4:00pm pistachio doughnut

Although we usually avoid Dean & Deluca for the crowds and high prices, it's sometimes fun to poke our heads in to see what new things they have, the array of desserts, cookies and cupcakes is constantly changing. We were tempted by the Doughnut Plant jelly doughnut but a not-fresh doughnut is almost worse than no doughnut at all so we settled on the safety of a pistachio cake one instead.
Dean & DeLuca, 560 Broadway, NY, NY 10012 (at Prince)

South China Garden, with Danny and Shawn

We discovered a place today that was so good I'm reluctant to tell you about because I dare not disturb the equilibrium of the place with an influx of diners. For as soon as I tell you about our lunch, you will surely go. My parents mentioned South China Garden a couple weeks ago and then I read this post on lauhound. The place is typical Chinatown but the food is way better. The garlic chicken was moist with a delicate yet crunchy skin that I could have eaten all day. We had a lovely special steamed buffalo carp dish, which comes, as Shawn says, classically prepared with soy sauce, ginger and scallions. Almost every other table ordered this dish. The woman across from Shawn, ordered one just for herself. We shared both dishes along with a plate of salt baked squid and a stir fry of mushrooms, snow peas and greens. They had already run out of the stuffed hot peppers so we know what to try next time.
South China Garden, 22 Elizabeth St, NY, NY 10013 (below Houston)

4:00pm stroopwafels and cookies

One last image from Choice Eats to leave you with. Last night, on our way out, we grabbed 2 stroopwafels and 2 cookies from The Good Batch with every intention of saving them for afternoon dessert today. Smart us.

Soho Park

After all the madness of eating that went on last night we could not bring ourselves to over-think lunch. A hot dog for me, a hamburger for M. and french fries to share. I miss the Belgian french fry place, Le Frite Kot, on West 4th from years ago. Soho Park could have given them a run for their money.
Soho Park, 62 Prince St, NY, NY 10012 (at Lafayette)

Village Voice Choice Eats

And now a special departure from our regular twice daily posting to bring you pure food porn from last night's Village Voice Choice Eats. We were late to the event and despite one VIP ticket between the two of us, ended up waiting together as the line wrapped around the block. We switched off, gathering little yummy plates from the Taim Mobile truck, Kimchi Taco and Korilla BBQ. Inside was an overwhelming array of food and the people who love food. I loved the signage above each table, making it especially clear to us initiates who was serving what where. We did not wait in line for the chocolate and eggplant from Del Posto nor did we make it in time for beef belly from Takashi but we did hit enough not-local-to-us spots to feel pretty satiated. We both agree the meatballs from both The Meatball Shop and Motorino were memorable, as was the ice cream snagged on the way out the door from Blue Marble Ice Cream.
photos, in the order from top to bottom: Taim Mobile, The Meatball Shop, Motorino, Dirt Candy and Dressler

4:00pm chocolate chip cookie

I would never complain about the brightness of the days getting longer but it's really throwing off our sense of time! Running out the door pretty soon as we found a last minute additional ticket to the Village Voice Choice Eats so we will both be there tonight. I'm prepared to be overwhelmed and overfed.

Caffe Falai, with Sarah

The official name of this Caffe Falai dish is "Tagliolini al Grano Saraceno buckwheat thin tagliatelle, chickpea puree, tropea confit onion and pecorino". Basically a mouthful to say pasta with chickpea puree and onion confit. Or even shorter they could have said REALLY GOOD TAGLIATELLE.
Caffe Falai, 265 Lafayette St, NY, NY 10012 (below Prince)

4:00pm chocolate chip cookie

Anyone else headed over to Village Voice Choice Eats tomorrow night? We snagged one ticket and have started planning some judicious tasting. If anyone has recommendations, send them our way! And if any of you fellow lovers and devourers of food will be there, let us know! Already I am looking forward to Paulie Gee, The General Greene and some Red Hook Lobster. Note the general theme - all places too far for us to lunch on a daily basis. *big grin*
Oro Bakery, 375 Broome St, NY, NY 10013 (btwn Mulberry & Mott)

