Noodle Village

13 Mott St, NY, NY 10013

Rating: 2 - Super Happy
Visit #: 8
In Brief: One of the places we really really miss now that we're no longer close to Chinatown. Don't miss the duet noodle soups with the house made fish cakes.

A glorious oldie but goodie lunch in our old hood at Noodle Village. Initially I wanted soup dumplings, because who doesn't want soup dumplings, but then we decided to save that for when we could persuade a sister to join us for the trifecta lunch. We were not the only ones craving hot noodle soup, Noodle Village was packed. Each time we forget whether to order the wonton or the dumplings, the fish balls or the fish cakes. So we always get one of each. M. orders the fish balls and ends up with both balls and cakes while I order the cakes and end up with cakes.

4:40pm chocolates

We are overflowing with chocolates in the office. The Kee's from M's Thanksgiving (gasp I know, that was almost a month ago), a bar I brought back from Saigon by way of Paris and finally a box that arrived from one of our stone purveyors, Stone Source, filled with dusted chocolate truffles from Chocolate Works. Come by and help us eat some!

Flatiron Hall

38 W. 26th St, NY, NY 10010

Rating: 4 - Just Fine
Visit #: 1
In brief: A provisional rating based on one visit only, but we did enjoy the burger with its soft squishy potato roll bun. Don't get the deviled eggs no matter how much you are tempted.

I had a craving for a burger today, probably because Sri was grilling up some delicious lamb burgers in the office yesterday evening and I only had time for a little bite before jetting off to a holiday party. We toyed with the idea of Heartland Brewery but went to check out Flatiron Hall instead. And tada, turns out to be the same peeps anyway. We split a burger, my new favorite lunch thing to do. But next time maybe a salad instead of the overly smoky deviled eggs.

5:23pm cranberry donut

It's funny to walk into the steel and concrete of a Doughnut Plant after having a long lunch in the warm quirky atmosphere of El Quijote though it could be argued that Doughnut Plant deserves as much recognition for being a now integral part of the New York doughnut scene.
Doughnut Plant, 220 W. 23rd St, NY, NY 10011 (btwn 7th and 8th Aves)

El Quijote

226 W. 23rd St, NY, NY 10001

Rating: 2 - Super Happy
Visit #: 1
In brief: The food is truly banal and unrewarding, but go for the atmosphere alone, we did and would again.


Another gross food photo today, must be something in the air. But I'm including the atmospheric photo so you can truly understand the old school-ness of El Quijote. An esteemed colleague of mine recommended going and though I know El Quijote, attached to the fabled Chelsea Hotel, is as classic New York as it gets, I have never actually been. We had a marvelously festive lunch with o. that included champagne sangria (is that even a thing?!), a yummy Spanish omelet, salty garlic soup and lots of love in the air.

4:30pm sugar cookies

Someone left a jar of sprinkles at my apartment a couple weeks ago so I offered to let the kids make holiday sugar cookies. We spent the afternoon cutting out shapes and dumping assorted amounts of sprinkles everywhere. It was gloriously messy and yielded a rather tasty batch of sugar cookies. I'm thinking of making another batch next week as Christmas gifts from the kids to all the family but that may require more ambition than I have at the moment.

Mira Sushi

46 E. 22nd St, NY, NY 10010

Rating: 4 - Just Fine
In brief: Don't go here if you're an Asian food purist.
Visit #: 5

From across the room M. said the photo of my lunch looked really gross, and hers not much better. Now that I am getting around to the lunch post, I see precisely what she means. It did not taste as bad as it looked, it tasted perfectly ordinary in fact.

Ridgeway Diner

664 Ave of the Americas, NY, NY 10010

Rating: 3 - Feeling Good
In brief: The food is not particularly great, but its an unusually clean and bright diner with the full menu of diner food
Visit #: 1

From the exterior Ridgeway Diner looks not necessarily worth stopping for, but if you need a diner, you should stop anyway. The interior is bright, clean and well kept. And even more astonishing to me, despite a healthy lunch crowd, it was so calm and peaceful. M.'s cheeseburger was exactly to be expected and I found the gyro to be precisely what I wanted in a diner gyro.

