4:05pm chocolate chip cookies

I am really in love with the chocolate chip cookies baked by the owner of Nolita Mart, but mostly because they taste precisely like the type of cookies I would make at home. A tiny handful of chocolate chips, just shy of pleasantly burnt and thin to boot.
Nolita Mart, 156 Mott St, NY, NY 10013 (btwn Broome and Grand)

OK 218 Restaurant

I wanted cheap chinese food over rice, specifically eggs of some sort, and that's what we found at OK 218. This place is always a hustling, we even waited 5 minutes for a table! Granted it's not that big but there was a steady stream of people all throughout lunch. M. ordered what that table over there was eating, a chicken leg over rice with salty cabbage, Hainanese style, although we actually have no idea how to order it again since there was no such thing as Hainanese chicken listed on the English menu.
OK 218 Restaurant, 218 Grand St, NY, NY 10013 (btwn Mott & Elizabeth)

3:38pm profiteroles

We stopped by Balthazar because it's convenient and it's been awhile since we've had their donuts, but they had run out. Only the chocolate glistening profiteroles looked remotely tempting. It was not until we left that I started worrying that we had tried these before, with great disappointment. Alas and alack, I confirmed it upon return to the office. But surprise and delight! They were rather good! We must have had a stale batch last time, because today they were super yummy.
Balthazar Bakery, 80 Spring St, NY, NY 10012 (at Crosby)

Great Jones Cafe, with o, mags and thu

Great Jones Cafe never used to be open for lunch, or they were open for Friday lunch but the one Friday we went there were closed. Now that they are more reliably open for lunch, we may be going back for the blackened catfish po'boy. It was surprisingly nice in fact. The pickles, lettuce and mayonnaise added wonders to the sandwich. We were not as impressed with the pulled pork, but the heavily peppered french fries definitely got devoured by us all.
Great Jones Cafe, 54 Great Jones St, NY, NY 10012 (close to Bowery)

4:15pm cookies

AHA. Karen mentioned earlier today that we didn't have dessert yesterday but I thought that's strange, we absolutely did. And now I see what happened, we DID have dessert, 3 cookies from Eileen's, but since I didn't blog about it, it's like it never happened.

Tacombi, with Tasha et al

We're becoming bigger fans of Tacombi, especially now that they have done away with the silly ticket voucher method of ordering. Although a bull horn would be helpful in announcing orders when they're ready instead of everyone just guessing if their food was up or lingering by the counter waiting. There were 6 of us for lunch, we may have tried everything on the menu. The fried fish taco was nice but we especially liked the chorizo con huevos (sausage, egg and potato) taco, the picadillo (ground beef) taco and the agua de sandia (watermelon juice).
Tacombi at Fonda Nolita, 267 Elizabeth St, NY, NY 10012 (below Prince)

Jacques, with Thu

Pretty unusual since it's only been 12 days since we last had lunch at Jacques, and you know our repeat schedule is more like 2 months but Thu wanted french fries and I couldn't get the unexpectedly delicious ones that we discovered at Jacques last time out of my head. I was not as impressed with the poulet roti as I was with the mussels but happily the french fries did not disappoint.
Jacques, 20 Prince St, NY, NY 10012 (btwn Mott and Elizabeth)

3:59pm donuts

Yesterday I saw a cinnamon donut twist at a highway rest stop Starbucks. It looked super yummy behind the glass display but I heroically resisted the urge, remembering that appearances often are deceiving. The sighting left a lingering donut craving, which I conveyed to M today. On her way back from a tile store she thoughtfully stopped by the other donut franchise in town, Tim Hortons. We will not get into the particulars of Tim Hortons vs. Dunkin' Donuts because the internet says quite alot about that, all inconclusive. It was better than I thought it would be, not as good as a donut could be.
Tim Hortons, 34 Union Square E, NY, NY 10003 (at 16th St)

Shanghai Cafe, with Thu

An additional lunch companion is generally required for lunch at Shanghai Cafe, mostly so we can order our 3 favorite dishes without guilt. The third person most often ends up being whichever sister is in town, having saved up a longing from abroad for soup dumplings and string beans. The string beans were especially flavorful today; the rice cakes less than their normal stellar quality, but still quickly devoured.
Shanghai Cafe, 100 Mott St, NY, NY 10013 (btwn Hester & Canal)

5:42pm nut goodie

The heat wave is following me! I was in Minneapolis and beyond earlier this week, where the weather was way crazy hot and ridiculously humid. As it started to cool down and become as beautiful as one could imagine, I had to leave to come back to this. That aside, whenever I go away, I try to bring back some local goodies, ideally potato chips, but to be honest I didn't see too many exotic junk food out there.These Nut Goodies were one of the items I spotted in all the vending machines. With a name like that, and the beautiful retro packaging this was a must purchase. The maple flavor is a nice touch to the nuts but it's a bit too sweet for me, at least for today, when all I'm craving is a popcicle. 

