Soy Luck Club

Today was the kind of day I am anticipating much more of while the other lunching half is away. I left the office at 10:30am for meetings and at 5:30pm, finally made my way back to a pile of untouched work. Luckily, there was a 40 minute window between the meetings for a proper lunch. Having been on a fried fish kick of recent, I thought about going for a Fish Friday at A Salt & Battery, but instead crossed the street out of sheer curiosity to Soy Luck Club. I had the #8 Sandwich - Tofu Salad, Avocado, Soy Mayo, and boy was it delicious! The bread is similar to the one at Aroma, nicely soft and chewy, and the raisins were a lovely complement to the curried egg salad-like tofu salad.

4:00pm kinako mochi

Today is a wonderful and celebratory day as we welcome a new life (a baby girl!) in our lunching family! How this will affect the daily lunch and dessert posts for the next 6 weeks or so is yet unknown. I will try my bestest to upkeep our lunching ladies routine. However, holding the fort down solo will be time consuming, and without the other half to share entrees, and desserts in particular, lunching as usual will be challenging digestively as well as economically. We push each other daily to take a time out, and make it a part of our work day to eat together, so her presence will be greatly missed, but a joyous day it is indeed!

White Chicken Chili

Though the weather seems to be warming up a bit for the next several days, soup season isn't over yet! A big pot of homemade white chili was lovingly cooked to last more than a few days. The ingredients are simple and few. 3 different types of chili peppers (Jalapeno, Poblano and Anaheim), onion, garlic, shredded chicken, broth, Cannellini beans, cumin and coriander. Top it off with fresh cilantro and lime juice. The result is a low Scoville unit (next time I'll keep more seeds) fresh but hearty goodness.

4:00pm bittersweet chocolate chip cookie

I wish we could convey the utterly artificial odor emanating from this package of Mrs. Fields bittersweet chocolate chip cookie but alas while sound and sight can be conveyed at lightening speeds across the world wide web, they thankfully have not figured out how to transmit smell.

In other news, Theme's latest issue is all about food, along with a feature article by Drew Lazor about food blogging, showcasing friends like Midtown Lunch, Serious Eats, Gas-tron-o-my and yours truly, LUNCH. So if you're in love with eating like we are, it's definitely worth checking out.

D&D Deli

We definitely miss having a deli downstairs although D&D Deli is not really that far away. According to my sister, the secret to ordering french fries or onion rings from a deli for pick-up is to ask for them well-done. As usual, she is correct! The onion rings were surprisingly still tasty by the time we were able to sample them. And considering their voyage - from fryer to styrofoam container, brief wait on deli counter, packed in a plastic bag and transported 3 blocks to be eaten, sister's advice worked perfectly.
D&D Deli, 67 Spring Street btwn Lafayette and Crosby

4:00pm bread pudding

I'm not sure if this bread pudding (made with croissants) and laced with chocolate is what our friends down the street meant when they said we should indulge in something decadent in honor of Shrove Tuesday but it was the best we could do at the last minute. A couple seconds in the microwave to warm it up and melt the chocolate helped, but a big fat scope of vanilla ice cream would have been the perfect addition.
Oro Bakery, 375 Broome Street btwn Mulberry and Mott

An Choi

We can't tell you too much about what friend Tuan Bui is doing over at An Choi, as they're not quite officially open, but from the preview we had today we can tell you it's going to be very very good. They plan on adding phở to the menu soon, which we are very much looking forward to. If the sandwiches we had today were any indication, the future looks rather rosy for An Choi.
An Choi, 85 Orchard Street below Broome

4:00pm red velvet cupcake

It's really a shame that everyone gets all excited about Magnolia Bakery's cupcakes when in truth they offer a plethora of other more tasty desserts. But we are never one to look a gift horse in the mouth, especially when it comes bearing dessert.
Magnolia Bakery, 200 Columbus Avenue at 69th

Calexico

It's still a little chilly to be huddled outside the Calexico cart on Broome waiting 10 minutes for lunch but there are no shortage of nearby stores to pop in for some warmth while waiting. And always a worthwhile wait it is too, for the jam-packed burritos are delicious. There is something a little special about Calexico's particular blend of marinated meat, perfectly grilled yet still juicy and the fresh burrito shells.
Calexico, Broome Street near Broadway, north-east corner

4:00pm opera cake

And continuing on with the ultra cheap theme for today, $1.75 will get you a slice of opera cake from Fay Da Bakery down the street.
Fay Da Bakery, 191 Centre Street at Hester

Good Dumpling House

It's pretty amazing that a "fried ham and egg over rice" dish ordered for $4.50 in a typical Chinatown style eatery could taste so quintessentially Chinese, and not Western at all. Must be the soy sauce. Regardless, it was exactly what this lady was craving today - cheap something or other over white rice.
Good Dumpling House, 214-216 Grand Street btwn Mott and Elizabeth