Arirang, with Brigid and Lila

32 W. 32nd St, 3rd Floor, NY, NY 10001

Rating: 3 - Feeling Good
Visit #: 2
In brief: This is one starchy lunch, but comfort food all the way. Particularly good on a cold day.

When I typed Arirang into the google, I got a website linked to the restaurant with the url: www.partyonagrill.com, which was not the place we went. Not to say our group of 4 wasn't a rockin party, but the Arirang we had lunch at is known for its hand pulled noodles and not its grill. Hilariously the Arirang we went to in Ktown has the url: www.koreanrestaurantnyc.com. Accurate, if not entirely descriptive of its array of soups. We tried three large bowls, all unique and heart warming deliciousness. I would be hard pressed to choose between the tang of the kimchi one, the basic chicken broth one or the incredibly delicate seafood one. Note to self, next time, bring even more friends!
Arirang, 32 W. 32nd St, 3rd Fl, NY, NY 10001 (btwn 5th Ave and 6th Ave)

Ilili

236 Fifth Avenue, NY, NY 10037

Rating: 3 - Feeling Good
Visit #: 2
In brief: Sophisticated middle eastern food delicately prepared. For when you're feeling flush or want to impress your lunch date.

I never liked nor disliked cauliflower but lately I have just been in love with it. Today we took a calming lunch break at Ilili before a crunching deadline tomorrow evening. We must have been looking particularly schlumpy or something because that sat us in the way way back of the restaurant, yup, next to the kitchen doors.
Ilili, 236 Fifth Ave, NY, NY 10037 (btwn 27th and 28th St)

5:05 pm chocolates

If you're looking to finish up, or maybe even start your Christmas shopping, I can highly recommend a box of Kee's Chocolates. M. received one over Thanksgiving and even though we have exceeded their recommended 1 week to consumption guideline, it matters not a whit. They are still lovely and delicate and all that is divine about little bites of chocolate. Bring them to a holiday dinner and I guarantee you will be a hero.
Kee's Chocolates Midtown West, 315 W. 39th St, NY, NY 10018 (near 8th Ave)

Kokum

106 Lexington Ave, NY, NY 10016

Rating: 4 - Just Fine
In brief: For the first taste, it was very spicy. More things to try via Serious Eats.
Visit #: 1

M. randomly picked Indian as a genre on seamless.com and we ended up with a rather good, vibrantly spicy, meal. No surprise that afterward she found this flattering review about Kokum on Serious Eats. We tried some random things but next time the chicken fry for sure.

4:05 pm chocolate chip

We're always on the look out for a good cookie, especially since they can turn up in the most unexpected places. We found one at Hill Country BBQ a couple weeks ago and yesterday, on my way to work, I found one at the MUD truck. Theirs, baked by them, is especially good with the ocasional bite of sea salt and almost crunchy edge.
MUD, 22nd St btwn Broadway and 5th Ave, NY, NY 10010

Republic, with Tasha

37 Union Sq West, NY, NY 10003

Rating: 4 - Just Fine
Visit #: 1
In brief: 15 years young, Republic is an practically a Union Square institution. You cannot go wrong with the chicken lemongrass soup or pork chop over broken rice.

We met up with an old friend today at Republic and she made a comment that caused me to re-think my attitude toward the whole place. She, native New Yorker, has just moved back after a many year absence abroad, and she said, it's so nice that Republic is still here. So much has changed everywhere that it was reassuring to see an old familiar face. I guess 15 years is a lifetime in the changing face of city dining. When it first opened, I remember thinking pshaw, a place that claims to take from everywhere Asian will never succeed, not to mention the loud music and the bare concrete floors making it impossible to have a conversation. But it succeeds nevertheless! 15 years later I find my heart has changed toward the place, I think we'll be including it in the regular lunch roster after all.

4:10pm cupcake vineyards wine

This is a pure swag post, in that we said yes please send us samples, then we got them and now, in exchange, we are going to tell you that Dec. 15 is National Cupcake Day. But not just that, also that you can find a Cupcake Truck from California based Cupcake Vineyard tooting around the city on both Friday and Saturday to hand out delicious treats and delicious libations in the form of white and red wines (I think, at least, that's what we tried). It's a win-win if you like cupcakes and wine or just wine or just cupcakes. Or if you like following food trucks around.

