Bread w/ Alex

I think I've tried most of the sandwiches at bread.  They are all pretty good, but I'm really stuck on the shrimp and I'm not sure if I will ever order anything else.  What makes it a standout is the shrimp, which is a rarity.  Shrimp is rarely prepared well, and even rarer in a sandwich.  Miraculously the shrimp has that chewy gelatinous texture of when it has just cooked through.  And then it's tossed in ample but not too much mayo, and sandwiched between two warm and crispy pressed bread.  It's really worth trying, take my word for it. 
Bread, 20 Spring St, NY, NY 10012 (btwn Elizabeth & Mott)

4:09pm chocolate chip wine cookies

Wine cookies, as the name suggests, are made with wine.  And they are really rather delicious, or at least these from Tarallucci e Vino are.  Nothing against Stella D'oro cookies (in fact, I rather like them), but these cookies taste like what Stella D'oro "ought" to taste like.  At $1 a piece, I'd say it's a bit steep; I can eat them in about 2 or 3 bites.  I wonder if they'd be up for a baker's dozen..
Tarallucci E Vino, 15 East 18th Street, New York, NY 10003 (btwn Broadway & 5th Ave)

Despaña w/ Kristina

Since Y's been away, I've found myself with even less time for a friendly lunch than I hoped, nor have I had time for a lunch companion.  So when I ran into Kristina (Y's best friend) we said we would meet up for a quick-ish lunch at Depaña since it feels like at least a year since we last properly spoke.  I ordered the Bocadillo Picante, one of my favorites with spicy chorizo.  I wish they would do a half sandwich with soup or salad.  Half the sandwich isn't quite enough, but a full sandwich seems like I'm forcing the last quarter down even though I'm full, and I hate leaving food behind.  So I ate half, and starting to get hungry already.  Good thing I saved the other half for snack. 
Despana, 408 Broome St., NY, NY 10013 (btwn Lafayette and Cleveland Pl) 

4:20pm coffee roll cake

Staying on the cheap and fabulous, Chinatown style roll cakes are a good choice.  At 95 cents from Fay Da, one of the fancier bakeries, you really can't go wrong.  The sponge cake is eggy and not too sweet, and the thin spread of cream is surprisingly salty, to add some serious interest.  
Fay Da, 191 Centre St, NY, NY 10013 (at Hester St)

Wah Mei Fast Food

I'm really perturbed how little free time I've had, and how rushed I've been feeling the last week.  Well it's a good thing for a place the Wah Mei, where the food is fast, cheap and pretty close to fabulous.  Or maybe the "fast, cheap" part bump the "good" up to "practically fabulous". 
Wah Mei Fast Food, 190 Hester St, NY, NY 10013 (btwn Baxter & Mulberry)

4:42pm harvest cookie

I must apologize for not posting last afternoon.  I just could not get around to it, and then around 6:15pm I felt an incredible urge just to leave the office, without having accomplished much.  The harvest cookie from Pret a Manger which is available from the baked goods case located adjacent to the cash registers, is indeed a really nice cookie.  The chocolate chip gets some major accolades as well, but I may prefer the nutty, fruity, oaty one; at least in general.     
Pret a Manger, 11 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036 (btwn 5th and 6th)

Pret a Manger and Bryant Park

I'm having one of those days, where I've been wanting to go to the bathroom since 5 hours ago, but somehow haven't found a minute, because I literally need to be doing something at that minute every minute.  So about 30 minutes ago, I was finally able to relive my bladder, which is something I wanted to do prior to lunch when I found myself walking across 42nd street east to west, from my accountant to my job site, and was pulled in to the allure of all the trees, table and chairs at Bryant Park.  I'd actually never had the chance to eat there for lunch.  I really was in quite a bit of a hurry, but grabbed one of my favorite sandwiches from the Pret a Manger across the street and sat myself down amongst the plentiful urban lunchers and practically swallowed the sandwich whole.  Despite the lovely surroundings, it didn't taste as good as usual.  Can't tell if it was me, or the sandwich.
Pret a Manger, 11 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036 (btwn 5th and 6th)

5:15pm vanilla "Roanne"

I'm having one of those days, I just can't get around to the work I need to as I keep getting interrupted.  I'm starting to get stressed out when I should be getting ready to decompress for the weekend.  I was definitely getting ready to stress out about what I was going to have for dessert, when I remembered I had brought these into the office, knowing that I would need them for such a day as today.  These are Japanese junk food, but they are surprisingly delicate, a paper thin crispy wafer with an equally thin, almost undetectable, layer of vanilla cream.  I don't know where the "Roanne" comes from, it's apparently a town in France.  I think the residents there would be happy to know there is such a delicious Japanese cookie named after their town.