4:00pm chocolate walnut cookie

This chocolate walnut cookie represents LUNCH blog post #1,000.
'wichcraft, 568 Broadway at Crosby and Prince

'wichcraft

We've tried the hot pastrami before at 'wichcraft, and found it lacking. But oh ho how times change. Today's pressed pastrami was delightfully good, with bits of burnt cheese and pastrami oozing out the sides and a thin layer of sauerkraut for contrast. There are still occasional moments of too chewy pastrami but overall quite a nice pressed sandwich.
'wichcraft, 568 Broadway at Crosby and Prince

4:00pm Sees Candy

Last night we built a giant croissant out of 5 sets of Monopoly board games, won an architect's duel against an extremely respectable firm and pretty much cracked ourselves up for the remainder of the night and well into today.

Freemans Restaurant

Freemans was very bustling for lunch today, despite the chilly gray weather. Between the fried haddock with pickled cabbage sandwich and the incredibly juicy cheeseburger, lunch was a pretty tasty affair. To be expected from the perennially crowded Freemans.
Freemans Restaurant, End of Freeman Alley off of Rivington

4:00pm "hostess" chocolate cupcakes

hoorah rah john john
who brings us bon bons
like chocolate cupcakes.
his sweetness oft makes
us sillier than loons.
McNally Jackson Teahouse, 52 Prince Street btwn Lafayette and Mulberry

Parisi Bakery

A very quick lunch today as we're in the midst of getting ready for the LVHRD ARCH DL V (5th Architect's Duel) tonight. There is no lack of quick lunch options down here, from the Calexico cart to La Nueva Conquista, but today we went with sandwiches from our usual summer staple, Parisi Bakery.
Parisi Bakery, 198 Mott Street btwn Spring and Broome

4:00pm lemon chiboust

Trying to choose a dessert at Financier Patisserie is not an easy exercise. Not only are the beautifully constructed desserts reasonably priced but they're delicious to boot. Today we tried something we'd never heard of, a lemon chiboust. Airy and tart, it made a delightful accompaniment to our lazy working afternoon.
Financier Patisserie, 62 Stone Street near Hanover Square

Adrienne's Pizza Bar

How fortuitous that the 2-year anniversary of LUNCH falls more or less on President's Day! Because even though we're working today, the quietness of the day is extremely conducive to a long lunch in unfamiliar territory. Thinking ahead to dessert and trying to satisfy a pizza craving, we head downtown to Adrienne's Pizza Bar. The old-fashioned rectangular pizza happily satiates our craving, largely due to the slightly burnt crust and crisp thin-cut pepperoni edges. Adrienne's may not be the best pizza in town but it sure makes for a fine celebratory lunch.
Adrienne's Pizza Bar, 54 Stone Street near Hanover Square

4:00pm heart cookies

Happy Valentine's Day!

Fanelli's Cafe, with Ray

Well I guess fish and chips is not the way to go at everyone's favorite local bar, Fanelli's Cafe. It was kind of bland and uninspiring. Rather we should go back to 218 instead. Strange, never thought we would say that - perennially empty, no name 218 Restaurant over time tested Fanelli's? But well when the food is good, it's good and we're all over that.
Fanelli's Cafe, 94 Prince Street at Mercer

4:00pm puff pastry with apple

Oro Bakery does not disappoint with its latest sweets offering - puff pastry shell folded over an apple filling. Although it kind of makes us want to run out and buy some Pepperidge Farms Apple Turnovers. If only we had a toaster oven in the office!
Oro Bakery, 375 Broome Street btwn Mulberry and Mott

barmarché

We ventured into one of those perennially empty restaurants in our 'hood this afternoon. You know the ones, places with nice atmospheres and decent menus but nothing particularly outstanding. And so we got what we expected - a nice, decent, nothing especially special meal at barmarché. Two noteworthy points - the salad dressing was pretty good and the sandwiches come on a slightly toasted baguette, which is slightly more than nice.
barmarché, 14 Spring Street at Elizabeth

4:00pm icebox cookies

Completely unrelated to these pretty yummy icebox chocolate and vanilla cookies from Cafe Zaiya, we're participating in an "Architect's Duel" next Tuesday and we'd love to see you! It's mostly unrelated to food although two years ago the model building material was cheese so that's kind of related. Details from LVHRD here.
Cafe Zaiya, 18 East 41st Street btwn 5th and Madison

Baluchi's

I hate when too much work coincides with abnormally warm winter days, meaning we didn't even have time to jet out for lunch outdoors, poor us. Online ordering to the rescue! This is the deal - order one lunch special from Baluchi's online, use this coupon code BL500 (15% off good until the end of March) and then happily share with your lunch mate: 1 piece of naan, a container of basmati rice, a pint of lamb saagwala and 2 vegetarian samosas. It's not the best Indian food around but for a whopping $13.77, the portions are sufficiently tasty and more than sufficiently divisible by 2.
Baluchi's, 193 Spring Street near Sullivan

4:00pm chocolate mousse dessert

A weekend visit from some friends brings chocolate mousse covered in crisp chocolate shell, shockingly still fresh after 2 days in the refrigerator.

