kitchen, a storefront wall and real tables. At Ted's recommendation, we went with the tostadas and ordered several piled high plates of the chorizo (sausage), carne enchilada (spicy pork), carnitas (pork), pollo (chicken) and the cecina (salted beef). Considering this followed a marvelous hour of arranging suspended books with Sarah in Ted's studio, I would say we couldn't have had a more perfect combination field trip of work and pleasure.
Tortilleria Mexicana, 271 Starr St, Brooklyn, NY 11237

4:00pm chocolate mouse

Our favorite bearer of afternoon desserts and coffee came by with sweets for tea time. I particularly love this chocolate mouse. So scared stiff of being eaten, it was sweating like crazy.
Ceci-Cela Patisserie, 55 Spring St, NY, NY 10012 (btwn Lafayette & Mulberry)

Gahm Mi Oak

After some good quarantine brainstorming this morning, we took a break for lunch. I dragged M. and Josh up to Koreatown because nothing else would do on a wet and gloomy day but a pick-me-up kind of lunch at one of our favorite K-town spots, Gahm Mi Oak. It's contradictory to wander so far in such lame weather but the reward is really wonderful kimchi and a hot bowl of sul long tang.
Gahm Mi Oak, 43 W. 32nd St, NY, NY 10001 (near Broadway)

4:00pm apple turnover

We picked up an apple turnover this morning so by this afternoon it was a bit stale. The taste is nice enough, a pleasant touch of salt in there. Nothing to write home about. Although I guess enough to blog about.
Alessi Cafe, 130 Greene St, NY, NY 10012 (btwn Prince & Houston)

Shanghai Cafe, with Ray

It's been less than 2 weeks since Danny took us to Shanghai Cafe but we've been dreaming of rice cakes ever since. Today we took Ray over, who concurs it's pretty good stuff. We switched out the fried rice for some pickled cabbage and squid over rice but otherwise ordered the same soup dumplings and rice cakes as last time. And then we stuffed ourselves silly, forgetting to wait for the brain to register an already full stomach.
Shanghai Cafe, 100 Mott St, NY, NY 10013 (btwn Hester & Canal)

4:00pm chocolate chip cookie

Yesterday we dodged raindrops to pick up a monster chocolate chip cookie from Jacques Torres. I thought this was the one Hong said we must try but now I think I'm wrong.
Jacques Torres Chocolates, 350 Hudson St, NY, NY 10014 (at King)

Hiroko's Place

Hiroko's Place always has a large number of Japanese filling its tables but today was rather extreme as I was the only non-Japanese speaker in the whole joint. I think I'm turning Japanese! Hiroko's Place probably doesn't fit the foreigner's perception of all things "Japanese" and to top it off there is the added twist of the you-shoku style cuisine. So you have a genuine Japanese restaurant serving real you-shoku entrees that are actually Japanese reinterpretations of Western food. It doesn't matter to us, we go for the hamburg rice, an always satisfying plate of hamburger patty in sauce, potato salad, fried egg, green salad and side of rice.
Hiroko's Place, 75 Thompson St, NY, NY 10012 (btwn Broome & Spring)

4:00pm oatmeal cookie

This morning we arrived at the office to find a package addressed to us the lunching ladies. Lo! What joy from the sunny Golden State should come our way? Carrie, a fan (!), sent a most happily received box of goodies including samples from her new textiles line in colors we can't wait to wear and a bag of oatmeal cookies with blueberries and butterscotch chips. Sigh, if only every morning we arrived to the office to such unexpected moments of happiness. Carrie, you made our day.
Isabelle Cookies, Hermosa Beach CA

Bread, with Art

A day running around from back to back meetings with no accounting for lunch does not really fall within the parameters of our mission, but sometimes that's just the way it is. Fortunately it isn't that way too often and even more fortunately we have delivery options like Bread. $10 for a pint of tart and tangy tomato soup, a wee green salad and half a panini is a damn fine way to go. Makes us feel a little less lame for ordering in and cramming lunch between more meetings.
Bread, 20 Spring St, NY, NY 10012 (btwn Elizabeth & Mott)

4:00pm sour cream banana bread

When Dorina puts out something new on the Oro bakery display, we have to try it. The sour cream banana bread with chocolate icing is pretty nice but not quite as ravishing as the brown sugar pecan nor as authentic as the cranberry scones.
Oro Bakery, 375 Broome St, NY, NY 10013 (btwn Mulberry & Mott)