Ovest w/ Art

Art's in town for a few days for work stuff, so we decided to go around town together doing some work and work-related stuff.  This brings us to lunch at Ovest over by the Chelsea gallery district/new Highline area.  The Diavola Pizza made with mozzarella di bufala and spicy salame was quite tasty.  The sauce was nice an tangy and aside from the soggy center, the crust at the edges were heavenly chewy.  By the time we left, the place was bustling and packed to the gills.  Apparently they aren't known for their speedy service.
Ovest Pizzoteca, 513 West 27th Street, New York, NY 10001 (btwn 10th & 11th Ave) 

5:12pm nougat

My dear friend Jim and I have had a long standing tradition of taking each other out for dinner for our respective birthdays.  The place has to be somewhere we both haven't been (we repeated the Tasting Room once), and have been wanting to go to.  So for my birthday this year, we decided to try out The Modern at the Museum of Modern Art.  We of course tried the tasting menu, and boy were we both impressed.  We shared everything to expand our tastings, and except for a dud second course and dessert (2 out of 14 or so plates) everything was pretty exquisite.  This nougat was a take home gift from the evening.  In my adult life, I have discovered the greatness of nougat, but I have to say, this one was a bit too sweet and cloying, such that I might have to throw it into the dud pile.  Okay, so it's not that bad, I'm still going to eat it!  

Hampton Chutney

 
I  know it hasn't been that long since we last went to Hampton Chutney, but with the weather looking so precarious, I didn't want to stray too far from the office.  Plus when Y is around we always end up sharing a dosa, and never get around to eating their equally tasty sandwiches.  So here we are, the chicken salad with curry chutney dressing, arugula and roasted peppers on whole grain bread.  I feel like I've said this before, but everything there kind of tastes the same.  I don't know if that's a good thing or if it makes me sad.  Today, I think it makes me sad.  But that didn't keep me from enjoying my lunch!
Hampton Chutney, 68 Prince St, NY, NY 10012 (btwn Crosby and Lafayette)

4:28pm salty caramel on chocolate bacon cookies

Sorry for the lack of Lunch post today; I promise, it's not that I didn't eat.  I had a last minute eye doctor appointment which left me unprepared to face daylight, due to having my eyes dilated.  Ooof, I walked back to the office with my eyes closed, and my head was/is throbbing trying to focus on emails and drawings.  Anyhow, I couldn't stand to be outside even for another second, so I ended up eating Y and I's leftover sandwich from yesterday, and forgot (sort of) to take a photo.  So I'd like to make it up to you for dessert.  Something I withheld from you yesterday was that Kimberly also brought us a jar of her salty caramel.  How absolutely addictive it is!  Upon her suggestion, I tried spreading it on the chocolate bacon cookie, but honestly I think I like it on it's own.  It would also be extra tasty on some vanilla ice cream, mmmm..

4:23pm chocolate and bacon cookies

We had a lovely visitor this morning bearing us beautiful treats.  Kimberly a.k.a. The Food Maven, so generously brought us some of her delicious creations.  Pictured here are the chocolate and bacon cookies with French sea salt; intensely smokey, sweet and salty.  It's like the perfect bite of your favorite french toast slathered in butter, dipped in maple syrup and and forked into your mouth with a bit of bacon.  Kimberly, who also runs a catering business The Dinner Belle with her best friend/business partner, was brimming with such good food energy, that we immediately looked forward to a future lunch together.

Paris Sandwich

We discovered a new and delicious banh mi today.  As Y was off to Berlin, we needed to grab a quick and satisfying lunch, and preferably Asian, as she will be consuming European sausage-centric meals for the next 10 days.  We decided on our favorite close by banh mi shop, Paris Sandwich.  As we were getting ready to place our orders, I noticed the "New #21" sandwich - chả (pork roll) with omelette.  And what a tasty surprise!  It's a bit messy as the eggs are still runny and warm, but it was a really nice change to the usual suspects.  Plus I don't need to tell you any more how much I love chả.
Paris Sandwich, 213 Grand St, NY, NY 10013 (btwn Mott and Elizabeth)