Calexico

I was completely craving a bar steak today and planned on stopping by Broome St Bar for one, nearby to some errands I had to run. But all they had were burgers to satisfy my intense need for red meat and that just wasn't going to cut it. Conveniently the Calexico Cart is on the way back to the office so I picked up a bulging carne asada burrito. Surprisingly there was still a bit of a line at 2pm. Normally M. and I share one but since lunch was a solo affair today, I thought I'd try 2/3 of the burrito and ended up eating it all instead.
Calexico, Broome St near Broadway, NY, NY 10012 (north-east corner)

tangerine sorbet

We finished off our fancy ladies lunch with tangerine sorbet over an ice and gelatin bath.
Casa Mono, 52 Irving Place, NY, NY 10003 (at 17th St)

Casa Mono, with Thu

I wish the colorful springtime-ness of this pork belly translated to the weather, I forgot how much I hate the vagaries of March. Casa Mono is small and cramped and oh so lovely. The deliciousness of the menu can be a bit overwhelming but we quickly named a handful of dishes without thinking too much about it. Judging by what we had (yum) and the adjacent tables, it doesn't seem like you could go wrong with anything ordered. I especially loved the lightness of flavor paired with an intensity of taste, like in the red snapper crudo we started off with.
Casa Mono, 52 Irving Place, NY, NY 10003 (at 17th St)

4:00pm chocolate chip cookie

I'm kind of glad M's out of town today because I didn't have to share this homemade chocolate chip cookie that we had picked up yesterday from the Nolita Mart. The owner makes them herself! And they are GOOD. I love the thinness of the cookie, the crusty edges and the dark bitter chocolate. Not to mention they're only a dollar! I'm already looking forward to another when M. gets back.
Nolita Mart, 156 Mott St, NY, NY 10013 (btwn Broome and Grand)

Torrisi

I've come to the conclusion that an Italian Combo can mean all sorts of things to all sorts of people, which is kind of my fascination with ordering it. I don't like to specify what should be in it, preferring to leave it up to chance and interpretation. I've found it tends to come two ways, big thick slabs of mozzarella and roasted red peppers or provolone and shredded lettuce with oil and vinegar. Torrisi made the first version today, a monstrously large one, piled atop a poppy bun
Torrisi, 250 Mulberry St, NY, NY 10012 (below Prince)

4:00pm Black Sesame Cupcake

We may have been too lazy to venture far in this weather, but our office mates were not. They brought back dumplings for lunch but also a dozen cupcakes from a small shop tucked away on tiny little Mosco St. Everything Frosted is, to us, a quintessential East meets West bakery. Their cupcakes taste like Asian interpretations of an American dessert, which is alright by us because the frosting is airy, the cake not overly sweet and they come in flavors like: lychee, black sesame, green tea and mango.
Everything Frosted, 105-1/2 Mosco St, NY, NY 10013 (btwn Mott and Mulberry)

Grand Bo Ky

We meant to walk further to New Chao Chow for wonton noodle soup but it was pretty icky outside; could only muster enough energy to get as far as Grand Bo Ky. Too bad for us because the memory of Noodle Village was still in our minds and there's no chance Grand Bo Ky could compare.
Grand Bo Ky, 216 Grand St, NY, NY 10013 (btwn Mott & Elizabeth)

4:00pm lace cookies

Karen made these delicate lace cookies for her meetup tonight, with extras going to the office. Yay Karen! She should have called them Karen's Crack Cookies because they taste precisely like a cookie version of David Chang's Crack Pie from yesterday.