Armando's, with Thomas

Edible Geography and Bldgblog have put together a design studio about quarantine, in which we are now fully immersed, dreaming up grand schemes for the city's infrastructure. Today we induced fellow studio mate, Thomas, an architect working in the city's Office of Emergency Management to meet us nearby for lunch. Fortuitously he works blocks away from the newly reopened Armando's, which we had spent the summer designing. Ostensibly we invited him to chat about quarantine but really we just wanted to grill him on the fascinating world of working for a city department who has its hands in every single "incident" occurring in the five boroughs. A great conversation in a great restaurant with a pretty tasty burger, gorgonzola and french fries.
Armando's Restaurant, 143 Montague St, Brooklyn, NY 11201 (btwn Henry & Clinton)

4:00pm fruit tart

After our stunning lunch earlier we really wanted something light and perfect. Normally the fruit tarts from Cafe Select more than fit the bill, and while today's was decent enough, it was the tiniest bit stale.
Cafe Select, 212 Lafayette St, New York, NY 10012 (at Kenmare)

Pio Pio

We have been dreaming of this day since last summer when we stumbled upon the UWS location of Pio Pio. In the future it would be really helpful if all new clients came with notable lunch options nearby. The Murray Hill location is small and casual and offers a $9.50 lunch special - 1/4 pollo a la brasa (rotisserie chicken), a salad, a side of something starchy and a soda. Brilliant! And fantastically delicious. So good M. and I couldn't even talk to one another, we were too busy absorbing every last bite.
Pio Pio, 210 East 34th St, NY, NY 10016 (btwn 2nd and 3rd)

4:00pm brown sugar pecan bun

A big warm and sunny thank you for mcourie who pointed us in the direction of the seasonal brown sugar pecan sticky buns from Oro. It's been a month since she recommended them and this is the 4th one I've had, although today I had to share.
Oro Bakery, 375 Broome St, NY, NY 10013 (btwn Mulberry & Mott)

Epistrophy, with Josh

We needed a restaurant today categorized under "Good for Grand Ideas", kind of like "Good for Kids" or "Good for Groups". Turns out Epistrophy Cafe works out perfectly. Not too crowded, alive but not too loud and a diverse menu to accommodate the moods of breaded pork loin and fennel salad, orecchiette al pesto and baked eggs. It's always good when everyone's food preferences can be satisfied, leaving the rest of our minds free to wander. Today Josh joined our conversations about quarantine and repurposing obsolete urban structures.
Epistrophy Cafe, 100 Mott St, NY, NY 10012 (btwn Kenmare & Spring)

4:00pm apple turnover

When we left my new crush, excuse me, OUR crush, yesterday afternoon in midtown, we realized our proximity to our favorite bakery in midtown, Petrossian. Petrossian has a rarefied old school air and they seldom steer us wrong on the desserts department.
Petrossian, 911 Seventh Ave, NY, NY 10019 (btwn 57th and 58th)

Cafe el Portal, with Tom

Cafe el Portal is one of those places perfect for lunch dates, it's quiet and cozy, affordable and tasty. Tom's suffering the plight of many young architects around the country, so it seemed only right that we at least treat this friend of a friend to lunch at one of our favorite neighborhood joints. Where apparently there is no such thing as a breakfast menu. Which was confusing because they did have an egg menu. From which we all ordered dishes that very strongly resembled breakfast.
Cafe el Portal, 174 Elizabeth St, NY, NY 10012 (btwn Kenmare & Spring)

4:00pm tate's cookies

Secret be known, we have started keeping a bag of Tate's in the office specifically for afternoons like this, where we couldn't find anything particularly worthy of purchase for our consumption.
Tate's Bake Shop, 43 North Sea Road in Southampton, NY

Cafe Habana To Go

We are all set to find a place to go eat some steak, and then we remembered about that meeting... Take-out lunch to the rescue. We went a bit renegade today by ordering from Cafe Habana, which we almost never do. The copy of the menu looked really old. As of 5 years ago, the Cuban Sandwich had gone down hill (who knows maybe it's good now), so sticking to my newly inherited fish on Friday habit, I went for the fish sandwich. Not entirely bad, but definitely a bit bland, it needs one more ingredient, a pickled tangy something. I feel like I've said this exact thing before... and yep I did.
Cafe Habana To Go, 229 Elizabeth Street above Prince

4:00pm chips

Salty dessert today, or is it not a dessert if it's not sweet? Souvenir from India - thanks to Maggie's recent trip with Salaam Garage. Whenever one of us travels (both near and far) we are in the habit of bringing each other back chips or toothpaste . We think it says a lot about a place, and it's cheap. These Magic Masala chips were tangy, spicy and tasty, though the ruffles hindered the transporting effect that food can have. I'm already looking forward to the Vietnamese chips on her next trip.
Frito-Lay, India

Jup She, with John

Not exactly a fun day to be walking around at lunchtime but nevertheless John gamely came down to meet us. In the interest of the rain, the chill and the gray skies we were looking for something uplifting and delicious. Kimchi to the rescue! Kimchi never fails to bring a contented Cheshire grin to our faces. And with a hearty stomach aka John to share in the meal, we could order the seafood pajeon without fear of overstuffing.
Jup She, 171 Grand St, NY, NY 10013 (at Baxter)

4:00pm cupcakes

Day 2 for Sheila's cupcakes. Today we go for the chocolate on chocolate. Still moist, still good; though given the choice, we will always go for the vanilla.
Batches by Sheila Monaghan & Co.