Lafayette Espresso Bar + Marketplace

Today is not a good day to be walking around the city as the heat is as oppressive as it could be.  But as I had a bunch of personal things to take care of (accountant, doctor's appointment etc.), I really had no choice.  Though I guess the heat had its upside.  I didn't get around to eating until close to 4pm, but the heat kept my hunger manageable.  Though once I started digging into the sandwich, I realize how hungry I really was. 
Lafayette Espresso Bar & Marketplace, 189 Lafayette St, NY, NY 10013 (below Broome)

4:03pm lumaca

I can't find a single thing on the world wide web about lumaca, Grandaisy lists them on their dolci menu but that's about it. It was a flaky pastry tightly curled up, reminiscent of palm leaf cookies, with bits of raisins and maybe nuts. I liked it.
Grandaisy Bakery, 73 Sullivan St, NY, NY 10012 (btwn Broome and Spring)

Ruben's Empanadas, with Thu

It's almost shocking we've never eaten at Ruben's while lunch blogging, it's not like we have anything against Ruben's. In fact I quite like their empanadas. But until today I didn't realize a single one of their large hefty empanada's makes a decently filling lunch. You can get it with a side of rice and beans or rice and chorizo, both which looked quite appetizing. We went the salad route, not as appetizing but appropriate for a hot summer day.
Ruben's Empanadas, 505 Broome St, NY, NY 10012 (west of West Broadway)

3:58pm leftover chocolate cake

Over the weekend I was at an engagement party with the largest chocolate and strawberry sheet cake I have ever seen. We finished less than a third, boxed up the rest of it and distributed it to as many people as would take chocolate cake home with them.

Rubirosa, with the ladies

Lunch today was inspired by Kathy, since we hadn't sat down for a proper meal in a long while. And now that the SE office is a couple blocks away, Robyn often joins in on group lunches, always with a nice friend or two in tow. We split 2 pizzas and a salad; I was surprised by the mixed salad at Rubirosa, very nicely balanced. Pizza was the perfect accompaniment for discussing the merits of eating with a knife and fork, as the French are prone to do, versus with our bare hands, as we uncivilized Americans can prefer.
Rubirosa Pizza, 235 Mulberry St, NY, NY 10012 (btwn Spring and Prince)

4:04pm whole wheat sconce

Homemade treats are always welcome here, well probably anywhere. But they are more welcome when they come from the CPB Gallery. And even more super duper welcome when it's a whole wheat sconce accompanied by a homemade strawberry rhubarb preserve.

Sausage Inc, with John

When John sent this link last week we knew we had to go. It was way too hot to eat massive sausages on pretzel rolls in a non-air conditioned space, but despite the intense food coma we all experienced afterward, the trip to newly opened Sausage Inc was worth it. M. and I split an artisanal hot dog and a blanco sausage. They were both divinely good. Really truly high quality sausages on a pretzel bun that only made the entire dining experience all that much better. The pretzel bun was not as heavy as we might have thought, but it was rather light and very complementary.
Sausage, Inc. 106 University Place, NY, NY 10003 (btwn 12th and 13th St)

4:03pm walnut cake

When someone, anyone, says that a croissant trumps our two all time favorites, Ceci-Cela and Claude's, there is nothing to do but rush over to try. It was already afternoon by the time we got around to eating the Mille-Feuille croissant, and despite the late hour, it was extremely promising. A bit denser than Ceci-Cela, less buttery, with a taste reminiscent of Claude's, this is one we will have to go back for fresh. In the meantime the walnut cake M. also picked up was enjoyable although nothing as spectacular as that croissant promises to be.
Mille-Feuille, 552 LaGuardia Pl, NY, NY 10012 (btwn 3rd and Bleecker)

Kunjip, with Gordon and Bionic Bites

Bionic Bites was telling us, in the loud, hurly burly atmosphere of Kunjip, that naengmyeon is a specialty of North Korea. It's a cold noodle soup, especially refreshing on a summer day. There is also kongguksu where the noodles come in a cold soy milk broth. The Japanese have some cold noodle soups but I can't think of a single one from Vietnam, nor could Gordan recall any Chinese ones.
Kunjip, 9 West 32nd St, NY, NY 10001 (btwn 5th and 6th Aves)