'wichcraft

The smell of 'wichcraft grilled meat and panini was stronger today than the usual faint aroma of gym sneakers emanating from the Equinox above, for which we were grateful. Everyone in the mezzanine cafe was working away on their air books so we had a quiet lunch of too flavorful flank steak and a bit underwhelming pork loin.
'wichcraft at Equinox, 568 Broadway, NY, NY 10012 (enter on Prince)

4:00pm crack pie

Boo, when we moved the site over to lunchstudio.com, I didn't realize indexing would take awhile to catch up, which means our search function isn't really searching properly. Turns out we use it quite a bit. But I am a resourceful sort and tracked down the last time we had crack pie from Momofuku Bakery. Can't say anything has changed, it's still sweet as sin with divinity in every bite.
Momofuku Bakery and Milk bar, 207 Second Ave, NY, NY 10003 (near 13th St)

Tea & Sympathy, with James

The light misty rain and gray skies put me in the mood for an English meal. After a morning of apartment visits with our friend and favorite architectural photographer, James Ewing, we headed over to Tea & Sympathy. They serve all sorts of tea in charming tea pots and dainty tea cups but they also have hearty hot meals of chicken soup and baked beans. Normally the tiny shop is quite packed for lunch but I was counting on the rainy weather to keep everyone away.
Tea & Sympathy, 108 Greenwich Ave, NY, NY 10011 (btwn 12th and 13th)

4:00pm "twinkie"

White chocolate is not one of our normal preferences, so the vanilla "twinkie" is less AHA than the chocolate one we had last week. But if white chocolate falls within your must-haves then head over to Lulu for a burst of lemon in the center of sweet cake covered in white chocolate.
Lulu Cake Boutique, 112 Eighth Ave, NY, NY 10011 (btwn 15th and 16th)

Swich

70 degree weather today, woo hoo!  I wish I could say we took the afternoon off for a lazy picnic, but site meetings are our priority this afternoon.  I was looking forward to stopping by Lulu again to pick up some yummy dessert, and I remembered that Swich is conveniently located a few doors down.  I decided to go against my typical grain, which turned out to be the Atlantic - pole-caught tuna, with cucumber, sprouts and lemon mayo.  It was nicely balanced and just salty enough - filling but not too much.  And while I wouldn't call it a great sandwich, given that I was having a burning craving for alfalfa sprouts, it totally hit the spot, right on.
Swich, 104 8th Avenue, New York, NY 10011 (btwn 15th and 16th)

4:00pm chocolate chip cookie

Yum. There was a time when Oro's chocolate chip cookies were ordinary and fine. Lately, however, they have been so good that it's worth telling your twitter friends, your facebook friends, your real life friends and certainly worth eating more often.
Oro Bakery, 375 Broome St, NY, NY 10013 (btwn Mulberry & Mott)

Despana

Oddly, because we are not salads-for-lunch type of gals, we had a salad for lunch today at Despana. Furthermore, because the temperature in the store is always on the chilly side, we've never eat-in but today not only did we have salads, but we also stayed to eat them. Afterward we sat outside on the bench, basking in the sun, only reluctantly heading back to work.
Despana, 408 Broome St, NY, NY 10012 (btwn Lafayette and Centre)

4:00pm double cherry pie

It's official, we're no longer using the blogspot address, www.lunchstudio.com is all you need to remember. Feed settings have not changed and everything seems to be operating the same as before. If you follow through FB or a reader, head over to the site for a look, we've been tweaking things a bit, cleaning it up and adding the now commonplace social media functionality. Nothing major, and no need to fret - the crux of lunchstudio is the same - beautiful photos with short posts each and every working day.
Hill Country Chicken, 1123 Broadway, NY, NY 10010 (at corner of 25th St)

Hill Country Chicken

I never remember whether it's Mama Els or Hill Country Classic that I prefer but I should remember next time that the wings only come in Classic and therefore it's Mama Els that I prefer, even though I really like chicken wings. There was a confusion in scheduling earlier today and we found ourselves up at Madison Sq. Park  conveniently around lunchtime with Hill Country Chicken just around the corner. I can never resist fried chicken, and judging by their lunch crowds, neither can anyone else.
Hill Country Chicken, 1123 Broadway, NY, NY 10010 (at corner of 25th St)

4:00pm cupcakes

We had a birthday girl in the office today, what better excuse to check out the latest Billy's Bakery on Elizabeth and to partake of a tasting menu of cupcakes. I love birthdays.
Billy's Bakery, 268 Elizabeth St, NY, NY 10012 (below Houston)

