Lunch Days in the City

As the days in the city get hotter, blankets cover central park, tourists flock the city, and I start my string of lunch adventures after my morning physics class at Columbia. 
On Monday, I finished class at 11:30am and went along with a friend in search of a cheap eat. What we found was an Ayurveda café, an Indian restaurant that focuses on a type of eating that is based off of the Indian traditional medicine Ayurveda. 
Ayurvedic cuisine is based on three components: sattva (fruits, vegetables), rajas(sugar, yeast, garlic), and tamas (poultry, meat, fish, fried foods).
We sat down and were surprised by the style of serving: the restaurant presented us with a plate of what they deemed to fit all three categories. 

Served with brown rice was a bowl of lentils, potatoes slow cooked in a tomato spiced sauce, mushroom chutney, yogurt, salad, and a fried potato. All the spices worked together beautifully and the portions were JUST RIGHT! 

My friend and I left with happy stomachs, and a better sense of the different types of Indian cuisine.

The next day, I went to a more american style café on the upper west side after class with an old high school friend. 

She described it as a place that served up a mean cup o' joe and a quiet gem of a roof terrace. 

I quickly grabbed my bag and walked along Broadway towards 72nd street. 

 The name is a bit misleading because this place is much more than JUST an espresso bar. 

For New York City, this place had spacious seating and a huge selection of healthy salads, sandwiches, and juices, all within a reasonable price range! 

We placed our orders and meandered our way upstairs. 

We happily settled ourselves down in the shade and chatted the time away. Soon enough, the speaker shouted our names and we got our food. 

I got a tall cup of beet, apple, orange, and carrot juice with my lentil, sweet potato, and granola salad. It was one of my healthy days! 

My friend got a delicious salmon caesar salad and each of our meals came with a little chocolate, which I found adorable.

 After a couple hours of catching up, I made my way across town to the East side through Central Park. 

It was a beautiful day...

Horses and rickshaw drivers were working hard, towing about the hordes of tourists.

As I passed by this beautiful doorway, I knew I was on the upper east side (Gossip Girl anyone?)

After my super healthy lunch, I decided it was okay to indulge in Ladurée, one of my favorite Parisian bakeries, that specializes in making Macarons. Their window displays are always epic!

 So many choices...

 Jams and candies of all kinds at the cashier, just tempting me.

I left with five different flavors and continued on my walk back to my Dad's office. 

Unfortunately the rain caught up with me!

TADAA! The five flavors: pistachio (green), venezualan chocolate (brown), raspberry (pink), rosewater (white), and icy mint (blue).

I'm also a sucker for packaging and marveled at the beautiful sign.

Icy mint was really surprising, with a subtle bite of mint and the perfect melt in your mouth texture, nothing less of what I expected from Ladurée, a place that's been in the business since 1862. 
My second favorite was the rosewater one, again with a subtle floral taste and not overwhelmingly sweet. 
If you're in the city anytime soon, make sure to pay them a visit on Madison Ave between 71st and 72nd street. 

Wednesday was a long day for me...class and then three hours of lab and I was left a tired mess. I took the subway to 72nd and found a Le Pain Quotidien and took refuge from a sudden thunderstorm. 

I settled in with my computer and got to work on the physics homework. I don't often go to Le Pain but so far I've never been disappointed. The ambience was perfect and I could concentrate with the background hum of happy diners. 

I chose a six vegetable quiche that was gluten free (made with gf buckwheat flour)and vegan. 

It was one of the most satisfying gf, vegan meals I've ever had and could even compete with the other lunches I've had so far. 

When it said six vegetable quiche, I did not expect that it would be a six layered vegetable quiche! 

 Served with a delicious grilled artichoke and a little garden salad. Super fresh and screams of summer.

 Look at those DECADENT LAYERS! I was in love. 

 I tried so hard to make it last but...

It disappeared rather quickly. 

Soon, NYC will be having its restaurant week so look forward to the blog getting inundated with food from some of the best restaurants in the city for a stealer price. 

Hope everyone's soaking up some sun and making yummy food with all the yummy produce of the summer! 

Sunday Farmer's Market

You know summer has started when the thermometer is reading 97˙F and local farmer's markets are opening up. 
This long weekend has been filled with blistering heat and today was no exception. 
Braving the heat, I went to today's Sunday Farmer's Market in Piermont, NY to enjoy the sunshine and was set on getting some beautiful produce. 
Fluffy was very ready to get out of the house as well. 

 Let's get going boys! 

Piermont can only be described as one of the quaintest towns along the Hudson. It's filled with adorable wood paneled homes that are bursting with gorgeous gardens, with families littering the small sidewalk cafes for Sunday brunch. 

Piermont's farmer's market is one of the smaller markets in the area but it still boasts a good selection of seasonal and local produce. 

Just look at those beautiful summer colors! 

We ended up buying some kale, corn, and bread from Bread Alone, one of my favorite bakers. You can also find their bread at whole foods or Fairway. Their business is based on the "back-to-the-land" movement that gained a huge following in the 70's, where people wanted to return to a rural environment and find their roots. All of their bread comes from their bakery in Rhinebeck, NY and only use certified organic flours. 

Mmm, local cheeses!

Bread Alone pastries

Don't those cinnamon swirl danishes look like snail shells? So cute! 

They also had a huge selection of nuts like maple glazed mix and curry cooked cashews but, lately, I've been gorging on them, so I had to resist the temptation...

Another local baker who also happens to make GF products as well. I'll have to try her things next time! 

It was a wonderful afternoon, getting to know the marketers and Fluffy seems to have enjoyed herself as well, even though it was sweltering...

If you get the chance, go to your local farmer's market and help support your farmers! Lots of good food and great people, what's not to like?