4:47pm mastic pie

When I took a glance at the contents of a recent dessert souvenir from Maggie, I told Y she wouldn't like this.  Call me judgmental, but I just knew; and I was right.  It's precisely the kind of food that our tastes diverge on.  Mastic laced nougat and roasted almonds sandwiched between two communion wafer type discs.  It's really right up my alley, and I can see why Maggie got it for me on her recent trip to Chios, known for their mastic. Ironically, I didn't like it either.  It's probably the mastic, but the nougat just didn't taste how I want it to taste.  I've had mastic soda, mastic toothpaste, and been able to enjoy (not love) the acquired taste like uniqueness.  But in this instance, it will take more work.

Jacques, with MB and K

In honor of le quatorze juillet, we had a proper lunch with the ladies, French bistro style at Jacques. The perfect day and weather for outdoor eating, we dined al fresco, an occasional friend or two passed by. K had already decided on the mussels lunch special which included french fries, choice of mussel style and a refreshing glass of wine or beer - all for $15. What a steal! I couldn't resist, we ended up sharing a glass of wine and a pint of beer between the four of us. The french fries surprised us all with their very very goodness. We'll probably go back just for the fries.
Jacques, 20 Prince St, NY, NY 10012 (btwn Mott and Elizabeth)

4:33pm sablee cookies

It's a week of treats for us, on Monday M signed for a care package from an old childhood friend living in Taketomi. In the box was the prettiest cookie tin, filled with delicate sablee cookies from Okinawa made with goat milk from goats raised on the island.

New Tu Do

We used to go to Tu Do back in the days before they moved to the west side of Bowery and way before the proliferation of banh mi shops. It was ok back then and it's ok now. I've actually never had this bot chien omelet type thing, but M saw it on Fork in the Road and we had to try it. Eggs in all forms are an irresistible lure and when paired with taro and rice flour, that's not something we can turn down. The banh beo I should have known better than to order and as I kind of suspected, it was like a watered down Macdonald's version of the real thing.
New Tu Do, 102 Bowery St, NY, NY 10013 (btwn Grand and Hester)

4:00pm gourmet sugars

Kathy dropped off some gourmet sugars from Chambre de Sucre the other day, sugars almost too beautiful and delicate to consume. But consumed they must be! And so we did, with a fresh cup of french pressed coffee made by our office mates, whose obsession with the perfect coffee is getting out of control. M. remembers these sugars from her childhood in Japan, apparently a very popular item during gift giving season.

An Choi

It was almost too hot to walk to An Choi for lunch, but we did anyway. Rewarded with a light summery lunch of banh mi thit heo quay (crispy roast pork sandwich) and bun cha ca (fried fish over cold noodles). And then walked back in the even hotter sun. From the conditioned comfort of your office, take a wander over to Kimberly Belle, food maven extraordinaire, who posted up an original interview with us your lunch ladies. Unlike some interview formats which present the same questions to many different persons, Kimberly took the time to craft some specific questions for us. I like that!
 An Choi, 85 Orchard St, NY, NY 10002 (below Broome)

5:03pm strawberry rhubarb pie

Even though we have desserts piling up a plenty here, I can never resist a strawberry rhubarb pie. Especially when one mysteriously shows up on the kitchen table. Well it's mysterious to us, but I'm sure someone out there knows who we should credit our afternoon dessert to, besides Red Barn Bakery that is.
Red Barn Bakery, 4 South Astor St, Irvington, NY 10533

L'asso

More places should do lunch specials for two. It's such a nice idea! Especially at L'asso where it means splitting a small 12" round pizza of your choice and a big bowl of salad. Part of their new summer or lunch menu, you can choose from either any salad and a marguerita pizza or any pizza and a plain green salad. We like it.
L'asso, 192 Mott St., NY, NY 10012 (at Kenmare)

4:00pm donut

M. picked up a doughnut from the Irving Farm Coffee this morning that originally came from Pies 'n' Thighs. By the time we had it for afternoon dessert, the doughnut was so incredibly dry we could barely finish it. But underneath the dryness we could tell this doughnut would have been magnificent at prime freshness.
Irving Farm Coffee Co., 56 7th Ave, NY, NY 10011 (btwn 13th and 14th )

croissant sandwiches

With an increase in staff, our office mates have switched from monthly potlucks to weekly Friday morning breakfasts. I can't say I oppose the notion. Today we used the croissants that Christopher brought in from Ceci-Cela to make our own homemade croissan'wiches. We went to Gourmet Garage and picked up: 1/4 lb ham, a kirby, a plum, 2 packets of mustard and .42 lbs of French comte. It totaled $9.65. We got out of it exactly 2 delicious and perfectly proportioned croissant sandwiches. There is a bit of cheese left for afternoon snack but otherwise a well chosen lunch.

