The last two weeks have been a whirlwind of change. An uncomfortable cold spell has been replaced with a deluge of the somehow-always-surprising April Showers, time feels to be passing at an unreasonably fast pace, and I am feeling super weird. I might blame the weirdness on tonight’s looming eclipse, but that feels like a cop-out.
Amidst the change in season, a phenomenon that always throws me for a physical/emotional/mental loop, I am also in the midst of big personal changes! Today commences the final week at my job of the last two years, a strange and overwhelming transition that, along with the seasonal timing, has been disorienting and caused some minor hyperventilation (I don’t think I am very good at change). Friday will be my last morning commute to the Upper East Side so, as an homage to a neighborhood, today’s newsletter is aptly themed.
In honor of these changes, I am feeling inclined toward a mindful, intentional, enjoyable lunch, though dinner has always been my favorite meal of the day. As the flowers and trees along Park Ave begin to bloom, and sunshine and warmth feel just weeks away, I am particularly excited about a mid-day break—take-out to enjoy in Central Park and sidewalk tables that threaten a sneaky sunburn. That said, a daily trip to Sant Ambroeus or La Grenouille is not exactly in the cards for me, but there is no shortage of budget-friendly lunch destinations for the working gal/guy uptown. There are plenty that are not budget-friendly too, but those I can live without at the moment.
This week’s newsletter is missing pictures… I am so sorry. Use your imagination or follow @/rightonfranklin on Instagram <3
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Butterfield Market
E 85th and Madison, E 78th and Lexington
This is the least budget-friendly of the three—seriously, be wary of walking in here with an even partially empty stomach. I usually do about 14 laps and then spend $40 on lunch. Not necessary in the slightest but I literally can not help myself.
I love a specialty grocery store, I love delicious prepared food, I love treats, I love overpriced pre-cut fruit. Butterfield’s has all of the above and more. If you closed your eyes and imagined a grocery store with everything you could ever want and need, you would picture Butterfield’s. First of all, fro-yo window serving the BEST frozen yogurt in the city. They did not need to do that, but they did. The sushi is fresh and delicious. They have rotating soup flavors that are available hot or pre-packaged, often including Matzo Ball Soup and some delicious pureed vegetable concoction. They have very expensive, but very good produce. They also have a sizable prepared food counter with some of my favorite salads, latkes, quiche, burritos, salmon, chicken… you name it! Most importantly, they have a huge treat selection. We are talking M&M cookies, banana bread, lemon meringue tart, crazy sprinkle cakes, and a freezer of ice cream (including $20 pints of Caffe Panna flavors). I haven’t been to Erewhon but I imagine it would give me the same joy I experience here. It is worth travelling uptown for, I swear.
I get some combination of the following things: fresh cut mango or pineapple (unnecessary and $12), a quinoa and zucchini salad with fresh parsley (YUM), a fall vegetable farro salad with feta, squash, pomegranate seeds, herbs, this amazing rice paper sushi roll they do with spicy tuna, or a big salmon or greek salad. It is so good and fresh and fun—not groundbreaking food or flavors but a great experience. Sometimes in the middle of the day you just need a great experience.
Get the froyo.
al Badawi
E 89th and 2nd, Atlantic and Clinton St
Of the recent inter-borough restaurant expansions, this was one of the more surprising, and one of the most rewarding. A staple on Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn, al Badawi is a long-standing star serving perfect Middle-Eastern food. I don’t totally know why they chose to open their second location on the Upper East Side but I have no complaints. This is, in my opinion, the best kind of lunch food. Bright, fresh, light but intensely flavorful and filling dishes where any combination of small/large plates will complement each other perfectly and keep very well as leftovers.
I have to add that mezze, to me, virtually always hits the spot. I love hummus and labneh and baba ghanoush, so I am particularly fond of any source of those specific dips. Anywhere that prepare these appetizers particularly well though, holds a special place in my heart. Shockingly, I don’t love their falafel. It is delicious and flavorful, but all-in-all not a favorite amongst all of the falafels in New York. In that category, I’ll admit I am a harsh critic.
Al Badawi is great to sit down in, but they also deliver if it is just a bit too far—which is often my MO. If you go, you are required to try the fattoush salad. Not to be that person that thinks a salad is their favorite food, but whenever I can get a big bowl of cucumbers and tomatos and herbs, I am game. The al Badawi fattoush is SPECIAL. This salad is sizable, and full of proportionally chopped cucumber, tomato, radish, bell pepper, and red onion. It is important, with fattoush, that the vegetables are cut to be the same size. The veggies are fresh and very crunchy, coated in some incredible spice mix that I want to say is primarily sumac. The salad is topped with fresh mint and a layer of baked pita chips that are so thin and crisp they resemble a filo pastry dough which, as a sort of crouton, is genius. The whole salad is dressed in pomegranate molasses which might be one of the greatest inventions of all time. Sweet, tangy, crunchy, bright, herby, full of flavor—what more could you want from a lunch! Also, I don’t know what makes it so special but the little container of tahina I get when I order from here is insanely good. Lunch or dinner, uptown or Brooklyn, salad or pita—whatever floats your boat!
Up Thai
Whoever came up with the idea of a lunch special is a genius. If you are halfway through you workday, hungry, in need of a break, and mildly upset that you didn't pack yourself homemade lunch, it is at this moment that you deserve a treat—a delicious, inexpensive meal. The lunch special embodies this kind of reward system: do some work, get a good lunch without spending a million dollars. There are handfuls of restaurants that do lunch deals, and I am genuinely surprised every time I have any sort of well-priced meal in this expensive city of ours!!
Up Thai has executed the lunch special remarkably well. For as little as $14 (and as much as $21 if you really need some 1pm duck), you can order a bowl of soup or a green salad, a small portion of one of four appetizers, and one of over twenty entrees. Just to reiterate, that is a bowl of soup, a chive pancake, and Tofu Pad Se-Ew for $14. Huh!!!!
An elaborately decorated space that is often quite busy, Up Thai is a laid back and ever-so-slightly stylish Thai spot. It’s comfortable, it’s bright, it’s upbeat, and the food is delicious. A superb lunch—I am partial to the tofu soup and chive pancake, but any appetizer selection will be a good one. Note that the portions for the first two courses are small, but who I am to complain about a three course meal that costs less than a Sweetgreen salad? I am a fan of the red and green curry, the pad se-ew, and am always a pad krapaw orderer. At the end of the day, this is a very good Thai place, get your usual, have an easy and delicious lunch, and then get back to work ;)
Honorable mentions…
2nd Ave Deli, for arguably my favorite Matzo Ball Soup in the city that they serve with the really good Challah.
Milano Market, yes it is true, the caesar salad wrap is actually incredible. It’s also just a fun place to go and buy specialty Italian groceries!
Isle Of Us, a very good, reliable coffee shop with great breakfast, salads, and a fun assortment of condiments for sale.
Next week, perhaps, will not be New York based… keep an eye out :)
Here is where I want to go, but on theme:
"Sometimes in the middle of the day you just need a great experience" loveeee this may we not forget it generally either !!!