Shanghai Cafe, with Danny

Holy good lunch! The Harvest boys have some kind of secret bead on the worthy places to eat in Chinatown, or they just know what to order because we always have the yummiest food together. Today Danny introduced us to Shanghai Cafe where he offered up the following meal: shredded pork with preserved cabbage and rice cakes (pictured above), the shanghai style fried rice and an order of soup dumplings. A perfect meal for the three of us. Everything was light and not too greasy; we especially loved the rice cake dish.
Shanghai Cafe, 100 Mott St, NY, NY 10013 (btwn Hester & Canal)

4:00pm cupcake

Big thanks to John for bringing cupcakes by the office for all of us today. As Halloween nears, black and orange colored desserts become effective in whetting our already festive appetites! Additional big thanks go out to John's friend Sheila, who is behind these delicious cupcakes. We hope that there are plans for a bakery in the near future for her. Preferably near our office... In the meantime, we'd be happy to offer our taste testing services!
Batches by Sheila Monaghan & Co.

Welcome to India

We were thrilled to find a recent Indian eats addition to our neighborhood; definitely something we are lacking around here. The food was not thrilling (though the naan was great), but the staff was super friendly, asking us how the food was, tips on how to order next time if we want it this way or that. You just have to root for people like that. Hopefully the food will be better next time, as there will be a next time. We also loved how they spelled bread (brade) and carb (carv) on their menu. Charming!
Welcome to India, 369 Broome Street near Mott

4:00pm red velvet chocolate cupcake

In keeping with our passion for food inspired day, we stopped by Pinisi Bakery on the way home from lunch. They have a new shop on 1st Avenue close to Houston but we went to the original one on East 4th Street. It's a cute and homey place where the scent of baked sweets permeates the air. We stayed for a bit luxuriating in the warmth of sugary smells.
Pinisi Bakery, 128 East 4th St, NY, NY 10003 (near 1st Ave)

Senor Pollo

A bit chilly for a long walk but it's Columbus Day so we went exploring. Actually no, we went specifically to Senor Pollo in the East Village because of Kathy's review. Oh and also because we are completely incapable of resisting potato salad. What heavenly delight! We shared a 1/2 chicken with spanish potato salad and yellow rice for $10.62. As Kathy says, it's an awesome deal and the skin was just right, tasty and flavorful. It reminds us wholeheartedly of a pared-down, fast food style, version of Pio-Pio. Which is a-ok with us.
Senor Pollo, 221 First Ave., NY, NY 10003 (btwn 13th and 14th)

4:00pm nutella eclair from Cameron

Friend and fab photog Cameron, was in NYC for work, and we had all intentions of meeting up for a wee catch up, but it didn't quite work out. However, it turns out he stopped by the office while we were out and so kindly left us a tasty Nutella eclair from Financier hidden in the fire escape. How sweet is that! And since there's no way he would have known our enthusiasm for Financier, I knew Maggie who had coffee with him earlier, had something to do with it. Thanks guys!
Financier Patisserie, 62 Stone Street near Hanover Square

Acme Bar and Grill

We were having a bit more trouble than usual trying to figure out what we wanted to eat today. Because of our schedules, we hadn't actually sat down to eat lunch out together all week (and the two weeks while M was away). We settled on Acme for our usual sharing of the blackened catfish plate w/ two sides and an additional side of mac and cheese. It worked out superbly especially since we like to observe fish Fridays from time to time, even though we are not Catholic.
Acme Bar and Grill, 9 Great Jones Street near Lafayette

4:00pm cookies

While many might have grown up on Oreos or Fudge Stripes, when I think childhood cookies, I might think of these; provided always by my grandmother. Brought some back to prolong the effects of my trip back to Tokyo.
Izumiya, Tokyo