4:00pm candy bar pie, part 2

The other secret to eating the candy bar pie from Momofuku is to eat it really, really chilled. It was refrigerated yesterday but was closer to room temperature than cold. Today we the other half straight out of the refrigerator, cold. And it was even better than yesterday.
Momofuku Milk Bar, 207 Second Ave, NY, NY 10003 (near 13th St)

Grand Bo Ky

I was thinking of egg foo young for lunch but we couldn't remember where we'd gotten a decent one before. Definitely on Grand St, but where precisely? We went to Grand Bo Ky where I finally remembered the name of the soup I wanted, the nan vang rice noodle soup. They call it "Cambodian" which always confused me because I was looking for a particular version of the Vietnamese hu tieu, but I guess maybe it is? The soup was really good but even so lunch left me feeling a bit dissatisfied. I guess that's what happens when you crave an egg omelet and end up with rice noodles.
Grand Bo Ky, 216 Grand St, NY, NY 10013 (btwn Mott & Elizabeth)

4:00pm candy bar pie

Holy Moly Cow. And we thought Momofuku's crack pie was intense. We couldn't even finish one slice of candy bar pie between the two of us, it was so rich and POW flavorful. I loved every bite, the dark chocolate, the slight crunch, the salty caramel, everything. But next time to be had with vanilla ice cream, a glass of madeira or cold milk.
Momofuku Milk Bar, 207 Second Ave, NY, NY 10003 (near 13th St)

Burger & Barrel

Today is National Fried Chicken Day! We celebrated by having fried chicken at Burger & Barrel, a wise choice as the fried chicken was super tasty and I loved the mashed potatoes and gravy accompaniment. Not a cheap choice for a fried chicken lunch, but worthy nonetheless. I'm surprised no one has started a blog where they spent a year eating only the food celebrated by whatever food holiday it might be. Although that would mean whipped cream on January 5, chocolate covered raisins on March 24 and play dough on September 18.
Burger & Barrel, 25 W. Houston, NY, NY 10012 (btwn Mercer and Greene)

4:00pm coffee cake

It was too hot for grand dessert gestures today so I simply stopped by Torrisi for a quick piece of coffee bread on the way back from lunch. It was a bit drier than usual, but still utterly satisfying.
Torrisi, 250 Mulberry St, NY, NY 10012 (below Prince)

Sobakoh

Blame it on the hot weather, the post-holiday daze or whatever you like, but no lunch photo today folks. You will have to rely on the written word instead. And that word is about the soba at Sobakoh, which was only ordinary, definitely not great. We wanted it to be! So many people like Sobakoh but in our own 2 person tasting, we'll have to put Cocoron and even old timer Soba-ya ahead of Sobakoh as far as quality of soba noodle goes. It's possible the shrimp tempura over rice with cold soba on the side was not the correct order, and if so please tell us what to try. So far we're not getting it.
Sobakoh, 309 E. 5th St, NY, NY 10003 (east of 2nd Ave)

6:28pm pfannkuchen

This is cheating a bit since this photo and donut are actually from yesterday but you might forgive me when you realize I woke up an hour early Thursday morning, before our 10am flight back to NYC, so that I could take the U-bahn 2 stops to Schonhauser Alle. All that in order to hand carry fresh pfannkuchen (or berliners or donuts as you might know them) back home to M.
It's summer and a holiday weekend and I can't wait for a gloriously lazy three days. Happy eating!
Konditorei Krautzig, Schonhauser Alle 126, 10437 Berlin

La Esquina Taqueria

It started with a small lapse in communication yesterday. As the afternoon drew on I was experiencing some serious hunger meltdown waiting for M to come back from a meeting, which apparently she wasn't about to do anytime soon. I ran out to get something solo, only the hunger pangs combined with jet lag were seriously affecting my judgement and I ended up making some halfhearted attempts before settling on a pollo rostizado torta at La Esquina's take out counter. Another poor choice! Or at least not one geared to quickly settling hunger rage. I waited and waited, sure that my sandwich was taking 10 times longer than everything else, but when I looked at the time of course only 2 minutes had passed. The fabulous thing about hunger rage is that it is so easily and simply cured and by the time M got back to the office I was feeling better already.
La Esquina Taqueria, 114 Kenmare St, NY, NY (btwn Cleveland Pl and Lafayette St)