Loreley

How is it possible, we wonder every time, that Loreley continues to be open for lunch when every time we go as it's not exactly bustling with patrons. Not that we're complaining! I love having the spacious dining room to ourselves, eating our bratwurst and wieners in a quiet and peaceful afternoon sun. Whatever economics makes it possible for them to serve lunch we are the happier for it.
Loreley, 7 Rivington St, NY, NY 10002 (btwn Bowery & Chrystie)

4:00pm griddle hot cakes

In the time it took us to walk from Mulberry and Canal to Centre and Canal, we had already downed more than half the bag of just freshly made Hong Kong cakes. We watched as the woman's deft hands quickly poured and scooped out a batch of our favorite reason to have lunch in Chinatown below Canal.
Hot cake street cart, south side of Canal Street btwn Mulberry and Baxter

Noodle Village

It's almost a bit too far, Noodle Village, down on Mott, but the pay off is so worth the walk. Quite possibly close to a perfect noodle soup, we love the lightness of the broth and the full flavors of the bowl's ingredients. There is no heaviness to weigh you down except the happiness of an utterly satisfying meal finding a home in your tummy.
Noodle Village, 13 Mott St, NY, NY 10013 (btwn Mosco St and Chatham Sq) 

4:00pm "twinkie"

Lulu's calls this a "twinkie" but it reminds us of Swiss Cakes or Ring Dings or any of those delicious treats of our childhood. Whatever name you choose to call it doesn't matter, a twinkie by any other name would taste as sweet. In other words, go get yourself one. They're yuuuuummy.
Lulu Cake Boutique, 112 Eighth Ave, NY, NY 10011 (btwn 15th and 16th)

Le Pain Quotidien

I made M. go to Le Pain Quotidien today because I needed a better baguette experience than yesterday. As it were, I was just marginally more satisfied than yesterday. And mostly only because butter makes everything better and I slathered gobs of it on the baguette.
Le Pain Quotidien, 100 Grand St, NY, NY 10013 (btwn Mercer and Greene)

4:00pm donuts

Karen saved us from ourselves by bringing back a half dozen donuts from the Doughnut Plant after lunch. There was a mad rush to get a taste. The creme brulee was especially worth the pushing and shoving that may or may not have happened on my way to the donuts.
Doughnut Plant, 379 Grand St, NY, NY (at Norfolk St)

Parigot, with John

Laziness was our operating mode today, so lazy that I canceled lunch plans with Thu because it might require walking outside in the rain. So when John called to say he would come down to us, our lackadaisical attitude prevailed and we walked only half a block to Parigot in the windy wetness. Their lunches are usually reliably fine but sadly a little less so today. Still, the company was good and we even got our lazy butts out of the office for a bit.
Parigot, 155 Grand St, NY, NY 10013 (at Lafayette)

4:00pm chocolate chip and walnut cookies

I was really in the mood for chocolate chip walnut cookies but not these chocolate chip walnut cookies. They taste more sable than proper cookie. I guess we'll have to pick up some Tate's soon.
Balthazar Bakery, 80 Spring St, NY, NY 10012 (at Crosby)

Cocoron

Cocoron has been high on our list of must try places, good Japanese is not easy to come by in our lunching neighborhood. It was tough to decide which soba to have for lunch, and then tougher to decide which photo to show you. This moody tororo wakame soba (mountain yam and seawood), the romantic stamina soba or the bright daikon mochi. Not only was everything delicious, but the portions were beautifully sized and the pricing super reasonable for lunch (under $10!). I was giddy with happiness knowing we now have a yummy and affordable soba place in the 'hood.
Cocoron, 61 Delancey St., NY, NY 10002 (btwn Eldridge and Allen)

4:00pm sesame seed balls

These may look like jin deui but they've got a mung bean paste inside, making them definitively banh ran, or Vietnamese over Chinese. Who can tell though, the exterior always looks the same. The only way of knowing is to know where they've been purchased.