1:38pm olive oil cake

We usually share 2 desserts between the 4 of us, which in my mind, is the perfect amount of sweetness after a satisfying meal. But Gotham Bar and Grill's olive oil cake with homemade creme fraiche and fennel scented strawberries was so deeply good I wanted the whole thing to myself.
Gotham Bar and Grill, 12 East 12th St, NY, NY 10003 (btwn University and 5th Ave)

Gotham Bar & Grill, with Liz and Peter

Our biannual lunches with Liz and Peter really mark the passage of time, 6 months lapse between meals, but it always feels like yesterday. For a restaurant that's been been around since 1984, Gotham Bar & Grill's menu has kept surprisingly up-to-date, even if the decor has not. The food is sophisticated and fresh, consistently so across all the dishes we tried. And at $25, the prix fixe lunch special of appetizer and entree is a pretty wonderful deal, especially considering the marginally better than average $23 steak from Felix last week.
Gotham Bar and Grill, 12 East 12th St, NY, NY 10003 (btwn University and 5th Ave)

4:00pm birthday treats

It was a double M birthday today! First Harvest serenaded the younger M with gushers atop cupcakes and later Mags came by with fancy cakes from Ceci-Cela for the older, but no less youthful, M.
 Ceci Cela Patisserie, 55 Spring St, NY, NY 10012 (btwn Lafayette and Mulberry)

Felix

Robyn invited us over to taste test lemonade at Serious Eats earlier today, but what she didn't tell us was that we would be tasting 18 different store brought lemonades! Wow. That's hard work. Afterward we were feeling a bit light headed and gritty with the taste of artificial lemons so we headed west and kept walking until we fell upon Felix. It's not our usual spot, a little too European tourist, but what the hell. The interior is prettier than we expected, with its high drafty tin clad ceiling and French bistro memorabilia, but the food was exactly as we expected. Decent and overpriced, I guess it's the real atmosphere of an European bistro that you pay for.
Felix, 340 W. Broadway, NY, NY 10013 (at Grand)

4:37pm financiers

Financier's financiers are a solid afternoon dessert selection. Whether you opt for chocolate or plain, you will be content to have nibbled on something so classically nice.
Financier Patisserie, 2 Astor Place, NY, NY 10003 (at Broadway)

Grandaisy

It was not too hot at lunch to take a longer walk over to Grandaisy for a summer-appropriate lunch. We meant to have their pizzas but they were strangely absent from display. Instead we got two ready made panini's for a quick and light lunch. Next time we head out the Holland Tunnel I might have to stop and pick up some for the road, I bet they travel well.
Grandaisy Bakery, 73 Sullivan St, NY, NY 10012 (btwn Broome and Spring)

4:55pm coconut cake

It's remarkable in the 4+ years we've been doing lunchstudio we've never once wrote about Balthazar's coconut cake. Especially remarkable because it's one of our favorite Balthazar cakes! The cake is always moist, I love the airy frosting and there are toasted coconut shavings sprinkled all over.
Balthazar Bakery, 80 Spring St, NY, NY 10012 (at Crosby)

Saigon Vietnamese Sandwich

Because I couldn't make up my mind today, I decided to go browse through the aisles of my favorite neighborhood hardware store for some inspiration first.  It didn't really help me in terms of narrowing down what I was craving, but walking along Broome Street sounded like a good idea, so I ended  up here.  Though it used to be a menu item, I had to special order my sandwich.  Banh mi with just sliced chả lụa.  As long as they are using decent chả lụa, I like this sandwich because you can't screw it up too much w/ bad proportions or overly sweet roast pork.  The same thinking applies for when I order bourbon on the rocks. That, and I might have a slight addiction to chả lụa. 
Saigon Vietnamese Sandwich, 369 Broome Street btwn Elizabeth and Bowery

4:00pm donuts

I know M. always gets the creme donut from Donut Pub, but since I'm such a jelly donut addict, I never considered altering my order. Until of course this afternoon when I tried a bite of the creme, aka vanilla pudding, and realized why she always went with the creme one.
Donut Pub, 203 W. 14th St, NY, NY 10011 (near 7th Ave)

Cocoron

I know, it's only been 3 weeks but there's nothing else to be done for a soba craving. Yippee now that Cocoron is a short walk away. Soba Koh remains high on the list, but that's a healthy commitment to a longer lunch and not meant to be today. We're suckers for potato salad, which we espied down the counter from us, but decided to be cheap and stick to entrees instead. We tried new ones, M. the oroshi and me the pork kimchee but so far we're liking the natto and stamina ones a little better.
Cocoron, 61 Delancey St., NY, NY 10002 (btwn Eldridge and Allen)