Cafe Zaiya

There is no need for us to go into great detail over lunch at Cafe Zaiya when Midtown Lunch has already superbly done so. We were, however, surprised by how run-down the 41st Street location felt, as if it had been around forever. But don't let the worn down interior turn you away - with Cafe Zaiya's recently initiated price reductions, their $5 lunch options are completely irresistable.
Cafe Zaiya, 18 East 41st Street btwn 5th and Madison

Central Buffet

Several months ago the local chinese buffet place shuttered up, much to our dismay. So happy grins when we discovered that it had re-opened! But happy turned quickly to meh as it becomes apparent the selection is not as diverse as before nor as tasty. Everything was rather bland, as if they had forgotten to even add salt. It's still a reasonable lunch option, for $4.50 you can't really go too wrong, but it's just not as great nor as exciting as before. Ah well, change comes everywhere these days.
Central Buffet, 195 Centre Street at Howard

4:00pm oatmeal raisin cookies

Thank you Christy via Steven for the homemade treats today! Oatmeal raisin cookies are generally a favorite of ours, especially when baked with a bit of love.

Caffe Falai, with Sarah

Caffe Falai does not seem overly impacted by austerity times - it was packed from the moment we arrived until we finished our meals and left. The prices do seem slightly lower though, so maybe they are making concessions to the current economical climate. Today was another lovely lunch with another lovely friend, Sarah, with whom we share a tasty meal, a passion for reading and a discussion about the flexibility of space.
Caffe Falai, 265 Lafayette Street below Prince

4:00pm chocolate chip cookie

The photo is a little dark today as we got back to the office too late to take a good daylight dessert shot but we were busy being inspired by watching videos with our neighbors around the corner.
Oro Bakery, 375 Broome Street btwn Mulberry and Mott

La Esquina Cafe, with Hawkins

The last time I saw Hawkins he blithely informed me he had just bought a ticket to Vietnam and didn't know when he was coming back. Which just sounded like a fabulous undertaking. Today we met him for lunch at one of our favored meeting friends spots, La Esquina Cafe, where Hawkins confirms yes it was and remains fabulous. Over the tried and true pollo rostizado and a de le casa salad with chicken, he regaled with tales of living in Vietnam. Our dreams tonight will be filled with romantic visions of expatriot living to be sure.
Cafe de La Esquina, 106 Kenmare Street at Cleveland Place

4:00pm chocolates

Here is a really nice write-up by Meghan Drueding for Residential Architect of why we LUNCH. Accompanied by fairly nice, but kind of pricey, chocolates from fancy schmancy Marie Belle.
Marie Belle, 484 Broome Street btwn West Broadway and Greene

Fu Kee Chinese Restaurant, with Patrick

Patrick comes to us via a short chain of friends of friends but more importantly than that, he works 2 blocks away and loves to eat, making him an instant new lunch-mate. At his request we meet for noodle soup, picking nearby Fu Kee. Did you know you can add wonton to almost any roast meat noodle soup at a Chinese restaurant? Yes it's true. They'll do it for you if you ask. *Note for today: the soups were not as good as last time or our memory of last time. We'll have to try again and hope for better.
Fu Kee, 128 Lafayette Street above Canal

4:00pm pumpkin cake with maple glaze

More pleasantness from Oro Bakery in the shape of a small pumpkin cake with barely detectable maple glaze. A hearty sort of afternoon dessert for a snow flurried day.
Oro Bakery, 375 Broome Street btwn Mulberry and Mott

Lahore Deli

Another wintery day, another too lazy to go out for a meal day, another take-out lunch from Lahore on the way back from a site meeting day.
Lahore Deli, 132 Crosby Street below Houston

4:00pm donut

What if these cake donuts from Balthazar (but actually Dreesen's) were just so damn good that you grinned every time you bit into one but then you discovered today that one single donut costs $2???
Balthazar Bakery, 80 Spring Street near Crosby

218 Restaurant & Bar

218 Lafayette has never been a hot spot and following the downfall of the The Falls after the fatal story of Imette St. Guillen, the space has been ailing. Maybe the spring weather today inspired us to be daring, despite all the odds, or maybe for no particular reason we decided to check out the usually empty 218 Restaurant & Bar. And maybe our expectations were exceeding low but we were both pleasantly surprised by the fish and chips. Simple and straightforward, I think we would go back. And maybe even try something else. Crazy!
218 Restaurant & Bar, 218 Lafayette Street at Kenmare