Cong Ly, with Hong

One last meal with my sister Hong before she heads off to Berlin for a new job. At her request we hightail it over to Cong Ly for a quick bowl of Hu Tieu My Tho, squeezed in-between last minute errands and an afternoon flight at Newark. In the same amount of time it would take you to order and consume a Macdonald's Big Mac, we had a hot and healthy bowl of noodle soup. Hu Tieu is particularly wonderful for its light broth, diversity of toppings and the celery. Gotta love crunchy celery bits in soup.
Công Lý, 124 Hester St, NY, NY 10002 (btwn Broome & Chrystie)

4:00pm candy bar pie, part 2

I kind of suspected that after a full day in the refrigerator, the leftover bits of Momofuku's Milk Bar candy bar pie would be as tasty as it was yesterday. And I was right.
Momofuku Milk Bar, 207 2nd Ave, NY, NY 10003 (at 13th St)

Congee Village

The House Special Chicken from Congee Village with an accompanying plate of green vegetables is one of our favorite meals. We didn't need the NY Times to confirm this fact of life, but the recognition is nice. And even more impressive is that today M. figured out how to place the perfect (aka cheap and tasty) lunch order. $9 for a half order of the house special chicken and $3.75 for a lunch order size of chinese vegetables over rice. It's very important to specify lunch special for the vegetables otherwise a plate of greens is $7.95 AND you have to order the rice separately. Today's lunch came to $13.75 total for the perfect amount of delicious chicken, vegetables and rice.
Congee Bowery, 207 Bowery, NY, NY 10012 (btwn Rivington & Spring)

4:00pm candy bar pie

Lip smacking good, the pies from Momofuku have a little more bang for buck. There is an intensity to the ingredients that cannot be devoured casually. Each slice, nay, each bite, is a foray into a dramatic world of flavors. The candy bar pie is largely caramel and peanut butter with a wow pow kick of dark chocolate crunch.
Momofuku Milk Bar, 207 2nd Ave, NY, NY 10003 (at 13th St)

Momofuku: Milk Bar then Ssam Bar

It goes against popular opinion, but Momofuku's gotta do a little more than adroitly throw together lesser known Asian ingredients to merit the high price tag of lunch today. The smallish BBQ rib sandwich was good, but $13.07 worth? I'm not sure. And the 2 pork buns per order are oh so lovely with their delicate balance of pork belly, cucumber and hoisin sauce, but $9.80 lovely? Hmm, debatable.
Momofuku Milk Bar/ Ssam Bar, 207 2nd Ave, NY, NY 10003 (at 13th St)

4:00pm white chocolate macadamia nut cookie

Y: Let's not torture ourselves with deciding which cookie to end with. We should just get 2 of the same one instead of 2 different ones.
M: OK. Which one should we get?
Y: The peanut butter looks good.
M: Yup, or the macadamia nut looks fresh.
Y: I could go with either
M: Me too
Y: So which one do you think?
--insert long pause here--
Y: Right so, we'll take one peanut butter and one macadamia.
Hampton Chutney, 68 Prince St, NY, NY 10012 (btwn Crosby & Lafayette)

McNally Jackson Teahouse

M just got back yesterday so it's been a long day of catching up, but never fret, we did find time for a pleasant lunch interlude at McNally Jackson earlier today. Every cafe should get themselves a sandwich press or even a toaster. What should be a normal and ordinary sandwich is made so much nicer with warm toasted bread.
McNally Jackson Teahouse, 52 Prince St, NY, NY 10012 (btwn Lafayette & Mulberry)

L'asso, with Thu

I've been enamored of the margherita DOC pizzas at L'asso ever since the world wide web inferred that buffalo mozzarella is, in fact, well tolerated by the lactose intolerant. So I dragged my sister Thu to pizza for lunch even though she had already consumed the leftover pizza in the fridge for breakfast. But cold, day-old pizza from Ray's is not even in the same ballpark as a fresh out of the oven thin crust from L'asso. Good thing for Thu.
L'asso, 192 Mott St., NY, NY 10012 (at Kenmare)

4:00pm plum tart

Whoever is making the fruit tarts over there at Cafe Select deserves some props. We haven't had a bad one yet, in fact they have all been terribly delicious. From apple to apricot to cherry to the blackberry apple oat, ending with today's plum - you can't go wrong with any of them.
Cafe Select, 212 Lafayette St, New York, NY 10012 (at Kenmare)

Sammy's Noodle Shop

Sometimes for a change of pace we order from Sammy's Noodle over in the West Village. It may seem strange especially considering we abut Chinatown, but Sammy's is more Chinese-American than Chinese-from-Chinatown. A small but critical difference. Today, in support of Serious Eats' Brown Bag Challenge, lunch is leftover fried rice from dinner last night and instead my lunch money will go to Mrs. J's classroom in Ohio.
Sammy's Noodle Shop, 461 Sixth Ave, NY, NY 10014 (at 11th St)