4:28pm chocolate chip cookies

These little mini cookies from Stone Hill Barns, brought to us, and you, courtesy of some of my most thoughtful friends, reminded M. and I instantly of Cookie Crisps cereal, which came out in the late 70s. Neither M nor my parents ever bought them for us, but everyone else had parents who did. We didn't expect them to taste like mass market produced cereal, and they did not. They tasted like little bites of yum with an appealing hint of burnt edges.
Blue Hill at Stone Barns, 630 Bedford Road, Pocantico Hills, NY 10591

La Nueva Conquista

I wasn't paying attention when I took my first bite of lunch today. And since we're all about mindful eating, especially after reading this article about "lunch amnesia", I let go of all the silly distractions dancing in my head for just one second so I could take a second bite. Good thing I did because the second bite of our usual roast pork over yellow rice and black beans from La Nueva Conquista was breathtakingly good.
La Nueva Conquista, 236 Lafayette St, NY, NY 10012 (above Spring)

4:13pm cookies

There's a big to-do going on in our office space today, all sorts of people coming and going as part of Walkabout NYC. Which doesn't really mean too much to us except there are two large and yummy platters of cookies from Oro on the kitchen table and we are happily munching away.
Oro Bakery, 375 Broome St, NY, NY 10013 (btwn Mulberry & Mott)

Slainte

There is something oddly otherworldly about eating in bars for lunch, especially since they're usually devoid of people. I didn't even know Slainte, one of our neighborhood bars, was open for lunch! But last night, as we were toasting a friend's birthday, the delicious smell of french fries wafted past me and my head whipped around to see a ginormous platter of buffalo wings and french fries move past. So we had to go for lunch today. The fish of the fish n' chips was a tad on the not-salty-enough side, but not so bad that we wouldn't go back.
Slainte, 304 Bowery, NY, NY 10012 (btwn Houston and Bleecker)

4:58 Tim Tam from Steven via Australia

I don't know from whom or when I found out about Tim Tams.  If you're not familiar with them - I don't think I'd be exaggerating to call it Australia's favorite cookie, a cookie which most Ozzies hold dear to their hearts and long for when they are far away from home.  They are absolutely delicious, and the flavors are more delicate and refined than something you'd expect from a mass produced snack.  So I was absolutely ecstatic when Steven told me he brought some back for me on his recent trip home.  Of course they can be found here, but they are sold at such a ridiculous mark up, I can't get myself psyched up enough to want it, and I'd be heartbroken if it were stale.  

Oxley's Carvery

What is up with the heat today?  We decided we didn't have much patience for a nice stroll, or potentially too hot or too cold restaurants.  Plus we wanted something quick.  Our original destination was Parisi but the line was out the door (as always), where Oxley's next door was devoid of any customers.  And we're pretty happy with our result.  We tried the turkey, pork loin and beef eye of round all in sandwich form.  The turkey sandwich came with stuffing, gravy and cranberry sauce. And was perfectly moist and filling and tasty.  And by the time we paid for the food, Oxley's too had a small queue. 
Oxley's Carvery, 202a Mott Street, NY, NY 10012 (btwn Spring and Kenmare)

5:12pm raspberry cream puff

We could not be near Eldridge without stopping at Panade for our favorite local cream puff, with raspberries and vanilla cream today. One day we will try the more unusual flavors but it's hard not to succumb to nostalgia brought on from a childhood of cream puffs and vanilla custard.
Panade, 132a Eldridge St, NY, NY 10002 (btwn Delancy and Broome)

Pho Grand

A while ago one of our regular FB readers, Mee, recommended the com chien bo luc lac (fried rice with "shaking" beef cubes) at Pho Grand. Just on the other side of the park at Chrystie, Pho Grand should have been like all the other Viet restos in Chinatown, that is to say Chinese run restaurants serving Vietnamese food. But we were totally delighted with the comforting, basic nature of the fried rice with bo luc lac. The beef cubes definitively tasted more Chinese than Vietnamese, but the sweetness was just right, applied with a deft touch and not overly cloying. It's a good thing the mysterious abundance of foreign tourists and local hipsters did not deter us from lunch. Next time we're going to try what all the other locals were eating, pho suon nuong (a bowl of pho with a grilled pork chop on the side). (I know, right? I've never heard of this either).
Pho Grand, 277 Grand St, NY, NY 10002 (btwn Forsythe & Eldridge)