Hoomoos Asli

The trouble with Hoomoos Asli, if there should be trouble, is their lack of consistency. Since the ownership changes of several years ago, the place wavers in ups and downs and in-betweens. They expanded their malawach sandwich options while tucking the $4.61 falafel sandwich in a small corner of the menu on the back side. Since I love fried dough of all sorts, the malawach delights me to no end, but having had very few malawach sandwiches in my lifetime, I have little idea of where Hoomoos Asli's malawach falls on the overall taste continuum.
Hoomoos Asli, 100 Kenmare St, NY, NY 10012 (at Centre St)

4:00pm apple danish

Doesn't this photo make you think of illicit desserts, eaten in the dark of night with only shadows and moonlight to illuminate the crusty pastry shell hiding bits of caramelized apples?
Margot Patisserie, 2109 Broadway, NY, NY 10023 (entrance on 74th St)

Office Potluck

Team B made a strong showing today for office potluck. We consumed a winter lunch of hearty rice and lamb, ravioli casserole with sausage, tomato soup and oyako-don followed by a banana blueberry french toast.

4:00pm donut

Happy Friday! Happy donuts! Maybe you don't know this, or maybe you've never thought to walk in, but the donuts at Donut Pub are exceedingly good. Not quite on the level of Peter Pan, but seriously reliable and generally always fresh. Also, we have a new site header, check it out.
Donut Pub, 203 W. 14th St, NY, NY 10011 (near 7th Ave)

Wah Mei

Hoorah the little seating area next door to the former May Wah, now Wah Mei is back open for business! I was prepared to takeout and eat in the office but even happier to sit in their newly renovated space. It's only been a week so everything is shiny clean, new paint, tables and chairs. I love the fried chicken over rice but can never finish the rice. Apparently M has no problem doing so. I looked over towards the end of the meal and asked out loud "How can you eat all that rice?" Her stunningly illuminating answer? "Because I can".
Wah Mei Fast Food, 190 Hester St, NY, NY 10013 (btwn Baxter & Mulberry)

4:00pm coffee eclair

It had to happen sometime, our ongoing love affair with Financier Patisserie hit a speed bump. As we all know, not everyone is perfect, not even Financier. The coffee eclairs could have been so great! But alas too sweet and too much filling to pastry for our picky palettes. Nevertheless, we forgive them this one small misstep and remain ever devoted.
Financier Patisserie, 2 Astor Place, NY, NY 10003 (at Broadway)

Balboosta, with Karen

Took us a couple tries but we may have found some dishes worth returning for at Balboosta, in addition to the delectable hummus and pita we discovered last time. Today we split a lamburger and a nicoise salad, which gives both of us the perfect amount of veggies to meat. The lamburger is especially nice with a dollop of the aforementioned hummus and I really liked the tartness of the salad dressing. Not a cheap lunch for everyday dining, but a perfect lunch for us ladies two plus the lovely Miss Karen.
Balaboosta, 214 Mulberry St, NY, NY 10012 (above Spring)

4:00pm ginger cookie

Anytime we see a batch of cookies with especially darkened brown edges, we are tempted away from whatever other dessert we might have been considering.
Once Upon a Tart, 135 Sullivan Street, NY, NY 10012

Peppe Rosso

Pepe Rosso! I swear sometimes we only go here to hear the guy behind the counter yell out Pepe Rosso! with obvious glee and gusto. Of course the intimate yet bustling atmosphere has something to do with it. A tip if you don't already know, order first, then wait for a table to open up. Our guy behind the counter will make sure whoever is eating ahead of you eats quickly and vacates their seat almost immediately, making room for you and your piping hot pasta.
Pepe Rosso to Go , 149 Sullivan Street, NY, NY 10012 (below Houston)

4:00pm peanut butter cookies with chocolate ganache

The evenings are noticeably lighter earlier, which means I am in a rush to leave because quitting time crept up on me faster than I had anticipated. So quickly now, these peanut butter cookie sandwiches with chocolate ganache have existed at Oro in some form or another before, but we especially love them in this, their current iteration. Do try for yourselves.
Oro Bakery, 375 Broome St, NY, NY 10013 (btwn Mulberry & Mott)