Old Town

45 E. 18th St, NY, NY 10003

Rating: 2 - Super Happy
Visit #: 7
In brief: When it's not crowded (lunch) it's one of the best pubs in the city. The frankfurters are not to be missed, but otherwise it's not really about the food here.

I rattled off a dozen or more lunch spots for M. to decide, but none of them struck her fancy until I got to Old Town. You can't beat their hot dogs and french fries for sheer coziness of a meal.
Old Town Bar, 45 East 18th St, NY, NY 10003 (btwn Park Ave So & Broadway)

4:10pm red velvet whoopie pie

If you think this red velvet whoopie pie made by my kids at their Wednesday cooking class would be intensely sweet, you would be correct.
Taste Buds Kitchen, 109 W. 27th St, NY, NY 10001

Num Pang

1129 Broadway, NY, NY 10010

Rating: 3 - Feeling Good
Visit #: 4
In brief: If only the seating were more comfortable, the space less hectic and more cozy, that 7 rating would for sure rocket to 8 cause the food is mostly always good - except for today when it wasn't.

Something's going on at Num Pang today, like a major sauce overload. The pork steak rice bowl was laden with sauce, making it nearly impossible to finish without additional rice to cut down on the saltiness. The pork belly sandwich was similarly heavy with some sweet sauce that did nothing for the balance of tastes that I normally quite love.

4:20pm chocolate covered shortbeard cookies

A little holiday cookie to get you in the mood. Three weeks and counting! The gift lists have been filling my inbox, holiday music on repeat and presto, Christmas.

Rosticceria @ Eataly

200 Fifth Avenue, NY, NY 10010

Rating: 2 - Super Happy
Visit #: 6
In brief: The prime rib sandwich is absolute awesomeness, the others are okay to pretty good.

M. said don't get excited when I saw the Eataly bag holding what appeared to be a prime rib sandwich, so I knew she tried something else, which was the brisket and salsa verde. Not a bad sandwich, nice even, but nothing approaching the something something of the prime rib.
Eataly, 200 Fifth Avenue, NY, NY 10010 (at 23rd St)

4:12pm baklava and finger

I can't unequivocally say I love baklava, but I certainly do love a good baklava. There's just too many crappy baklava to siphon through to find a delicious one. I can unequivocally say however, that we love getting to share food with our officemates. Today these tasty treats were brought in by Dave, whose dad sent him from Detroit's best bakery, Shatila. I love their retro website, and it just makes me want to go to Detroit to visit and support this mom and pop gem. And most importantly the baklava is ammmaaazing!
Shatila, 14300 W. Warren Avenue, Dearborn, MI 48126

Manna Kitchen

28 E. 18th St, NY, NY 10003

Rating: 3 - Feeling Good
In brief: The atmosphere of a cafeteria, but with an extensive Korean menu.
Visit #: 3

When Y is grumpy or not feeling well, she says, "I need kimchi". While usually that means going to K-Town, today we had a bunch of errands to run so we settled on Manna Express Kitchen. Nothing special really, but it's really quite convenient that it's around. Decent enough to cater to our needs when we need it but don't have the time to have a more leisurely lunch.

4:58pm apricot tart

Eric Kayser nails it on this beautiful apricot tart. The almond filling is not too cloying, just the right amount and the apricots jammy and sweet. Yay.
Maison Kayser, 921 Broadway, NY, NY 10010 (at 21st St)

Via Emilia

47 E. 21st St, NY, NY 10010

Rating: 3 - Feeling Good
Visit #: 1
In brief: Nice pasta in a Euro setting - a little on the pricey side for lunch.

We dutifully tried out a new lunch spot today, called Via Emilia. From the street there's something uninviting about the restaurant, perhaps it's its seeming starkness, but once inside it doesn't feel quite so. I think this place should offer a lunch special to compete in the neighborhood. While the dishes aren't expensive, it's not quite lunch priced. That said the pastas are hand made daily and tasty. Without having found an "it" dish, and with Bocca a few streets down, we're not sure what would make us come here instead.