4:00pm chocolate chocolate chip cookie

What can I say about this chocolate chocolate chip cookie from Blkyn Larder? SEA SALT. LOVE. Oh and it's dark chocolate. Which we love too. That is, if we were to love chocolate, which we actually don't. Love it, I mean. Like and appreciate certainly.
Bklyn Larder, 228 Flatbush Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11217 (btwn Bergen and St Marks)

Bottega Falai

We had an unexpectedly and extremely happy discovery at Bottega Falai today - their made to order sandwiches on fresh focaccia are kind of to die for. We only meant to stop by for a quick, but food-aware lunch on our way to see Ryoji Ikeda at the Park Ave Armory, and instead had a quick and delicious meal. The menu is simple, the prices are decent. $8-10 will buy you a prettily plated proscuitto de parma or mortadella sandwich, or even better, you can grab a pre-made panini for $5. The ingredients are well balanced and light in a way that reminded us of Alidoro.
Bottega Falai, 267 Lafayette St, NY, NY 10012 (below Prince)

4:10pm chocolate chip cookie

Yesterday some friends picked me up for a morning in Brooklyn; we took photos in the bright sun, against beautiful graffiti walls in Red Hook, we ate delicious pizza and more at Franny's and to cap off a lovely morning, they took me to Bklyn Larder especially so I could pick up a chocolate chip cookie for afternoon dessert.
Bklyn Larder, 228 Flatbush Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11217 (btwn Bergen and St Marks)

Oficina Latina

The pricing at Oficina Latina is a little aggressive for lunch, or maybe that's a matter of perception of worth vs. cost. Even though the recalentado a caballo (white rice with spicy pork and bacon topped with a sunny side up egg) looked remarkably small, it was pretty filling. I could have eaten that bacon all day long. We paired it with a tuna salad, a perfectly innocent combination, but somehow the flavors were off so I ended up finishing all of one taste before having the other.
Oficina Latina, 24 Prince St, NY, NY 10012 (btwn Mott and Elizabeth)

4:00pm donut

Happy Friday Folks!  Just to end the week on a delightful note, I'm chomping on my favorite creme donut from The Donut Pub.  I can't get enough of this one.  Just can't get enough...
Donut Pub, 203 W. 14th St, NY, NY 10011 (near 7th Ave)

Bar Bossa

There's nothing too special about Bar Bossa, but I sure do get a craving for their egg pressed sandwich.  A lightly mixed egg salad, with olives, onions, parsley and spiced mayo.  I find it rather addictive.  There was a strange vibe in there today.  A bunch of American "guy" guys off from work, drinking alcohol sitting at the bar sort of watching the French Open on TV.  But every time we go there we still can't get over how much we miss Palacinka..
Bar Bossa, 232 Elizabeth St, NY, NY 10012 (btwn Prince and Houston)

4:00pm strawberry tart

This is one of our most favorite strawberry tarts, even though we only had it once in 2008. But the price increase over the years put us at $7.75 today! I mean it is a damn fine tart, the strawberries are actually delicious, the crust crunchy and flaky, it's everything you could dream of in a strawberry tart. But $7.75? For takeout? Let's hope it doesn't hit $10 in another 3 years.
Petrossian, 911 Seventh Ave, NY, NY 10019 (btwn 57th and 58th)

Hampton Chutney

Jeez I am such a slacker today! It's practically the end of the work day and I haven't gotten around to talking about lunch. But that might because it was kind of an ordinary lunch, nothing special, nothing to write home about. It temporarily filled our stomachs, cost more than a finger but less than an arm and leg.
Hampton Chutney, 68 Prince St, NY, NY 10012 (btwn Crosby and Lafayette)

4:38pm apple turnover

I said hmm, it's not bad, a bit on the stale side but I like the Pepperidge Farm taste, M. nodded and said it resided somewhere between McDonald's and homemade. I'm not really sure that meant she agreed.
Paris Sandwich, 213 Grand St, NY, NY 10013 (btwn Mott and Elizabeth)

Paris Sandwich

We tell practically everyone about the "#18 roasted beef" Vietnamese baguette at Paris Sandwich but it's been a long time since we had it, a year in fact. It's probably the American cheese that makes it so good, since melted American cheese makes most things taste better, but there is something else oddly satisfying about the strange combination of Vietnamese marinated and grilled beef slices with strictly American garnishes. Trust us on this one, it's worth trying.
Paris Sandwich, 213 Grand St, NY, NY 10013 (btwn Mott and Elizabeth)